Movie Review: Spirited Away
Spirited Away is a Studio Ghibli film made by Hayao Miyazaki. It is about a girl named Chihiro and her family when they move to a new town and stumble upon a Bath House for spirits. It is more of a coming-of-age movie, with Chihiro working to free both herself and her parents from the clutches of the leader of the Bath House, Yubaba.
Warning! Spoilers Ahead.
Spirited Away is one of my favorite childhood movies. It begins with Chihiro and her parents driving to their new town, with Chihiro complaining about moving away from her friends. Her father takes a wrong turn along the way and seem to come across an abandoned amusement park and they wander onto it. Chihiro finds it incredibly creepy and sketchy and doesn't want to go look at it, but her parents leave her behind so she, not wanting to be alone, follows. The "amusement park" has food being made, but there is no one around. Her parents decide to eat the food and leave money if no one shows up. Chihiro doesn't touch the food, and wanders away. As night sets, spirits start to appear. Chihiro runs back to her parents and finds them turned into actual pigs. She finds a boy, who gives her a bit of food that will make her a part of the spirit world so she does not disappear, and he tells her to go find a man to get work.
Throughout the movie, Chihiro loses her name, loses her own identity, and basically sells herself to work for the Spirit Bath House. In the end, she does free her parents and herself, though her parents remember nothing, despite this story taking place over an extended period of time.
This movie is beautifully animated, as most Studio Ghibli films are. The animation style is Japanese anime, as it is a Japanese film. It is both nostalgic and whimsical. The movie itself is humorous, sad, and at times, slightly horrifying.
Something about this film that I didn't realize at first but now think about a lot, is the time that passed while Chihiro was in the Spirit World. When they first get to the entrance to the Bath House, there was a stone statue that looked relatively new, it had no grass or moss growing on it, and the carving was still cut and there was no obvious weathering. When they left, that same stone was covered in moss, their car was covered in dust and leaves, and the trees and grass in the area had grown over a lot.
A lot of time had obviously passed, though the characters seem to not notice how weird it is. What makes me wonder, is how much time actually passed? Months? Years? And why did no one notice how much had changed in the time they were gone? Yes, they believe they were gone for only a few hours, but Chihiro was in the Spirit World for days, if not weeks or months.
Overall, Spirited Away is a wonderfully made movie, the animation and story line is beautiful, and the small details add a lot to the story itself and brings up a lot of questions.
Warning! Spoilers Ahead.
Spirited Away is one of my favorite childhood movies. It begins with Chihiro and her parents driving to their new town, with Chihiro complaining about moving away from her friends. Her father takes a wrong turn along the way and seem to come across an abandoned amusement park and they wander onto it. Chihiro finds it incredibly creepy and sketchy and doesn't want to go look at it, but her parents leave her behind so she, not wanting to be alone, follows. The "amusement park" has food being made, but there is no one around. Her parents decide to eat the food and leave money if no one shows up. Chihiro doesn't touch the food, and wanders away. As night sets, spirits start to appear. Chihiro runs back to her parents and finds them turned into actual pigs. She finds a boy, who gives her a bit of food that will make her a part of the spirit world so she does not disappear, and he tells her to go find a man to get work.
Throughout the movie, Chihiro loses her name, loses her own identity, and basically sells herself to work for the Spirit Bath House. In the end, she does free her parents and herself, though her parents remember nothing, despite this story taking place over an extended period of time.
This movie is beautifully animated, as most Studio Ghibli films are. The animation style is Japanese anime, as it is a Japanese film. It is both nostalgic and whimsical. The movie itself is humorous, sad, and at times, slightly horrifying.
Something about this film that I didn't realize at first but now think about a lot, is the time that passed while Chihiro was in the Spirit World. When they first get to the entrance to the Bath House, there was a stone statue that looked relatively new, it had no grass or moss growing on it, and the carving was still cut and there was no obvious weathering. When they left, that same stone was covered in moss, their car was covered in dust and leaves, and the trees and grass in the area had grown over a lot.
A lot of time had obviously passed, though the characters seem to not notice how weird it is. What makes me wonder, is how much time actually passed? Months? Years? And why did no one notice how much had changed in the time they were gone? Yes, they believe they were gone for only a few hours, but Chihiro was in the Spirit World for days, if not weeks or months.
Overall, Spirited Away is a wonderfully made movie, the animation and story line is beautiful, and the small details add a lot to the story itself and brings up a lot of questions.
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