I saw the Japanese Anime Spirited Away last Saturday. This week has been busy enough that I just haven't been able to focus enough to even bother with this brief comment.
This is an excellent movie. No doubt I am missing quite a bit of the meaning of the movie because of my ignorance of Japanese culture. However, even with that handicap this movie is an incredibly rich story. As other reviews have indicated, it is hard not to compare it to compare it to Alice in Wonderland. The basic plot of a little girl transported to a fantasy land is an obvious parallel to Carroll's classic story. However, outside of that practically unavoidable comparison based on that simplest plot summary, there is very little further similarity. (Possible spoilers in the extended entry.)
Carroll's fantasy world is almost completely non-sensical with many of the characters being deliberately illogical and contradictory in terms of helping Alice understand what she needs to do. However, Chihiro is confronted by a confusing but more or less organized fantasy land based on a bath house for spirits. She is able to demonstrate courage in the face of danger, vulnerability in the face seeminly insurmountable obstacles, love in the midst of attacks, and loyalty to her family above all else.
The movie made me laugh, cry, and cheer as Chihiro works her way into and out of trouble, making friends in unlikely places. Despite conflicting advice she is able to follow her instincts to help people who need her help while recognizing those who do not intend to help her.
The animation is beautifully complex and fluid. It provides an excellent example of just how good anime can be. Besides the smooth movement and complex backgrounds and textures, the direction was handled well enough to give a clear sense of the layout of the fantasy land so that it was easy to follow movement from one room to another without being chaotic.
This is only in limited distribution but with Disney helping to distribute it there is a good chance that it could come to a theater near to most major cities. I heartily recommend it if you get a chance to see it.
Posted by JoKeR at October 12, 2002 10:58 PM | TrackBack