Pure Joy

Rating: 10/10 (25 September 2002)

I've been a fan of anime for years. Unlike many anime watchers, my first exposure wasn't to "Akira" or "Macross." It was to a movie called "Warriors of the Wind", which I learned years later was actually a hack-job version of the poetic "Nausicaa in the Valley of the Wind" by Hayao Miyazaki, a man compared often to Akira Kurosawa, and who many call the most gifted anime director of all time.
Miyazaki's film "Princess Mononoke", which was imported to the US and released by Disney in an English dub, was an ecological fantasy where humans and ancient gods dueled for the fate of nature. It was a dark and dramatic epic of culture and tradition. In comparison, Miyazaki's latest release, "Spirited Away", is unadulterated joy and innocence, a two-and-a-half hour fable of courage and perseverance.
Young Chihiro is moving to the country with her parents. On the way to their new home, her parents come upon a seemingly abandoned theme park and, despite the protests of their daughter, begin to gorge themselves on food they find. When night falls, the theme park transforms into a land of shades and phantoms, and Chihiro's parents have been transformed into pigs. Chihiro receives aid from a strange young man named Haku, who tells her that to stay in the spirit world and rescue her family, she must get a job from the witch Yubaba, who cannot refuse her request. During her stay in this strange world, Chihiro undergoes many trials that put her courage and her love for others to the test.
The movie itself plays like "Alice in Wonderland" filtered through Japanese folklore. I admit, I didn't understand many of the concepts of the movie because of its reliance on such things, and while at first the movie seems not to have a coherent plot, keep in mind that anime in general has never fully subscribed to the linear plots of American cinema.

The colors and designs of the movie are fantastic, and there is no shortage of unusual beings. Tiny soot monsters who work for an eight-armed man, a bulbous Radish Spirit, and a majestic river dragon are a few of the inhabitants. The most poignant of the movie's characters may be No-Face, a lonely spirit that consumes all he can. The tone of the movie is generally light, with moments of drama and darkness when appropriate, but always filled with a resonant innocence and wonder.
The voice acting, while not as star-studded as that of "Mononoke", is quite good, with seasoned actors like Suzanne Pleshette (Yubaba) and the ever-popular and multi-talented Tara Strong providing solid dub skills. Daveigh Chase, wonderful as Lilo in Disney's "Lilo and Stitch", is Chihiro, and while some of her readings sound a bit shrill, she is a very believable and realistic voice for the plucky heroine.
When all is said and done, the movie may lack the drama and desperation of many anime, but instead of offering this, the movie is content to transport you to another world filled with joy and mystery. Few movies display as much pleasure as this one in displaying moments of awe and laughter. Never mind that the animation itself is beautiful and intricate as only a master could create. If you are lucky enough to be in a city where this movie is showing, by all means, see it as soon as possible.
10 out of 10.