Spirited Away - Director: Hiyao Miyazaki
Main Feature:
Wow, wow, wow!
That’s all I could think to myself when I reach the end of Spirited Away last night. This is an absolutely stunning release from one of my favourite creators of anime - Hiyao Miyazaki. I would say this is one of the most visually appealing animated films I have seen in a while. The colours were rich; the detail exceptional - this film was simply a pleasure to watch. I’ve seen other films of Miyazaki’s and he has always impressed me with his original ideas and lifelike characters. Spirited Away is no exception.
This is the story of Chihiro, a 10 year old brat, who is on her way to a new home in the suburbs when she and her (unnamed) parents happen across a deserted village after taking a wrong turn. Chihiro’s mother and father, inexplicably, engorge themselves on a delicious spread of food they come across while exploring. Chihiro senses something is wrong and runs off - only to find, when she returns, that her parents have turned into pigs. As she stands in horror, and watches her transformed parents continue to stuff their faces, darkness falls and faceless spirits begin to appear.
Chihiro is then thrust into a world where gods and spirits are real, and humans are considered nothing more than a snack. She makes friends with a boy named Haku who helps her in getting a job at a nearby house - which ends up being a spa for thousands of Japanese gods. We meet the hilarious villain Yubaba, an ugly witch who is the owner of the bathhouse who gives Chihiro the new name of Sen.
Sen, as she is known in this new world, now has to find a way to free her parents and escape from an eternity of scrubbing stinky baths.
The characters in Spirited Away are fantastic - especially the witch Yubaba. The detail on her is fantastic. I loved one scene where she swept her cape around herself, her massive nose the only thing showing, while she subtly morphs into a crow like creature and flies into the distance.
The voice acting was also brilliant. Rumi Hiragi did an excellent job as Chihiro - her voice never whiney (as can happen in a lot of anime) and always engaging. I watched the DVD with Japanese audio and English subtitles, as I find the original Japanese soundtrack is usually much better than an English dub. I did however, watch some scenes with the English soundtrack turned on, to see what it was like - and I have to say that it was one of the more impressive dubs I’ve heard on an anime. I’m guessing this was because of the film being picked up by Disney.
While watching Spirited Away, there were many moments where I was completely wrapped up in the story, my eyes glued to the screen - and even the 2 hour running time felt like 15 minutes when I reached the end. The story flows wonderfully and it really took me back to when I was a child - watching movies like The Never Ending Story and The Dark Crystal. There’s something about pure fantasy that really sucks me in - and one thing that’s great about Miyazaki’s films (and anime in general) is that they can be a little bit scary without going to far. This is definitely something that children and adults can enjoy together.
Overall I give Spirited Away 4.5/5 stars. Definitely something I could watch a few times and still enjoy.
DVD Details:
Video:
Anamorphic Widescreen Enhanced 2.0:1
Sound:
English Dolby Digital 5.1
DTS Japanese 5.1
Japanese Dolby Digital 5.1
English Subtitles & Captions (for the hearing impaired)
Extras:
There are no extras to speak of, but due to the superior quality of the video in this film, and the different high quality audio options available, I didn’t expect there to be much. When you reach the end of the film and are presented with the DVD credits, you have an option to view included trailers (at least 10) which showcase some of the current (and upcoming) titles available from Madman Entertainment.
I understand there is a Special Edition available which has behind the scenes and other extras on a second DVD.