Best film ever, bar none.

Rating: 10/10 (6 April 2006)

I don't know what to say about the grandeur of this masterpiece that hasn't already been said, except that you haven't truly lived until you've seen Spirited Away. Hayao Miyazaki is renowned as a filmmaker. He's never make a film that was anything short of fantastic...until this. This film is beyond fantastic. This film is quintessential. Okay, enough with the gushing. What's good about this movie? Let's see... The animation is the best I've ever seen, without exception. You all talk about the attention to detail that is paid by films such as Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within. Screw you. You can do anything with a computer with very little skill involved. It takes true passion and devotion to hand-draw something this good. Every scene, every camera shot has at least five things going on at any given time. That's a minimum. Even when they're just showing a place with no people in it. Take, for example, the shot of the food stand at the beginning of the film, just as Chihiro's mother and father are about to enter and gorge themselves. There is steam rising from the food and that steam distorts the imagery directly behind it. In the back of the stand, a fan can be seen turning clumsily. This is just one example of the phenomenal animation that is, as I said, the best I've ever seen. The story is genuinely unique. A young girl is moving to a new home with her mother and father. Due to a navigational error, they end up in what the father says is an abandoned theme park. The girl, Chihiro, realizes there's something wrong, but her parents don't pay attention. Soon, they have both undergone a mysterious enchantment, and Chihiro, trapped in a world of spirits, must call upon the inner strength she never knew she had. This is the story in a nutshell, but there's so much more than that. You can see Chihiro grow from a scared little girl into a confident young woman. You can see the love that Chihiro develops for this new place and its inhabitants, particularly an enigmatic boy called Haku. You can see her struggles, her pain, her joy. That brings me into the next category: voice acting. The voice acting is superb. Particularly notable are Daveigh Chase as Chihiro and Susan Egan as Rin, but everyone shines, right down to the bit parts. One of the most magical aspects of this film is the score, which can move me to tears if I'm in the right mood. Listen in particular to the score at the very beginning of the film, as Chihiro and her parents are driving, and DEFINITELY listen to the score as she, the baby mouse, the little bird, and No-Face are riding on the train. Not much happens in that scene, but it is, in my opinion, the most beautiful five minutes in the history of cinema. Finally, the score at the very, very end of the film is what makes me cry. I won't give away the ending, but the music accentuates the mood. It's strangely tragic, and one of only three films that has ever made me cry. The others, in case you're interested, were an obscure anime film called Battle Angel...and the other was Rent. In conclusion, I would recommend this film to anyone. Young, old, male, female, anime fan or not. You will like this film. I have yet to meet someone who doesn't.