Spirited in So Many Ways...

Rating: 10/10 (31 October 2002)

Hayao Miyazaki does it again, but much better then his previous Princess Mononoke. Spirited Away is a highly imaginative movie that does things that you can only find in the best children's fantasy books, but don't let that stop you if your an adult. At over 2 hours, it's epic-like, and requires a bit of attention.(And besides, there's a chunk or two of some scary parts that would give a 7 year old nightmares)
It follows the adventures of a young girl, Chihiro, in a spirit world, where she must fight to save her parents. Consequently, she must then look for work, as it is the only way she could survive in this other world. But the type of job that she will handle isn't going to be easy, and she will have to prove herself more then once. The characters she meets are so full of life, so amusing and colorful, it's hard to peel your eyes from the screen because you might miss something pretty amazing. It reminded me of Never Ending Story, Alice in Wonderland, and perhaps Time Bandits, and yet, it's completely original.
It's gorgeous to look at. Just as you think you will see the same thing on the next scene, it gets more dramatic, and the colors are handled beautifully. The dubbing is outstanding. And the movie stayed with me long after I saw it. It's a shame that Disney, who's distributing this in the US over from Japan, doesn't push this movie more. As of this writing, it's open in very few theaters, even though it's made millions outside BEFORE it came to the US. Regardless, this is a movie that you should hunt for and travel to go see. I await the DVD to become part of my library. Yes, it is that good.
Rating: 10 out of 10