Spirited Away
2002 ‘Sen to Chihiro no kamikakushi’ Directed by Hayao Miyazaki
Synopsis
The tunnel led Chihiro to a mysterious town...
Spirited Away is an Oscar winning Japanese animated film about a ten year old girl who wanders away from her parents along a path that leads to a world ruled by strange and unusual monster-like animals. Her parents have been changed into pigs along with others inside a bathhouse full of these creatures. Will she ever see the world how it once was?
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Reviewing Spirited Away, one of the most lauded films of the 21st century and also a favourite of mine, is a daunting task. Just how does one try to compress the infinite amounts of creativity this film bears into a short review and, perhaps more importantly, does it even need to be said anymore? With a position in the Top 250 of the recent Sight and Sound poll, despite being a recent animated film, surely nothing really needs to be said anymore concerning the technical aspects of Spirited Away. If you've seen it, and chances are you have, you already know that it is without a doubt one of if not the most technically accomplished and visually rich animated film…
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What a fascinating journey! I was constantly in awe by the exquisit imagery and stunning animation, being always a visual feast. Also, Hayao Miyazaki really cares for his characters, making them just so intriguing and memorable. You can really notice the evolution of the main character Chihiro after she goes through her quest. The fantasy elements of the film are quite unique too, being both symbolic and philosophical at times. Spirited Away is a highly inventive, touching and engaging film and I will definitely look into Miyazaki's other work after having seen this terrific achievement in animation.
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I can't.
Too many feels.
I can't.
I'll miss you, Chihiro.
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Spirited Away is likely the very best from Miyazaki, from this stupendous film you can tell he is a master storyteller. A hallmark of a good storyteller is making the audience empathise or pull them into the shoes of the central character. Miyazaki does this brilliantly in Spirited Away. During the first fifteen minutes we have no idea what is going on. Neither does the main character Chihiro. We discover the world as Chihiro does and it's truly amazing to watch. But Miyazaki doesn't seem to treat this world as something amazing. The world is filmed just like our workaday world would. The inhabitants of the world go about their daily business as usual as full with apathy as us…
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I just watched this amazing and wonderful film for the very first time. I might give it a full 5 stars on my second viewing.
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“Once you do something, you never forget. Even if you can't remember.”
-Zeniba (Mari Natsuki/Suzanne Pleshette (Voice))In a moment of drunken madness last night, I decided to pop open my DVD of this that had been sat on the shelf the past week and threw it on, it was the first time I’d seen it in a good many years. I have fond memories of this, and despite the intoxicated block on my mind, a lot came flooding back in a wave of sort of surreal, reminiscent awesomeness. The line above from Zeniba sums up my experience with Spirited Away nicely.
Now whilst I can’t recall much of it now, it’s fair to say it’s still my favourite animated…
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Brilliant.
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This was arguably my first serious foray into the world of anime and Japanese cinema as a whole and I don't think I could have chosen a better first feature to introduce me to this, for me, practically entirely new culture of moviemaking. The merits of this animated gem are well known indeed, as well they have been to me personally for quite some time. It is then with regret that I look back on having put off watching it for so long.
It is a remarkable film in so many ways but the most striking to me has to be the stunning amount of creativity oozing from every nook and cranny, seeping in from every angle, flooding the scene…
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i really like miyazaki but fuck disney dubs
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Watching Spirited Away for the first time reminded me of re-living a classic of children's literature like The Wind in the Willows or The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Writer/director Hayao Miyazaki creates an entirely new and bizarre world, inhabited by characters that will endure for lifetimes. The holy grail for fans of great Japanese anime.
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Of all Miyazaki's work, this is my absolute favorite and one of my favorite animated films.
The film offers a child friendly fairy tale that tastefully engages all audiences while delivering an important moral to its target demographic. The film offers characters that are charming and funny, but absolutely hold weight within the narrative. Often I will complain about Miyazaki's "self indulgent use of nightmarish imagery." But here, I feel that this technique plays to a major strength in the story. Children have nightmares as well as dreams, just as a character faces off against a blend of both factions.
As always, the animation is beautiful and amongst the best of his films. While a clear comparison can be drawn to stories such as Alice in Wonderland, Spirited Away succeeds in becoming its own viable fairy tale.
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I had forgotten how much vomit there was. Very well animated vomit.
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Yet another brilliant Miyazaki movie that puts shame to most of the films made for children in North America.
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I kinda found it scary.