untitled

Spirited Away (Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi)

Genre:Japanese Lore/Adventure

Date Submitted:September 4, 2003

Review by:Devilbunny

Plot Summary: Young Chihiro and her family stumble upon an abandoned theme park while moving to their new house. Not long after gorging themselves on food set aside for spirits, Chihiro's parents have turned into pigs. Night falls quickly and Chihiro suddenly finds herself trapped in the theme park, which has transformed into a world of gods and spirits. A young servant to the owner of a bathhouse takes pity on Chihiro and helps her get a job at the spirit's bathhouse. Upon allowing her to work there the owner steals Chihiro's name and changes it to Sen. She must work at the bathhouse until she can prove her worth to the owner and gain her and her parent's freedom, but if she forgets her real name she will be trapped there forever.

Good Time to Watch This Film:Rainy Day, curled up with popcorn.

Main Characters:

Chihiro:10 year old Chihiro isn't your average anime heroine. But for Miyazaki she is just perfect. She acts a little childish and spoiled at first but with the help of some new friends she matures over the course of the film.

Haku:A young boy who can take on the form of a dragon and is the apprentice to the head of the bathhouse. He helps Chihiro get a job at the bathhouse when she gets stuck there untill she can free her parents.

Rin/Lin:She is the young woman in the bathhouse who gets stuck training Chihiro in the bathhouse. She is kinda snotty and first but she eventually warms up to Chihiro.

Yubaba:The owner of the bathhouse who is a witch of sorts, and is the one who is holding Chihiro's parents hostage as well as her name.

No-face:A gluttonous spirit who Chihiro unknowingly lets into the bathhouse. He takes a liking to Chihiro and her kind nature.

Final Grading:In Spirited Away, Miyazaki takes many different elements of the Japanese personality and lore, then weaves and overlaps them into many individual and dynamic characters. Not only are their personalities a refreshing change from the often dull and lifeless characters in American cinema, their character designs are also beautiful, imaginative, skillfully rendered, and fitting to each individual personality. Not only that but the voice acting in both the English and Japanese versions each matched the characters look and feel. And the end song is absolutly beautiful, as well as the orchestral score. All in all Spirited Away is joy to watch and only gets better and better with repeated viewings. The charming tale of coming of age, although told time and time again, has been made beautiful once more. If I had to recommend just one Miyazaki film, which is quite a tough endeavor, it would more than likely be this little gem of a film. Overall I would give this film a 10/10!