Spirted me

Rating: 9/10 (7 June 2007)

Despite never really having a taste for anime, I found myself really enjoying this film. The director expressed many problems he had in the world today with a simple and harmless film that people could dissect and take in which ever way they wish. For this reason, this film is suitable for all people, young and old. Younger audiences will be attracted by the story of the young girl and her adventures, while older audiences should look at the girls struggles more in depth. The film follows a pretty good pace and keeps audiences interested during the entire film. I found the framing and editing on these characters and scenes fairly impressive. Hair and clothes moved while eyes would blink. These are all just little details that added up and made this film. When I first started watching this film I didn't really give it a fair chance, like many people I judged it before actually viewing it. Spirited Away quickly grabbed my attention and I found myself stuck to the screen because of its deep and interesting plot. A young girl gets lost in a spirit world and while trying to get home she has numerous adventures all while learning old values and good manors of the traditional Japanese world. There are all kinds of weird (but in a neat way) characters and each one represents something in life. The stink spirit represents the pollution of nature while No-Face symbolizes the pollution of man. The little girl finds ways to help these spirits and while doing so she learns these traditional values which allows her to save her parents who were turned into pigs at the beginning of the film.
I would highly recommend this film to anyone of any age. Keep in mind while watching it that Spirited Away is pointing out what is wrong with society today and what needs to be done to fix it. The beautiful thing about this film is that it can be taken as deeply or lightly as you want to take it. Some people may not enjoy it and that is perfectly OK, but just make sure that you start the movie with an open mind.