Spirited Away – Movie Review
I have lost count of the number of times I have watched “Spirited Away.”
This Japanese animated movie is about a 10-year-old protagonist who remains steadfast throughout the mission.
Spirited Away is an English version of the Japanese animated movie by Hayao Miyazaki. A 10-year-old, Chihiro gets lost in an alternative universe. She has to go through a series of dangerous tests to go home and reunite with her parents. This story might remind you of the wonderful Wizard of Oz and Alice in Wonderland. Like me, you will root for young Chihiro, who is willing to do whatever it takes to endure the challenges.
This little girl battles with an evil adversary. She must overcome fear, selfishness, greed inside herself, entitlement, and gluttony to pass this test. She does the shadow work, learns to love herself, and takes back her projection. Throughout this process, she and others around her heal.
The Background and Plot
The movie begins with a cute little family – mother, father, and little daughter in a gleaming Audi Saloon head to their new home. Young Chihiro is miserable about leaving her friends behind. Chihiro is scared, and feelings of loneliness creep up on her.
Her family gets lost in strange and secluded woodland. They park the car and walk into a tunnel and emerge into a deserted theme park. They are tucked into a buffet, which apparently is laid out for them. The couple turns fat and then converts into slobbering pigs. Chihiro is horrified by the sight.
The theme park leads to a gigantic bathhouse that is lavishly decorated. A friendly boy warns her, but it’s too late. Chihiro ventures inside this sacred place (spirit bathhouse), where she is a wanted human fugitive and fails to find a way out. The boy tells her everyone here must have a job and sends her to Kamaji. He is an older man with eight limbs who runs a boiler room. He encourages Chihiro to apply to Yababa.
Yababu, the priestess and proprietress of the bathhouse, offers her a deal. She will agree to tolerate Chihiro as long as she proves to be useful. The only way to see her family again is to appeal to Yubaba. Here is the beginning of an extraordinary adventure.
There are no humans in the bathhouse except for her. Yababa places her under a spell and steals her name. She is now called Sen. The deal is, Sen can’t leave unless she gets her old name back.
Get Familiar with the Mysterious Beings
Be prepared to see extraordinary beings in the bathhouse, such as fuzzy black balls that look harmless but have two eyeballs. They end up stealing Sen’s shoes. Then, there are several transparent creatures with no faces. They wear a mask over the shrouds.
At times, three giant heads without bodies pop up, looking angry. There is a river-like creature with a body made of piles of pollution. Then there are shapeshifters. And the friendly boy Sen we met at the beginning of the story.
Sen determines to win the audience’s affection, please Yababa, regain her name and take the daily train to return home.
Miyazaki claims he made this film for 10-year-old girls. If you re-watch the movie, those millennials who are adults now understand that it grossed more than Titanic in Japan. Also, it was the first foreign film in history to open in America that made $200+ million.
Subtle Hidden Messages in the Movie
The movie is compatible with teens as well. The film contains some heavy-weighted messages, but there is enough simplicity to reach every teen’s heart. Miyazaki’s previous movies, such as Valley of the Wind, included violent acts that kids cannot watch without a guardian’s supervision. In other products such as Kiki’s Delivery Service, Miyazaki took the opportunity to criticize modern children’s upbringing and how they are spoiled. In Spirited Away, he took the opportunity to show that Chihiro is an indulged child who is constantly sulking and has a foul mood.
As the movie begins, she refuses to go further to satisfy her curiosity. Gradually, she figures out that she has no one but herself.
Several motifs are embedded in this movie. Miyazaki gave the allusion to the society for longing for this momentary world. As shown, the film is associated with human greed and impurity, which has caused disturbances in Gods’ world, which is why a human is forbidden in that area. No wonder Chihiro’s parents are cursed and transform into pigs.
Another motif that Miyazaki has tried to explain through the movie is the pollution problem. Remember the scene when the River God visits the bathhouse for cleansing? At first, he is mistaken to be a Stink God, and nobody wanted him to enter the bathhouse. Chihiro cleans him.
Later in the movie, it was revealed that Haku used to be a spirit of the Kohaku River, but the river lost his home because of an apartment building. The point was to abandon the theme park. Motifs like these have been evident in Miyazaki’s previous productions as well.
In case you have watched other movies by Miyazaki, you will agree that they are easier to absorb than the frantic action, which is found in most American animation. Miyazaki is not scared of silence, which is why it’s so evident in his work. He focuses on underlying emotions.
About the Main Characters
Now let’s have a look at the characters in the movie:
Chihiro
This ten years old girl has brown hair, brown eyes, and pink cheeks. She has a childish appearance and a chubby face.
Throughout her spirit world journey, Chihiro matures from a girl who gets scared easily to a hardworking, responsible, and brave young girl. She sheds her former personality and transforms into a witty, courageous and reliable young girl.
Haku
Haku is a protagonist himself. He is about the same age as Chihiro or maybe a year or two older. He has a straight black bob and is capable of transforming into a dragon.
Haku has multiple personalities. At times he has been kindhearted and supportive, while other times, he appears strict. But he is the type of person who doesn’t hesitate in sticking his neck out for the people he cares about. He remains steadfast in helping Chihiro. As the movie progresses, it is revealed that Haku is Yubaba’s slave, and she controls him with a black worm in his body.
Lin
She is one of the servants at Yababa’s Bathhouse. He becomes Chihiro’s caretaker.
Lin is stubborn, strong-hearted, and has a bossy nature. She often uses sarcastic words. But she is very protective of Chihiro. The only problem with this character was she wasn’t always cooperative.
Kamaji
He’s a senior with six long arms. Initially, he seemed uncaring and cold but eventually grew a soft spot for Chihiro.
The Stunningly Hard-Drawn Art Work
What surprised me was that the animation was hand-drawn. Everything is organic. It was produced before things got digitalized. The quality of the artwork is dazzling. Everything is astonishing, from scenes such as the complex palace and sunrise through the mist to settings in the sunny flower garden.
The film was released two years after it was made. It’s available in the original Japanese version with subtitles as well as dubbed with American voices.
Sen’s adventurers also feature plenty of strange vents that match the alluring nature of the visuals. For anyone who is watching, it’s easy to become invested in her journey, and everyone wants her to succeed—the strange and inexplicably fascinating nature of the spirit world kind of makes you wish to stay. And the fact that Sen may not see characters such as Haku again once she unites with her family is saddening.
The movie shares some surface similarities with the children’s literature in the west and ancient Japanese folklore. However, a child’s quest to find the inner strength to confront the challenges she is faced with has rarely been seen in any other movie before. The way the story is told is quite inescapable.
Whether you are watching the movie for the first time or 5th, you will love every bit of it. If you have seen Princess Monokie, Spirited Away retains some of the god-theme scopes.
The nuanced facial expression shown in the characters is impeccable. The movie has many moving parts from thematic to technical, making Spirited Away stand out from the crowd.
Conclusion
Spirited Away is a movie for kids of all ages. Call it a self-fulfillment drama that touches ecological, ethical, psychological, and religious problems. Miyazaki has admitted that Yubaba’s bathhouse is a parody of his Studio Ghibli.
The movie is a masterpiece, and every bit is captivating. With every challenge, Chihiro moves closer to spiritual enlightenment. You can’t help but root for Chihiro and feel relieved when she overcomes all challenges and reunites with her family.
