Spirited Away is a fantastic and deep movie, with characters that feel very much alive, even though they're obviously animated drawings. Miyazaki, the director, deliberately instructed his animators to focus on the tiny human details of everyday actions, such as eating. The animators were actually in the studio's cafeteria, filming their coworkers. This attention to detail is what makes the movie come alive. Chihiro sits down and carefully inches her way down a steep stairway on the outside of a building. Chihiro's mother bites a strip of meat off a cooked bird, and pulls sideways with her jaw, not straight out. (The meat doesn't streeeeetch and pop, either.) It just seems REAL.

And then, of course, the movie really begins and things get somewhat surreal. The parade of creatures crossing the bridge is just the beginning: Robed figures wearing masks and holding fans in front of their faces, creatures that appear to be giant chickadees, weird monster-like creatures with tusks and horns and green hair. And they're being welcomed by humanish frogs. And that's just the beginning of the movie.

But, at the same time, with all these fantastic spirits and creatures, the movie maintains its human element: Chihiro. She is the only real human in most of the movie, and it is her ability to adapt, and to care, that propels the story. Chiriho grows. She learns that she has to make it on her own initiative if she wants to get what she needs.

If you're still with me, hopefully you're not of the mind that cartoons are just for kids. This movie has a PG rating for a reason. It's not for young children. There is some blood, and a few moments that would probably scare anyone under the age of 8 or so. However, this movie is for kids and adults not because of that, but because of how deep and meaningful its story is. Months after seeing it in theatres, I was still picking out pieces of theme from the film. There is a lot in here: Themes of identity and names, friendship, giving, family, greed, love, bravery, survival, maturity, and self-sacrifice.

Miyazaki also gave the story another aspect of realism: There is no clearly-defined "good" and "bad" guy. The heroine (Chihiro) is not perfect, though she tries hard to be strong. The 'villain' has a warm, caring side that she reserves for only one person. The mysterious character with unclear motives takes an unexpected turn. Miyazaki refuses to paint the story in extremes of black and white. What does this mean? He writes the story with all the detail and care it deserves, knowing you'll have to be paying attention.

All of this to say, watch this movie. I believe you'll thank me for it.

86 of 92 found the following review helpful:

I was Blown Away  Feb 19, 2003
By Royce E. Buehler "figvine"
Chihiro, a typical slightly spoiled ten year old girl, wanders off the beaten path with her parents, and is thrust into a bewildering otherworld. Her parents have soon fallen under a malign enchantment, and suddenly it falls to her, with the aid of a mysteriously familiar boy named Haku, to rescue them. She has to decide where to place her trust, as it becomes apparent that Haku is in the service of the villainous tyrant grandmother Yabubu, who rules over this otherworld.

It is Chihiro's spirit that steers her through these uncharted waters. We watch her discover in herself and exhibit, tentatively at first but with growing confidence, all of the virtues a fairy-tale hero must learn: resourcefulness, compassion, politeness (hey, this *is* Japanese!) and courage. Because we've witnessed her ordinary beginnings, we identify with and believe in all her emerging qualities. It's all done with a deft matter-of-fact touch that never cloys and never preaches. The animation is quietly dazzling. The plot is dense and full of surprises. The symbolism is as exotic as a Shinto shrine, and as familiar as the echos set up by the best fairy tales from Hans Christian Andersen or old Russia.

The cream of American animation for children in recent years - films like Aladdin or Monsters Inc - have drawn in audiences with screenplays written on a double track: a simple, comforting story for the kids, and a long series of nods and winks over the kids' heads to the adults, catering to our sense of irony and patting us on the back for catching all the topical and cinematic references. And that's been fun as far as it goes.

"Spirited Away" throws all that into the dustbin, goes back to the basics, to the conventions and surprises of timeless fairy tale, to a character-based humor that appeals to all ages, and to the sense of wonder that reawakens the child in everyone. It's an hour and a half of pure, funny poetry. It hits every mark it aims for. It's an unqualified classic. And it will become the first DVD I buy for my two year old grandson, even though it will have to be held in trust until he turns six, and can watch it without being freaked out by the spooky parts.

86 of 94 found the following review helpful:

A Lesson For Disney  Mar 14, 2003
By A. Liu
While Major Hollywood studios believe the audiences are tired of watching plain hand-drawn cartoons and began to incorporate more special effects into 2-D animation, yet with disappointing results (Titan A.E., Atlantis, and the most recent Treasure Planet), they have almost totally given up on traditional animation, and focus on producing 3-D computer animation. After a series of successful and charming CG cartoon, one could not help but to wonder: is this the end of hand-drawn cartoon artists? (some may argue that they could get the job as storyboard artists)

The point that they are really missing is, what is missing from the recent 2-D animation features, is not the blasting visual effects, or floor cracking sounds. The real thing that is missing from them is a "heart".

See "Toy Story", "A Bug's Life", and "Monsters, Inc." (all produced by Pixar Studio, who is, in the writer's opinion, superior than their rival competitors), while they are indeed visually revolutionary, the focus is still on story telling - story that combines humor, excitement, and ultimately family-oriented heart-warming theme.

"Spirited Away" is simply magical, enchanting, funny, and genuinely touching. In the beginning of the film some may be distracted by the in comparison lower frame-rate (i.e. the character movements may not seem as smooth compare to the Hollywood animations), but you will not be able to help but to awe at each beautifully rendered frame. The artistic level and the use of colors in the drawing are all first class. Moreover, 30 minutes into the film, you will probably forget it is drawings that you are watching, because everything inside the screen all comes alive! (Perhaps because it reaches a certain realistic level, some of the scene may be too grizzly and scary)

It did not become the highest grossing movie in Japan ever for no reason, and it certainly deserves more attention it received in the western world. The ballroom scene in "Beauty and the Beast" never fails to bring tears in my eyes, and it reminds us why we watch cartoon in the beginning. "Spirited Away" achieves in the same way, and it achieves it like a breeze among all these competitions today.

44 of 47 found the following review helpful:

Great Movie!  Apr 06, 2003

I really didn't want to see this movie at first, but I forced to as it was my brother's birthday, and he is an animation fanatic.

Even though I'm fifteen and like to think of myself as above cartoon movies, this has quickly turned into one of my favorite movies, prompting a fifth visit to my local theater to see it. Everytime I see it, I notice something different about it, that I didn't before.

It has a fantastic plot, and really transports you to a different world where not everything is as it seems on the surface. It really absorbs you. There are sad parts, and well as funny parts, and you feel the emotions of the charachters.

Despite the PG rating, this movie may scare little kids, as there is some pretty weird stuff going on in the movie, such as people beng transformed into pigs, several monsters, dragons, and some animated blood.

This is definitely one of the most enjoyable movies I have seen in a really long time.

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