Review of Spirited Away

Introduction

I love anime, which probably won`t come as much of a surprise to those who read my reviews. But it was only relatively recently that I saw my first Ghibli film. That`s like someone who professes to like pop music, never having heard a Beatles track. After a false start (The UK Disney version of Princess Mononoke was returned to the shop unwatched when I realised that it only had dubtitles), I got the Optimum release of Spirited Away, and finally realised what I had been missing. Since then, I have enjoyed the occasional Ghibli feature, but in a sea of fast food anime, a Ghibli film is like a gourmet meal. It isn`t something I can watch every day, but is best savoured on special occasions. Over a year after I bought the disc, I felt like revisiting the magical world of Spirited Away once more.

Chihiro is a ten-year-old girl whose family is moving house. She`s been uprooted from her school and her friends, and understandably she is sulking. But on the drive to their new house, her father gets lost and takes a wrong turn down an overgrown road that leads to a tunnel. Her parents are in the mood to explore despite her protests, and the other side of the tunnel reveals an abandoned town that her father assumes to be part of a theme park. It is nothing of the sort, and her parents make the mistake of eating some freshly prepared food at an empty stall. As a punishment they are turned into pigs, and Chihiro is put to work at a bathhouse that caters for countless gods and magical spirits. The bathhouse is run by the sorceress Yubaba, who is perfectly happy enslaving Chihiro and her parents for eternity. Chihiro will have to keep her wits to rescue her family; fortunately she has the help of a young spirit named Haku with whom she shares a mysterious connection.

Video

Spirited Away gets an anamorphic transfer that eyeballs at something like 2.0:1. By and large it is an excellent transfer, clear, sharp and colourful throughout, and betraying the merest smidgen of grain at times. The only flaw is in a couple of scenes of complex motion that are afflicted by compression artefacts. Given the general quality of the transfer, they are quite noticeable, but do not really mar the viewing experience.

This is a film to savour, richly designed, beautifully animated and a visual feast throughout. CGI is rarely and subtly used to enhance the experience, and seamlessly blended into the traditional 2D animation. The variety of characters and the lush environments are a cut above what we see in other similar animations, and any frame could be hung on a wall as a piece of art.

Audio

You get a choice of DD 5.1 Japanese and English, as well as a DD 2.0 Stereo track, complemented by translated English subtitles. The surround tracks are nice and make effective use of the soundstage to convey this magical world. The dialogue is clear throughout, although the layer change is awkwardly placed. Joe Hisaishi, regular Miyazaki collaborator scores the music for the film, and his music is the perfect accompaniment to the story. Normally, an English dub would be my last choice, but this is an exceptional one with good performances from all concerned. Above all, it`s worth it just to savour those lavish visuals without interference from subtitle captions.

Features

This two disc set comes with nicely animated menus that do not give too much of the story away.

Disc 1 has feature length storyboards to accompany the film implemented as a multi-angle feature. I`m not likely to watch the whole film in storyboard form, although it is a nice option to see the origin of a particular scene.

The rest of the extras are on Disc 2.

John Lasseter waxes lyrical about Spirited Away for a minute in the introduction. Hearing someone exhorting you to watch the film that you already own is hardly a well placed advertisement. Look on the bright side; it could have been an unskippable feature on Disc 1 that you had to watch before the movie. Or worse, it could have been one of those misbegotten piracy ads.

The most substantial feature on this disc is the Making Of featurette, clocking in at 48 minutes. It begins with 5 minutes of the film, but then settles down into your standard behind the scenes piece. There are plenty of hard-working artists with Miyazaki cracking the whip, well actually making lunch, but we can see the stress caused by deadlines. There is also a look at the dubbing process, the sound design and the music recording. There is also an awkward jump cut some 15 minutes that loses some dialogue.

Behind The Microphone - Voice Talent Featurette lasts 6 minutes and allows us to see the English language cast at work.

Meet Hayao Miyazaki lasts 2 minutes, with John Lasseter and Hayao Miyazaki ambushed in a corridor with a microphone.

The Japanese Trailers & TV Spots last 31 minutes. After watching the film, I`m not that inclined to see the trailers, and certainly not 31 minutes of them.

Speaking of which, the Theatrical Trailer for Spirited Away that advertised the film in the West is also here, as well as a trailer for The Cat Returns.

Conclusion

I never realised that a film could be so beautiful that it could make the heart ache until I saw Spirited Away. This film is magical work of art, presenting a world and characters that take the breath away, that are easy to lose yourself in. The film lasts 2 hours, but that time compresses to a single moment of perfection as you watch. It`s not a matter of the time that you have spent, but the experience that you had watching it. Spirited Away won the Academy Award for animation in 2003, and it is easy to see why.


Spirited Away is a fairy tale of course. A young girl is taken from her safe comfortable world and transported to a magical realm. She`s initially self-indulgent and a little spoiled, but she finds herself alone and lost, without her family to rely on. She has to grow and find it within herself to be selfless, to find her way back to the real world. In this world, she`ll find beings to challenge her, as well as friends that will help her. The fascinating and magical characters aside, it`s a simple timeless story of the sort that has enchanted audiences for hundreds of years.

And like the best fairy tales, this film has a hint of darkness to it, or a better word would be realism. Whereas the Grimm fairy tales would have some pretty horrific imagery to go with them, imagery that would cause a few headaches to saccharine filmmakers like Disney, Spirited Away offers a real child reacting to the wonders of this magical world. You won`t find any musical numbers or gags here, this film doesn`t resort to stereotypes of good and evil either, it`s the way that Chihiro reacts to what happens that is assured to gain sympathy. She`s initially overwhelmed by what happens to her to the point of exhaustion. It`s no wonder that she spends the first night in a daze, trying to come to terms with what is happening. It`s only the next day, when she finally sees her parents and finds time to sit down and eat, that the emotion catches up to her and she cries. It is the most natural reaction in the world, perfectly observed and judged and it tugs at my heartstrings every time. Miyazaki is a master of observation, and it`s the way that he flawlessly captures a moment in childhood that makes this film special. While the characters are magical, the emotion is real, and that makes all the difference.

It wouldn`t be a Miyazaki film without a message, and the pricking of environmental conscience is here once more, although subtly played out. Chihiro`s journey and personal growth are far more central, and the story focuses on that. There are a couple of minor issues with the transfer leaving it just short of the 10 mark, and the extras are a little underwhelming. Nothing can detract from the magnificence of this film though. Regardless of whether or not you like anime, this film is a must watch.