Spirited Away (animated)

We watched this with our 9-year-old granddaughter. She was locked on the story for the whole two yours and she found none of it scary. Some of the monsters or the spooky spirits might frighten a younger child, but that will vary with individuals. This was the highest grossing animated film in Japanese history and it also won a Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival. US reviewers have given it high marks.

The standout features for me were the wildly imaginative visuals, characters and events. These were augmented by the Japanese venue, the colors used and the background music, a nice solo piano against a background orchestra. Theres a strong moral component in this film represented by the ethical conflicts confronting Chihiro, the 9-year-old protagonist. These conflicts provide her and other characters with scenarios of social significance. Theres also some quirky humor, like the funny little critters that try to finesse Chihiro into doing their job for them.

The plot construct begins with Chihiros parents transformed into pigs due to their disregard for unusual surroundings and their reckless decisions, another lesson built into the script. The primary storyline revolves around Chihiros efforts to save her parents, although there is a less dramatic parallel plot that involves Haku, an older boy who befriends Chihiro. Chihiros long struggle with tests devised by the spirits seems very much like the endless obstacles in video games. I found this the weakest thing for me in the storyline. I felt it dragged on a little too long, although it didnt seem to bother our granddaughter.

This was essentially a one-man artistic effort by Hayao Miyazaki who did all the animation and directed the film. He was also given credit on the DVD for Castle in the Sky, Kikis Delivery Serivce and My Neighbor Totoro although he has many earlier films. He agreed to let Disney introduce all of his work to the rest of the world when they promised no alterations and no cuts. You will notice his attention to details in the way Chihiro puts on her shoes in one of the scenes in the boiler room. I was also impressed with the facial expressions he was able to achieve using limited changes.

The only real technical challenge was the timing for the voice over translation to English. The actors got some support from individual monitors and Automated Dialogue Replacement (ADR) software, but the scripting and reading required care in order to achieve the appropriate emotional impact.

Reviewed June 14, 2003