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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.
Its great that we're getting some anime in mainstream US theaters. Now we need some of the DBZ movies. :)
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.
Now we need some of the DBZ movies.
:)
A 1-hour constipation grunt fest? Characters taking 1/2 an hour to charge energy while straining their bowels like a madman? I think not!
There are other formats of trailers and more sizes to choose from at the main movie site. Real and WMA are provided in addition to quicktime. Be warned, the page is flash intensive.
Anybody know when this movie is going to be shown in the UK?
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.
Says who? If it's being projected from film stock, then it's a film, whether it's animated or not. Now, if it's digital, that's another story. I'm not really sure what we'd call those.
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.
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I live in a giant bucket.
Is it me or do they use the same person for the "narrator guy" for EVERY American trailer???
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!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
SIG:Slashdot: indymedia for nerds.
For your first and thus-far only comment, you sure chose to post a doozy.
;-)
The word "film" in this context is a synonym for "motion picture," which means, "a form of entertainment that enacts a story by a sequence of images giving the illusion of continuous movement." Obviously Spirited Away is both a motion picture and a film.
"Cartoon," sense 2, means, "a film made by photographing a series of cartoon [sense 1] drawings to give the illusion of movement when projected in rapid sequence." Therefore all cartoons are films, and Spirited Away is both a film and a cartoon.
"Anime," on the other hand, means, "A resin exuding from a tropical American tree (Hymen[ae]a courbaril), and much used by varnish makers." So you're pretty far off on that one.
Saw it at the Paramount in downtown Toronto yesterday at a Matinee. The dubbing was *superb* Great work, Disney! Thanks for bringing this to N.America I'll wait and buy the sub-titled version with Disney-dub option :)
geeks are cats who dig a certain kind of cool
Here's Roger Ebert's review of the dubbed version, as well an essay he wrote that includes an interview with Miyazaki and gives some good background on the dubbed version produced by John Lasseter ("Toy Story") and Disney.
My next sig will be ready soon, but friends can beat the rush!
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.
I saw it last night.... I noticed the article in USA today on my flight home, mentioned it to my bride, and made a date of it last night. She mentioned the local radio station was talking about the movie, so I picked up tickets in the afternoon for a 7ish show. No crowds, not even close to being sold out....
The movie was great! The good guys not all good, the bad not all bad. I love grey characters. After reading 'Memoirs of a Geisha' (Arthur Golden), a lot of patterns seemed familiar. Had to pay attention to the characters, but not terribly hard to follow. My take, anyhow... too bad folks are going to miss out on this one.
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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?
Here is a list of theatres in the US that are/will be screening "Spirited Away".
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?
Neopets - the best free game on the Int
I caught Spirited Away this past Friday at the art house theater in Kendall Square. The 9:45PM showing was packed- no with your typical Miyazaki fans, art theater fans, but with regular movie goers.
My first impression is that (1) the voices didn't make me wince, (2) everyone was spell bound. The audience laughed at the fun moments, stunded by the sheer beauty of the animation, and was transported for those 2 hours into the world of Chihiro.
Thank you Mr. Miyazaki for making me believe in magic again.
III.IIVIVIXIIVIVIIIVVIIIIXVIIIXIIIIIIIIVIIIIVVIII
Multiregion dvd player owners might like to buy the R3 version from DDD House
And no. It's not a bootleg. It's legit. Just very cheap.
Well, the dubbed version had to have been better than the subtitled version. They chose to do the subtitling in white, which means several scenes were completely illegible due to white text on a white background.
All editorial writers ever do is come down from the hill after the battle is over and shoot the wounded.
Nausicca.net has release dates (with sub/dub info).
Spirited Away (Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi) is a really great film. To answer a person's earlier comment, no, Disney has not edited the film in any way. The only real change in the dub has been some "offscreen" English dialog to better explain ome of the cultural references that English-speaking audiences might not get. But they are very well done and don't take away from the rest of the film. Actually, I liked this dub much better than the dub for Princess Mononoke, and while it's not quite as accurate as the subtitled version it's still very good.
As far as the "scary" scenes- I wouldn't have a problem allowing children to watch this movie. There are intense scenes, but there are intense moments in many children's stories- Beauty and the Beast, Hansel and Gretal, etc. These scenes are a bit scarier than the Disneyfied versions of the same stories, but I'd say they are pretty comparable.
Even friends that are not huge anime fans loved it.
I love that policy, and in fact, I'd like to extend it to ALL movies, except rated-G movies shown before 8 at night. And nobody below tweleve gets into an R-rated movie even with a parent.
Partially, it's that I just don't like kids interrupting my movie with an inappropriate reaction. I don't think it's cute when little Johnnie makes fart noises, or cries that he's bored, or does anything at all to distract me from the movie experience. Maybe that's my problem, but I should be able to find a time and place where I'll have a kid-free movie.
But the other part of that policy is that some parents take their kids to inappropriate movies at inappropriate times.
I don't know what the hell is wrong with people these days, but I see more and more R-rated movies where people have brought their small children. One of the first times this happened to me was during the film "Three Days in the Valley". During the violent sex scene between the hit man Spader and his girlfriend Charlize Theron, 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.
Another thing I've seen is parents taking their children to late-night viewings of movies. I've gone to see things like "Toy Story" at the 10pm showing, just because I figure, "No sane parent would take their kids to a 10pm showing, since they won't be home until after midnight." Of course I'm always wrong, even if the kids look to be school-aged and it's during the school year!
Look, I'm not a parent, and I know sometimes parenting is harder than it looks, blahblahblah, but this stuff seems like it should be common sense. If you take your eight-year old to see Blade 2, not only will it annoy me, it's going to warp his world view.
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?
Unfortunately not. However, I suspect the icon drew inspiration from everyone's favourite little cook ;)
I for one only hate things that Disney does. When they do well, you have to give them all due credit. To do otherwise might feel like consistency to some, but its really just spite.
A well-crafted lie appears unquestionable - Dama Mahaleo
Yes. I was goofing, as evidenced by the ";-)" trigraph in my message. Seemed clear enough to me....
When I see an article about it on the Wall Street journal (front page of their "style" (marketplace?) type section last week) I know that its starting to get the props that it deserves.
Re: Mononoke; they carried it in blockbuster- the word is getting out there. Maybe not as fast as you'd like, but its seeping in.
In the future, I would want to not be isolated from my friends in the Space Station.
so you are saying that the clip I just watched is hentai anime ? Maybe I missed the juicy parts or they just did not include them in the trailer, but the protagonist WAS STILL A PREPUBESCENT GIRL.
I've got a clue, perhaps you'd like to rent it for a bit so you can see what it feels like ?
errr....umm...*whooosh* *whoosh* Is this thing on ?