Miyazaki, how we admire thee

Rating: 9/10 (28 May 2016)

Spirited Away is most certainly on the surface a fascinating movie, but inside it baffles those who think that only American animation is good (but to be fair, other films like April and The Extraordinary World and The Little Fox can do that too). The animation works excellently with the character designs and surreal tone of the setting. The characters are mysterious and can engage the audience constantly, if they don't execute it in the style you'd expect. The story seems so familiar yet features so many twists that it simultaneously feels inventive. Despite some dull moments (which weren't helped by the fact that I watched it on a particularly cruddy day), Studio Ghibli is, thankfully, in the vein of DreamWorks and Disney in that they recognize that animation should appeal to all, not only to children, and with all the imagination put into making this, it very clearly shows. This is a film that, no matter how hard the people at Studio Ghibli worked to make it, I imagine they had so much fun doing so. While not my personal favorite Miyazaki movie, this is still one of those animated movies that you should see before you die.