Gracefully disturbing and beautifully strange.

Rating: Null/10 (17 September 2002)

Disney's presentation of Miyazaki's "Spirited Away" is simply amazing. It's a shining masterwork, surpassing in both substance and style Miyazaki's own
"Princess Mononoke" and Katsuhiro Ôtomo's highly revered epic "Akira".
The story is thoughtful, humorous and ultimately very strange, but remains
lighthearted enough in moments to recover from the grotesque and bizarre.
The animation is bold and fluid, gracefully blending in with the lush, painterly- like backgrounds and rich soft-focus foreground objects. The voice-overs and
English translation were carefully handled and high regard was obviously taken to the original Japanese version and the director's unique vision, not obscuring the gentle subtleties and harsh visuals with Disney's usual formulaic approach. Someone in the upper echelon of the Animation building's hallowed halls
managed to tune out the executive static interference.
This is escape of the truly surreal kind. There are moments so original and
shocking that you are lifted straight out of any grain of reality you might have had left sitting in the back of your consciousness. If hallucinogens aren't your thing, then this will surely provide the closest experience attainable while
retaining clear thought. Well, sort of.
Not sure how well the American market will take to Disney's noble attempt to
introduce the Miyazaki form to the American public, but those who see it will be left with a lasting impression not soon forgotten. Disney doesn't appear to have much of an economic incentive, but their marketing department must be on to
some sort of strategy to enable such a remarkable effort. In an era of
accounting paranoia, it's a miracle this film has seen the light of day on
American shores. But this viewer is glad it has.