Move over, Ursula ... You've got company!

Rating: Null/10 (22 January 2003)

I have to admit up front that I am not a fan of Japanese anime. It bothers me somehow that the characters are drawn like Westerners with wide eyes, so at odds with the Japanese physical settings and cultural notions.
That being said, "Spirited Away" is, far and away, the most inventive, creative and imaginative animated film of the year. Its backdrops are designed with loving attention to detail, and Ubaba the witch is the greatest animated villainess since Ursula the sea-witch in "The Little Mermaid".
The young heroine of the film journeys from being a whiny, spoiled brat, clingy and fearful of adapting to a new environment, to a brave, spunky little girl who learns to think of others with pure love and generosity. She derives her newfound courage from within and from a young spirit-boy. The adults around her certainly are not role models. Even her parents fall victim to greed and are suitably punished for their failings.
The film has nothing in it that would frighten a young audience. The spirits are by and large kindly, and even Ubaba the witch is more avaricious that anything else. Besides, she looks like a Victorian grandmother in voluminous crinolines, her silver hair done up in a bun.
I would not be surprised if "Spirited Away" wins this year's Oscar for best animated film, although my personal favorite is "Lilo and Stitch" for its modern message of diversity and acceptance and survival in a fragile world.