sirdizzy
Apr 13th, 2003, 01:25:56 PM
Spirited Away (2002)
Kids/Family, Science Fiction/Fantasy and Animation 2 hrs 4 min
MPAA Rating: PG for some scary moments
Starring: Daveigh Chase, Michael Chiklis, Susan Egan, Lauren Holly, Jason Marsden
Directed by: Hayao Miyazaki
Chihiro is a 10-year-old girl who has just found out her family will be moving. She is loath to go and start a new life in a totally new and scary place. But her parents assure her that everything will be ok and that she will love her new home and school. But along the way her father becomes lost and finds himself on a back road that appears to be little used and is overgrown by a forest. When they arrive at the end of the road they find themselves in front of a tunnel and some wards of the spirits in the form of statues and stones. The father curious to discover this new weird and wonderful tunnel urges his family to go in with him. When they reach the other side of the tunnel they appear to be in some type of abandoned amusement park, but oddly enough the food stalls still seem to be functioning, and as Chihiro's parents settle down for a free meal, Chihiro who does not trust this food stall wanders away to find herself in front of a huge bath house that still seems to be in operation. A boy named Haku appears and warns her that she must get across the river before dark or something terrible will happen. But it appears to be too late for Chichiro or her parents as night falls and the most fantastical creatures come out. Now Chichiro finds herself in a world of amazing and frightening creatures that befuddle her. Haku warns her that the sorceress who runs the bathhouse, named Yubaba, will try to steal her name and thus her identity. Chichiro’s only hope to escape this fantastical world is to try and gain work so that Yubaba won’t turn her into an animal and for that she must go to the boiler man Kamaji and beg for work before its too late as she finds herself in an amazing world of strange and oddity.
I have to admit I am not very familiar with the world of Japanese animation and went to see the movie because of its Oscar win for best animated film of the year. I have to say this one of the most fantastical journeys of wonder and beauty that I have ever seen in an animated film. Many may link this movie to Alice in Wonderland as it tells the same amazing journey of a little girl who finds herself in the most fantastic and odd world of creatures and her journey to get back home and all the adventure and friends she meets on the way. I was stunned by the movie and in awe throughout most of it, not for the animation which can be slightly odd to someone use to the western world of animated art but instead for the story that was so enthralling and wonderful that you could almost feel that you were there with Chichiro. This would be a modern take on the story of Alice with its own twists and turns and amazing events that made Alice such a good story. While the human characters may have seemed odd to me it was the creatures that absolutely enthralled me with their splendor and uniqueness so rarely seen. From dragons to river spirits to a creature called no name the supporting cast of animated oddities kept you entranced with strangeness in one scene after another. If all Japanese animation is like this, I have probably been missing something as this wasn’t your typical spewed out Disney film that just seemed to be in it for the money but instead it was a movie with wonder, and a story that completely overshadowed anything produced in the western world for a very long time. I am a fan of animation and have loved such movies as Toy Story and I believe this is a movie of such caliber and that needs to be seen by all.
5 stars out of 5
Kids/Family, Science Fiction/Fantasy and Animation 2 hrs 4 min
MPAA Rating: PG for some scary moments
Starring: Daveigh Chase, Michael Chiklis, Susan Egan, Lauren Holly, Jason Marsden
Directed by: Hayao Miyazaki
Chihiro is a 10-year-old girl who has just found out her family will be moving. She is loath to go and start a new life in a totally new and scary place. But her parents assure her that everything will be ok and that she will love her new home and school. But along the way her father becomes lost and finds himself on a back road that appears to be little used and is overgrown by a forest. When they arrive at the end of the road they find themselves in front of a tunnel and some wards of the spirits in the form of statues and stones. The father curious to discover this new weird and wonderful tunnel urges his family to go in with him. When they reach the other side of the tunnel they appear to be in some type of abandoned amusement park, but oddly enough the food stalls still seem to be functioning, and as Chihiro's parents settle down for a free meal, Chihiro who does not trust this food stall wanders away to find herself in front of a huge bath house that still seems to be in operation. A boy named Haku appears and warns her that she must get across the river before dark or something terrible will happen. But it appears to be too late for Chichiro or her parents as night falls and the most fantastical creatures come out. Now Chichiro finds herself in a world of amazing and frightening creatures that befuddle her. Haku warns her that the sorceress who runs the bathhouse, named Yubaba, will try to steal her name and thus her identity. Chichiro’s only hope to escape this fantastical world is to try and gain work so that Yubaba won’t turn her into an animal and for that she must go to the boiler man Kamaji and beg for work before its too late as she finds herself in an amazing world of strange and oddity.
I have to admit I am not very familiar with the world of Japanese animation and went to see the movie because of its Oscar win for best animated film of the year. I have to say this one of the most fantastical journeys of wonder and beauty that I have ever seen in an animated film. Many may link this movie to Alice in Wonderland as it tells the same amazing journey of a little girl who finds herself in the most fantastic and odd world of creatures and her journey to get back home and all the adventure and friends she meets on the way. I was stunned by the movie and in awe throughout most of it, not for the animation which can be slightly odd to someone use to the western world of animated art but instead for the story that was so enthralling and wonderful that you could almost feel that you were there with Chichiro. This would be a modern take on the story of Alice with its own twists and turns and amazing events that made Alice such a good story. While the human characters may have seemed odd to me it was the creatures that absolutely enthralled me with their splendor and uniqueness so rarely seen. From dragons to river spirits to a creature called no name the supporting cast of animated oddities kept you entranced with strangeness in one scene after another. If all Japanese animation is like this, I have probably been missing something as this wasn’t your typical spewed out Disney film that just seemed to be in it for the money but instead it was a movie with wonder, and a story that completely overshadowed anything produced in the western world for a very long time. I am a fan of animation and have loved such movies as Toy Story and I believe this is a movie of such caliber and that needs to be seen by all.
5 stars out of 5