SPIRITED AWAY by Hayao Miyazaki

Last weekend Big Chimp and I watched the coolest movie. Why bring this up on a book blog? Well, this particular film was recommended to us as an example of good storytelling by our creative writing professor a couple of years back. Of course, the same professor recommended that we study Mikhail Bakhtin's literary theories, so he doesn't have the greatest track record (I love literature, but chronotopes this and unfinalizability that, yawn).

Anyway, the film was Hayao Miyazaki's Spirited Away. I've never really watched anime before, so I didn't quite know what to expect, but wow it was good! I'm not a huge Disney fan (aside from The Lion King and Mulan, which are awesome films), so it was refreshing to see a cartoon that didn't involve a formulaic plot peppered with gender stereotypes randomly bursting into song (Disney did handle the English dubbing and US release of Spirited Away, but they stayed true to the original version, making only a few minor adjustments for the sake of clarification for Western audiences).


The film tells the story of ten year-old Chihiro, who is upset that she has to move to a new area away from all of her friends. The movie opens with Chihiro and her parents in the car on the way to their new house. Her father misses the turn off, and they end up on a dirt road in the middle of the woods. When the family decides to explore a strange-looking tunnel, they find what appears to be an abandoned amusement park, but is actually a spirit town whose chief attraction is a bathhouse for the spirits. When her parents are imprisoned by the sinister witch, Yubaba, Chihiro must work with a motley band of spirits and humans to gain freedom for her family.


Visually, the animation is beautiful. It feels like the creators have really taken the time to make it look nice, with vibrant colors and intricate details. We watched the English dubbed version, which sounded fine, though hardcore anime fans tend to prefer the original Japanese with subtitles. The plot is wonderfully bizarre, and at points a bit unsettling (I found myself exclaiming "What the f---?!" at regular intervals, but in a good way). I wish I had an imagination like Hayao Miyazaki's. I really do.


See this film! That's all I can say. You won't be disappointed.