Miyazaki enchantment

Rating: 10/10 (24 April 2002)

Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki doesn't necessarily hit the
target every time he makes a film (though anime mavens may
disagree), but SPIRITED AWAY is a charming and inventive return
to form. When a young girl and her parents move to to the country,
they unwittingly come upon a spirit city that has the parents soon
looking like hopelessly inflated versions of PORCO ROSSO. The
sheepish girl now has to face a world of witches, cannibals, spirit
stealers, and shape-shifters to find a way out of the mess before
her parent turn into hash. The spirit city is an enchanting (and
somewhat menacing) riff on the theme park theme, but its
denizens are so varied that every encounter becomes an
adventure. SPIRITED AWAY sustains a mood of gentleness
despite some harrowing episodes, and the visuals are so
extravagantly inventive that they're almost druggy. See the film
before Disney dubs it...but definitely see it.