A landmark in animation, story telling and direction that will leave you spellbound!

Rating: 9/10 (20 April 2020)

Whenever i visit any new place, my mind usually wanders away in things like history, food, culture. I try to connect with it in order to truly understand and appreciate it. Its like a journey which is material but also borders on the spiritual, and i am always lost in it. That is exactly the feeling whenever i watch spirited away.
This is a sense of wonder experiencing chihiros journey, to the point where you feel that you are chihiro. The movie keeps its sense of mystery throughout; chihiro knows as much about the world as you do. She struggles in a way you would if you swapped places with her; the world is fascinating and dangerous. There is symbolism scattered throughout, but its never handed out on a platter. What you take away from spirited away depends on what you interpret from it, and everyone will have a different interpretation.
I'm watching it in 2020 and the visuals still do not feel dated. This is a vivid world which expresses itself with almost the entire palette of colors available to it, and it marvels at how spellbound it will leave you. The animations also hold up very well. The art is legendary. Clearly they have a world class team behind the wheels, and the complement the directly very well.
I'll end it with the direction. There is absolutely no director alive who pours his/her heart and soul into making an animated movie like Hayao Miyazaki. And he is absolutely on point with Spirited Away. The story never drags, never has a dull moment, and keeps you hooked even while you marvel at the animation and the art. The characters are different, morally gray and have unique idiosyncrasies which immediately distinguishes them from anything the west has ever come up with. Spirited Away is a landmark movie in the world of animation and has definitely had an impact on anything that came after. Pixar has made some classics, but even today Spirited Away can stand in a league of its own, and that's saying a lot about it.