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Review: Spirited Away
Let's get a few things out of the way first. There's both a subtitled version with Japanese audio, and an English-dubbed version. The dubbed version appears to be showing in more theaters, with the subtitled version only showing in a very few locations. I saw the subtitled one, not because I'm a purist (I usually prefer the dubbed versions so my eyes can concentrate on the animation rather than having to read), but just because it was showing at a convenient time, so I can't comment on the quality of the English dub.
The film might be too intense for very young viewers in a few places. One theater nearby has a note saying they won't allow kids under six to attend - I have no idea how they came up with that age, but there's definitely a few scenes that could be frightening to very young kids. You might want to watch it ahead of time, or at least be prepared to hold them tight.
And on to the film. It is excellent. Several of Miyazaki's other films have had themes involving the spirits of nature, and this is a continuation of those. Other tales it made me think of: Princess Mononoke, My Neighbor Totoro, Alice in Wonderland, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (Narnia in general), The Neverending Story, and the tale of Circe the Enchantress in the Odyssey. You remember Circe, don't you, the sorceress who turned Odysseus' men into pigs? No doubt if I knew more about Japanese legends I would see lots of places that Miyazaki drew from there as well.
The basic plot is simple: Chihiro's parents stumble into a place they shouldn't be, and get turned into pigs, and she must save them. I'm not going to elaborate on it because I really enjoyed discovering what was going on throughout the movie and I'd rather not spoil it for you. There's a happy ending - this isn't a Grave of the Fireflies - so you don't have to worry about your kids being permanently traumatized.
Everything about the film says that a great deal of effort was put into it. Tiny details are included in every frame of the animation. There's a pretty extensive use of CGI for rendering background man-made objects (nature backgrounds are mostly drawn), but it fits in very well with the hand-drawn art and adds rather than detracts from the movie. I don't know how I can really convey the difference between this and a typical Disney animated film... Maybe this: think about how, in the Lion King or a similar movie, there are often large swatches of a similar color taking up large parts of the screen. Oh, here's a lion, and it has three square feet of an absolutely pure tan color (which, incidentally, takes very little effort to draw). An equivalent lion in a Miyazaki film would have a hundred shades of color and streaks and details and highlights and lowlights, and it would have that in every frame that it appeared in. The colors are brighter, the whites are whiter. (Note that apparently the subtitled version I saw is being shown in a digital projection, while the dubbed version is traditional film.)
You don't have to like anime to like this movie - it will be fun for nearly all ages. It's not quite as endearing as Totoro, not quite as mystical as Mononoke (well, maybe it is, at that). But it's definitely as good as either of these. Well worth seeing in the theaters.
I saw it last week at an anime showing and was very impressed with the movie. Even the non anime people I brought with me to see it were glad that they came.
So, the dubbed version (which I saw last night) is just fine. They use unique voiceactors for each character and they convey the emotion well enough. Of course, if you speak Japanese.
Personally, I'm okay with dubbing--but then I also like to pick up the appopriate emotive cues, which is more difficult when people are speaking a language you don't understand. Of course, usually the dubbing is awful so having it in English doesn't do a bit of good. Oddly, I don't think the same thing about live action dubbing, but I think that's just because the loss of sync is WAY more annoying than not picking up tone of voice properly.
Watch Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind. (There is, of course, a page for it on nausicaa.net ... but for obvious reasons, you're not going to be able to visit it for a few hours now.) It's only available as a fansub, but it's well worth it -- IMO, it's the best anime I've ever seen. (And many of the themes explored in it were carried directly over into Princess Mononoke.) Spirited Away was also an amazing movie, and I hope that it's showed in my area at some point ... but Nausicaa was Miyazaki's best work.
4294774.156801
I live in a giant bucket.
Well, it's been showing in France for a while (under the name of "Le Voyage de Chihiro" -- Chihiro's Journey), so I kind of assumed it had been released more or less throughout Europe. Seems I was wrong.
Anyway, it's a pretty good film, although I disagree with it being on par with Princess Mononoke; basically, this is a film for kids, while Mononoke isn't. All the adult undertones in Mononoke are gone here. For me, an adult, it made the film a lot less enjoyable; no doubt that a kid would find it a lot less complex and a lot more appealing.
Just my two eurocents.
I ran and took the metro for about 45 minutes way across state lines. Living in Northern Virginia, this show was playing in only 2 theatres in the DC metro area (composed of DC, VA and MD). I had to head to the Mezza Galeria in Friendship Heights way out on the edge of NorthWest DC on the border with Maryland. Basically it is a trip that I will never forget and I will now always associate that area with the greatness of witnessing this masterpiece.. This film has already grossed over 200 million dollars and won major awards at film festivals, all without even being released in North America. Until now....
Basically put here it is [not giving any info away that would be VERY wrong]. Sen to Chihiro no kamikakushi [Spirited Away], is a trip about a 10 year old girl who enters a magical spirit land with her parents who end up imprisoned. It is up to 10 year old Chihiro to find the strength inside to survive and perhaps rescue her parents.
But this film isn't about that plot, it is about the imagination of youth, the magic and characters who exist in this world, and about growing up and gaining courage.
I'll say this. I am having a really REALLY hard time putting the emotions I felt after witnessing this masterpiece on the screen. The scenes are masterfull, the animation is incredible, the backgrounds are pieces of art, there are things that happen in great stillness, and in great motion that take your breath away. It is very funny, and charming. However what separates this film from say Miyazaki's last recent work Mononoke Hime (Princess Mononoke) is that this film is more universal for all ages and more imaginative, incredibly so on the later. Where Mononoke was more political and intriguing and ingenious this film is something every person can relate to including 7 year olds. As one earlier minor review I read said, "Kids will like it, parents will love it even more". I can't begin to describe my jaw gapping mouth that stood there hanging almost every 5 minutes at what I was witnessing.. I could spend hours describing the myriad of characters in detail, but I would be writing to the end of time....
There is a scene in this film that just highlights everything that is grand about this movie. Chihiro takes a train ride with 3 spirit characters all very different and unique in their looks and personality. The purpose of the ride is simply just to go from A to B. Its not important for the story, it does not advance the plot on the grand scale of things. It is just something that is simply there to look at.
This scene had me in tears. Not because it looks sad, or the characters are tragic, or because the story at this point is so gutwrenching (think of the opera music scene in Graveyard of The fireflies). It just pulls the emotion out of you because it is just so mesmerizing and beautiful to watch.
This film which has just been released in North America, looks to be in limited release so far. I'll put it to you this way. I am not a major fan of Japanese anime, but I have seen a small handful of good ones. I was speaking with people after the show, and I ran into one guy who as he puts it, has seen SEVERAL anime movies. He said this is the best one he has EVER SEEN. Period.
This film is going to be HUGE.. It just may get the North American public addicted to Japanese Anime, an art form that has been nothing more in the eyes of America as an overly grotesque cartoonish imature artform, that seems to be overtly sexualised, and overrun with violence and nonsensical stories. This film will not just break that barrier, it will be a tidal wave of movie history crashing through it with sunami punch! If it DOES NOT... then anime does not even deserved to be shown in this country to be appreciated. I can't see this film not being a huge buzz within the next few days. The audience I was with which was very varied kids and adults of all ages, were entranced and applauded MASSIVELY when this film was over in celebration.
I can only think of one film I have seen that is of this level and would rank now as a tie after seeing this film for best film of the year (that would be Monsoon Wedding). A very different film obviously which can't be compared to this.
This isn't just a great animated film. This isn't just a great Japanese film. This isn't just a great award winning film. This is one of the greatest movies ever made. Period.
Once in a rare while, a film comes out in a year that everyone will be talking about non stop. This is THAT film!!
DO NOT MISS THIS MOVIE ON THE BIG SCREEN EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Spirited away is tremendous. There is no excuse not to see it, especially if you have small children. However, in some ways it feels weaker than some of Miyazaki's other masterpieces. I was disapointed in the lack of tension. Some of the plot resolutions (esp. concerning the witch's sister) didn't seem to stand up to the magnificance of the backdrop. The environmental theme was touched on, but it felt like Miyazaki couldn't decide whether it should be a major or minor part of the plot.
In the end, you have seen what amount to a series of viginettes, all exciting and interesting, but the fantasy world at the end of the movie seems smaller than the one introduced at the beginning.
Of course, saying that Spirited Away is one of Miyazaki's weakest films is like saying the same of Kubrick and The Shining. There is still nothing out there that compares.
One thing i always end up doing while watching a film is to try to see connections with things in it and other cultures. One thing i noticed was that Yubaba, one of the characters, is a very close copy of the norse/russian myth-witch Baba-Yaga: the only difference being that she runs a bathouse of the gods, and doesn't have a house with chicken legs. anyone else notice other tie-ins?
filter: +3. Hey, look! all the trolls went away!
What's the connection?
Are geeks just more open-minded about new experiences, or are they just more inclined to be interested in things like comics & cartoons as if they had never really grown up?
And what's with the obsessiveness wrt Anime as well - I've never met anybody who sorta liked it, or occassionally rented one - people seem to be deeply affected by it and make it a huge part of their life if they enjoy it.
I was looking around for imports of Spirited Away on DVD. I searched places like eBay, Yahoo! Shopping, and AnimeNation. I found a few different versions, and was wondering which of these is an actual import and not a pirated version (I know, it's hard to say, but hopefully my next questions will make it clearer what I mean).
There are appear to be three different versions, regardless of the region code. There is a 1-disc version with a light blue cover, a 1-disc version with a dark cover, and a 2-disc version with the same dark cover. So, I am wondering what the difference is between the light blue and dark cover DVDs?
With regard to region codes, I was only able to find dics with either no region code (distributed by Manga International, Inc.?), and discs with a region 3 code (from Singapore), but none with region 2 code (from Japan). I'm guessing that the discs with no region code are not legal. But I couldn't say for sure. I'd never heard of Manga International, Inc. before.
And finally, there are a several different language choices. Japanese + English/Chinese subtitles, Chinese + English/Chinese subtitles, Japanese + French/Chinese subtitles, Japanese/Chinese + English/Chinese subtitles, etc. Anyone have any ideas as to which of these are "real"?
What I'm looking for is a Japanese + English subtitles region 2 2-disc set (or region free if those are not pirated versions). The reason I want the import is because I read the U.S. release of Spirited Away has had additional dialogue added and I don't want to see this dialogue, even in the subtitles.
Any help?
Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi is a remarkable film, as good as the review indicates, maybe better. But Disney seems hell-bent on hiding that information from us, even as they spend millions of dollars dubbing and subtitling. I am no conspiracy theorist, but I am really beginning to wonder whether the real reason that Disney bought the rights to Miyazaki's films is for damage-limitation: let's pretend to be good guys - hey, we did bring these great films to the US, you geeks - but let's also limit distribution so that the general public doesn't realize that there is something better available.
Several months before that drek Country Bears was released, everyone knew about it due to massive advertising. Where was the advertising for Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi? Where were the lunch boxes and McDonald's Happy Meals featuring Chihiro, Yubaba, Rin, Haku, or the Twin Witches? Do they think that American children are too stupid to appreciate Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi plush toys? Where are the coloring books and t-shirts and and all of the rest of the product placement that this film deserved more than all of the SHIT that Disney has produced recently ( Atlantis: The Lost Empire, and the retreads Cinderella 2, Lady and the Tramp 2, and The Hunchback of Notre Dame II - all of which had more TV previews than the more worthy Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi)?
[Lilo and Stitch being the notable exception.]
Treasure Planet, Disney's space-based derivative of Robert Lewis Stevenson's Treasure Island, isn't due in cinemas until November, and it has already receieved more hype than Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi ever recieved. The aforementioned Alice in Wonderland (1951), which has never been re-released to theaters, receives more hype for its TELEVISION reruns than Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi has ever receeved!
Do you get the point? Can you tell that I'm mad?
Disney fucked the public with their minimalistic release of Princess Mononoke, and now they are doing the same with Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi.
Honestly, I'm furious, though I don't know what to do about it.
Slashdot recently reported that Dreamworks [was] Delv[ing] Into Anime Maybe a letter campaign could convince Disney to do the right thing and relinquish their control of Miyazaki's films to a company who might know what to do with them.
I'm mad beyond spitting. Does anyone have any serious suggestions?
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I think possibly the best thing of the movie is the way that Chihiro develops over the film. She starts out all whiny and soft but, well, go see the film if you can. It is a magnificent transformation. It shows something about responsibility in a subtle way here, something I think a lot of movies in the family category miss. There is really growth, not some cooked moral spoon fed to you.
I also like the animation; Chihiro had a bit of Mei from My Neighbor Totoro drawn into her. Some of the spirits and scenery had a look of Mononoke Hime to them. Overall it was an enchanting place that was created. It put the two together along with some of its own style and made a style greater than either.
I had some expectations for the film. Seeing the trailer made the film look great, and hearing that it won awards brought the expectations up even higher. Being Miyazaki's Spirited Away brought them up to levels I try to stay away from for films on fear of being disappointed. I'm happy to say, however, that I wasn't let down in the least and the movie was more than I expected of it.
Honestly, go see this if you can. Bring your kids if you have them. It is a great film for everybody.
If not now, when?
"...a small girl (probably about five) cried out, "Mommy, why is he doing that?" It almost would have been funny, except for the fact that you realized a young girl was being traumatized, and her parents didn't care."
I agree with you totally. When I was no more than 8 my Grandmother took me to see "The Shining" and forced me to sit through it 'cause she just had to see it. I was terrified and couldnt even sleep that night. I had that image of the river of blood flowing through the hall of the hotel etched in my mind for days. I still cant watch that movie without thinking about that.