‘Spirited Away, ’ other anime
succeed where Hollywood fails
Movie review
Aaron Shakra
Pulse Reporter
Presently, animated films are
more prolific and profitable than
ever. Recent releases such as “Mon
sters, Inc.,” “Atlantis: The Lost Em
pire” and “Shrek” have become ver
itable cash cows for their respective
movie studios, thanks to extensive
theatrical and video marketing cam
paigns and their kid-tailored appeal.
But animated films with ideas to
match one-for-one the pretty, flick
ering candy-colored images are still
rare. Japanese filmmakers have fre
quently provided where the vacuous
Hollywood system has failed — look
no farther than “Ghost in the Shell,”
“Akira,” or even “Final Fantasy: The
Spirits Within” as examples.
“Sen to Ghihiro no kamikakushi”
or “Spirited Away,” is the latest
treasure in this tradition of anime.
The film has become insanely popu
lar in Japan and now stands as the
highest grossing film in the country’s
box office history.
Hayao Miyazaki, the film’s creator
(director and writer), was also re
sponsible for “Princess Mononoke”
(or “Mononoke Hime”), which hit
U.S. theaters three years ago.
“Spirited Away” is different from
“Princess Mononoke,” but it main
tains spiritual connections to the
film, circling around familiar view
points regarding nature and superfi
ciality. It also keeps a familiar ani
mation aesthetic, although the
imagery and look of characters from
“Spirited Away” have a sensibility
that’s slightly psychedelic.
Also like “Princess Mononoke,” the
film’s dialogue has been dubbed by an
American cast for its U.S. release.
John Lasseter, the director of “A Bug’s
Life” and both “Toy Story” films, su
pervised this effort in an attempt to
match the English spoken words with
the animated mouth movements of
the characters accurately.
The beginning of the film is set in
modern-day Japan, complete with
cars, highways and tall buildings. Chi
hiro, a young girl, rides in the back
seat of her parents’ upscale vehicle.
The three are in the process of mov
ing into a new home. Yet, by the father
literally taking a wrong turn, the fami
ly ends up being drawn into a surreal,
ethereal world run by spirits, but also
inhabited by human beings.
Eventually, the parents’ own in
dulgence leads them to being turned
into pigs, leaving the heroine in this
place on her own. If this sounds too
much like a set-up, it’s executed
strangely enough to work.
The only character who might be
considered a villain is Yubaba, a
woman who runs a bathhouse and
keeps her workers by “taking” their
names — so they can’t remember
who they are.
Much of the film is set inside the
bathhouse. A great scene involves a
character called “No-Face,” who is
accidentally let into the bathhouse
by Sen (Chihiro, who is forced to
surrender her name in order to sur
vive) and eventually develops an in
fatuation for her. No-Face starts giv
ing gold to everyone in his path, and
before long, the entire bathhouse is
at his whim. As he is unable to find
Sen, his rage grows; he eventually
starts eating people. Later, Sen is
able to lead him out of the bath
house, but instead of casting him off
or running away, she asks No-Face
Japanese
filmmaker
Hayao
Miyazaki's
"Spirited
Away" is
playing at
Eugene's
Bijou Art
Cinemas.
Courtesy photo
to become a companion on a jour
ney she’s about to undertake.
This exchange might come across
as generic or false, but this is one of
the strengths of “Spirited Away”:
Even its most saccharin, bittersweet
moments are able to remain gen
uine. Attribute this to the strengths
of the characters and plot, which
contains no thick or pronounced
lines. Things don’t happen the way
they would typically be expected to.
There are no “good guys” and no
“bad guys.”
The spiritual world that Ghihiro
inhabits maintains strong thematic
connections to the “real” world
where the narrative begins. While
there’s more than meets the eye in
both places, even in the spirit world,
the characters and events maintain
a connection to this reality. When
Ghirhiro, and viewers finally return
to this world, both are left changed.
Nothing more can be asked for in a
film, and this is what makes “Spirit
ed Away” great.
The film is now playing at Bijou
Art Cinemas.
Contact the Pulse reporter
at aaronshakra@dailyemerald.com.
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