A few years ago I first watched Hayao Miyazaki’s Spirited Away for the first time. At that time I knew that I saw something different and in my opinion something better than any other animations I was used to. I went on to see Miyazaki’s Howl’s Moving Castle and again I was hooked on the beauty of Hayao Miyazaki’s films. Watching this film again recently later reminded me of the reasons I liked Spirited Away in the first place. But this time I also find myself looking at the film from a very different perspective. I have become aware of the camera movements, the music and mostly the amazing artwork and colors. I also found myself interested in learning more about Hayao Miyazaki and curious about his inspirations.
Hayao Miyazaki has been a world-renowned director of animation and manga since 1963. He has won numerous awards for his works including an Oscar for Best Animated Feature for Spirited Away at the 75th Academy Awards, 2002 Best Film and Best Song Awards at the Japanese Academy, 2002 New York Critics Circle Award and a Golden Bear for Spirited Away at the 2002 Berlin International Film Festival. He directed and wrote the original Japanese screenplay Sen and Chihiro no kamikakuhi which was released in Japan in July 2001. Because of his reputation, Walt Disney Films with Pixar’s Director John Lesseter were eager to translate this film into an English version Spirited Away which was released in North America in 2002. Miyazaki’s film received raved reviews and has grossed more that $274 million dollars. It is the highest grossing film in Japanese history.
Spirited Away is a Japanese fairytale that centers on a ten year old girl Chihiro. Chihiro because of love is transformed from a sulky and unadventurous girl to a brave, hardworking and compassionate one. Chihiro and her family find themselves in an abandoned theme park where Chihiro’s parents gorge on food that was meant for the gods. The abandoned theme park turns out to be a bath house for the gods, where humans are not welcome. Because of Chihiro’s parents indiscretions they are turned into pigs. Chihiro is now alone in a strange world where she is not wanted. She needs to not only protect herself but to rescue her parents. Along the way Chihiro shows feisty determination and an unselfish love towards her new friend Haku and other members of this strange world. Not only is she transformed but they are transformed as well. Disney Pictures released along with the DVD of Spirited Away a second disk explaining some of the background of the making of Spirited Away. In this disk the narrator explains that Miyazaki takes inspiration from people he knows. I learned that Miyazaki’s inspiration for Chihiro was a ten year old daughter of a friend. Miyazaki wanted to put this girl’s feisty nature down in a film before she matured and changed.
For me the storyline was a typical story of self transformation. It centered on unselfish love and self confidence. It reminded the viewer of the importance of not losing themselves and to never let anyone take away their identity. It was a good storyline that kept moving at a quick pace. The music kept the story moving as well. The quiet piano keys and the more sweeping orchestra music were timed perfectly. The camera movements driving through the bushes and tracing the eel moving up towards the sky gave the film energy. Those camera angles along with the tight close up of the character Yubaba’s wrinkled and bird-like face were some of my favorites. I also liked the movement of the car passing telephone lines of the city. It seemed to show the movement of Chihiro from one world into a new one. What I think made this film so effective and better than most animations was its artwork. The drawings of the old style Japanese buildings were beautiful and had so many incredible details. From the drawings of the stone steps leading up to the buildings to the wooden floors everything looked very authentic. The drawings that struck me the most were the flowers on the bushes. Not only were they incredibly detailed and authentic, the colors were so vibrant they made the scenes beautiful to look at. Most of the scenes particularly the outside shots had spectacular colors. I also noticed that the color purple was very prevalent in the film and was used a lot in darker inside places such as the boiler room. For me the artwork and the color palette became a separate character in this film.
Spirited Away is an extraordinary animation that can be enjoyed by many generations. It is the type of film that can be watched over and over again. Different amazing elements will be spotted after each viewing. To me Spirited Away is more of an incredible piece of artwork than a story.
Works Cited
imbd. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Dec. 2011. <http://IMDB.com/title/awards>.
imdb. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Dec. 2011. <http://IMDB.com/name/bio>.
Miyazaki’s Spirited Away. Hayao Miyazaki. 2001. Buena Vista Home Entertainment. DVD.
notable biographies. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Dec. 2011. <http://notablebiographies.com/newsmakers2/2006/Miyazaki-Hayao>.
