Spirited Away
This is what filmmaking is all about.
The animation genre is full of impossibilities in reality. Characters can survive incredible circumstances, not unlike the heroes and survivors we hear about in the real world, only a slight difference in that feats like theirs happen in the animation world every day. At every turn, something terrible happens. Someone gets kidnapped, evildoers threaten to take over the world and people are jolted from the comfort of predictability. Oh wait, that happens every day in the real world too. Not to be too cynical, but I believe the state of the world is becoming more and more like the middle ages, like the fantasy’s and tall tales we hear about, complete with all of the villains, but none of the heroes. We need more heroes. And I’m not talking about a savior of the world, but the little heroes, whose everyday lives and experiences make us all better, teach us something or make us smile. Spirited Away’s leading girl, Sen, is a great place to start.
Sen is an apathetic, bratty girl who keeps her eyes closed in a world abounding with color and life. Her parents have recently switched jobs, forcing the three of them to move away, away from the few things that Sen enjoyed. She is not happy. But her parents remind her new experiences always yield something fun and exciting, and that she should be hopeful she’ll find an even better life awaiting her.
The big move comes. Sen slouches over in the car, staring at the farewell notes from her friends, not stimulated in the least by the new surroundings upon her. Her father, typical man that he is, doesn’t bother asking for directions, taking every path he exclaims to be a shortcut without making sure on a map. They run into an eerie dead end, with religious statues of sorts and an abandoned train station. Beyond the train station they find a small town, devoid of life but strangely full of food on every counter and windowsill. Sen’s naïve parents dig right in. Sen futilely pleads with them to go back to the car.
Aggravated, she explores the town a little bit, coming across a man who tells her they must leave immediately before night falls. Unfortunately, by this point Sen’s snacking parents have been transformed into pigs, a fitting punishment according to head witch Yubaba. You see, Sen and her parents have stumbled upon the spirit world, and it is up to Sen, along with a few friends she’ll make along the way, to find her parents and change them back. It’s not as perilous as you might think, for she actually gets a job at the very place her parents are held, working for the very witch who transformed them. Meet the new spirit bath attendant.
The journey Sen takes is a complete joy to behold. Not only does she mature into a kind, effervescent girl, she learns to take care of herself, and to fight for the ones she loves. It’s stories like hers, real or not, which inspire and enlighten hearts. Hayao Miyazaki has crafted what many, including myself, believe to be his most masterful story yet. And he has the 2004 Academy Award for Best Animated Film to prove it. He has put together the entire package, from colorful characters and sets to excellent writing with a touch of humor and lighthearted fun. From beginning to end we’re concerned with Sen, from her apathy in the beginning to her perilous journey in the spirit world and whether or not she’ll see her parents again. She becomes a friend to all of us. Her story, and all that goes on around her, is pure movie magic: two hours of excitement and emotion providing just enough of a break to the hectic, crazed politics of the real world that everything seems a little bit better in the end.
Written by: Jason Villemez
Reviewers Rating: 9
Reader's Rating: 10.00
Reader's Votes: 1
Added: 21-Jul-2006
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