The penultimate Miyazaki Madness review is up today, and we've got a real special one here. This is one of the most critically acclaimed and most loved anime films of all time, possibly the most. Spirited Away is regarded by some as Miyazaki's masterpiece, and with such an outstanding director that's really saying something. It's also the only anime film to ever win an Academy Award. It's been placed highly on several lists of top films, and a sixth of the population of Japan has seen it. When it was released it was the second highest grossing film in Japanese history and the first film to earn $200 million before opening in the US. I'm not gonna comment about "does it deserve it" or anything like that, it'd be silly - there's no question about it. Instead, let's just look at what makes this movie so great.
While taking a side road on their way to their new house, Chihiro and her family find an old abandoned building they decide to explore to Chihiro's dismay. After passing through a tunnel and a wide field, they find a deserted marketplace - except for one food stall. As her parents chow down, Chihiro, scared of getting in trouble, wanders around and discovers a large bathhouse. Darkness starts to set in and spirits start coming out of the walls and Chihiro's parents gluttony has turned them into pigs. Lost and alone in this strange world of spirits, Chihiro gets some help from a young man named Haku who tells her that she needs to find a job in the bathhouse or she'll never save her parents or get home.
Upon sneaking into the bathhouse, she meets the crusty, spider-like boiler operator Kamaji and the big-sis-with-attitude mentor Lin. These two watch out for Chihiro after she gets a job at the bathhouse from the crafty witch Yubaba. Yubaba takes her name in the deal though, reaming her Sen, and if Chihiro forgets her real name, she'll be stuck in Yubaba's service forever. Chihiro has to struggle to keep her head above water in this bizarre new world while at the same time trying to find her way out from under Yubaba's thumb and helping Haku to do the same. She gets some help in this quest from some strange allies, like the dragon-esque River Spirit, a quiet but "generous" spirit known as No-Face, and a little bird and mouse from Yubaba's side. Throughout this journey, Chihiro grows from a scared, spoiled child to a confident courageous heroine.
After seeing all of Miyazaki's movies (I've already seen next review's Howl's Moving Castle), I can say firmly that Spirited Away remains my favorite of his movies. It combines the strengths of several of his movies into one single entity that is strong on all fronts. The storyline is an example of this - it combines the charming and magical elements of films like Totoro and Kiki while having the solid plot and conflict of Mononoke and Naussica. This film brings you into one of Miyazaki's most magical worlds, showcasing a wide variety of wondrous and frightening creatures and brightly lit scenery. The struggle for Chihiro's freedom is interspliced well with other situations and conflicts that all help Chihiro to gain the confidence needed to stand up to Yubaba. There is a constant feeling of growth in the movie; most of the important characters undergo some level of change and development as the plot progresses. Similarly, all the events of the story build to the finale as they also help to build up Chihiro. Whether it's the magic of the world or the struggle and development, there's something great in this plot everyone can enjoy.
The characters in the film are very well-rounded and most all of them are very likeable. As said earlier, Chihiro is a heroine who advances leaps and bounds as the movie progresses. She shows great determination to do whatever it takes to save herself and anyone else she can. She is flawed - especially near the beginning she shows a lot of fear and weakness - but keeps pushing past the flaws in order to help whoever she can. Haku is a good guy stuck working for the bad who goes out of his way in risky situations to guide Chihiro, but also needs to be rescued throughout the movie. He also grows as Chihiro helps him to become warmer and more caring. Yubaba is an interesting villain; she's a powerful witch but comes off feeling more like a shrewd businessperson. She doesn't want to hire Chihiro as dead weight at first, but then she doesn't want to let her out of her grip. A favorite character of mine has always been No-Face. He feels very mysterious as the movie introduces him and is slowly revealed as a monster, but instead of being dropped as the conflict is resolved, he finds the friend he was looking for in Chihiro and journeys with her as she nears her goal. The cast is all strong and gets stronger as the movie progresses and they're all endearing on some level.
The art is as good as any of the other Miyazaki movies and is definitely better in some aspects. The scenery in this movie is absolutely beautiful - the main areas evoke the feeling of a festival that fits the resort nature of a bathhouse and the supernatural feel of the parading spirits. And all those spirits have very creative and unique designs straight out of a dream or a nightmare. The style gets more soothing and relaxing as they leave the island at one point, which fits in that Chihiro is distancing herself from the source of her problems. The animation is one aspect I feel showed the improvement more than others. Everything on screen moved so fluidly and so well, particularly some of the larger monsters. One example that stood out to me was the oh-so-creatively named Stink Spirit, a sludgy creature covered in oozing mud with greasy oils bubbling out of him. All the movements of both the creature and these substances felt realistic and intricately detailed and lent a crucial feeling of life to the creation.
The soundtrack stood out to me as one of his best, with the music always fitting and adding a lot to the scenes. The spirit island had this traditional music that sounded very festive and ancient much like the spirits themselves and could even be somewhat intimidating at times. A lot of the other music felt very uplifting and cheery while being subdued and really fit the overall tone of the film. The dub cast was, in my opinion, the best Disney has gathered for one of Miyazaki's films, which is interesting as they didn't quite get as much big name talent here. Daveigh Chase sounded a bit rough as Chihiro but really did being the feel of a scared young child to her performance but still acted well in her composed and serious bits. Jason Marsden's serious and sometimes cold performance as Haku fit the character very well, and Suzanne Pleshette as Yubaba sounded like a perfect cackling old witch. Another of the standout performances to me was David Odgen Stiers as Kamaji the boiler worker. He sounded very crotchety and cranky at first like an old man without time from some brat underfoot, but as Kamaji connected with Chihiro he also provided some very good softspoken and caring lines as well.
Spirited Away is the best of all of Miyazaki's movies in my opinion and is probably still the best anime movie I've ever seen. I would enthusiastically recommend this movie to anyone and everyone, and I definitely feel that kids and adults alike will find the movie memorable, enjoyable, and heartwarming. It deserves all its acclaim and is definitely something to consider for people who have no experience with anime.
We wrap up Miyazaki Madness next time with Howl's Moving Castle. (I own this one, so expect it perhaps a bit sooner!)
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