shallow and unimpressive

Rating: Null/10 (25 October 2003)

a morbid curiosity usually compels me to finish watching movies that are dull and pointless, but PRINCESS MONONOKE's lack of interestingness had me reaching for the 'eject' button halfway thru. after hearing some of the accolades heaped on SPIRITED AWAY, i thought i'd give miyazaki another spin, and, boy, was i sorry.
the movie's moral lessons veer toward the obvious--nothing groundbreakingly profound here--and are presented in an overly drawn-out fashion. here's an incomplete listing of SPIRITED AWAY's nice sentiments:
a) don't be a glutton. b) care about your friends. c) look after your parents. d) do not value money above human (or inhuman) relationships. e) work hard, despite the drudgery of it all.
now, the story is supposed to impart these valuable lessons by putting the protagonist in a dreamworld setting, where other, more twisted lessons are inextricably (and inexplicably) presented. whether intentional or not, the movie also implies:
a) one should trust strangers who lounge about, even if they eat people and later regurgitate them. jeffrey dahmer, anyone? b) one should make pacts with evil persons to get what one wants. c) parents are pigs, and children must will be their salvation. d) people who try to do good things for you now might have done good things for you in the past (perhaps even a past life?), so go ahead and trust them--your instincts will guide you.
well, so much for the beautifully inspiring movie everyone seems to be gushing about. . . .
speaking of beauty, i never found the animation that impressive: the same jerky, low-frame-rate presentation that plagues japanese anime is found here. (i did enjoy, though, the transformation of the witch into her airborne self--that was the movie's funkiest moment.)
and the nonsensical array of creatures inhabiting the world of SPIRITED AWAY reminds me of george lucas at his inane worst.
i don't think i'll ever have the itch to watch another miyazaki film again; the dullness and vapidity are just excruciating.