Darla Vianesse G.

Domingo
IV-7 SPIRITED AWAY REVIEW (GIFT)
To the Abandoned Amusement Park, Please.
Spirited Away (Sen to Chihiro no kamikakushi) is a Japanese anime-fantasy film written and directed
by Hayao Miyazaki and produced by Studio Ghibli. It was released last July 20, 2001 and was originally
dubbed as Japanese but was later dubbed into English because of its North American release. The
English-language adaptation was released on September 20, 2002. When released, Spirited
Away became the most successful film in Japanese history, grossing over $274 million worldwide and
also became the highest-grossing film in Japanese history with a $229,607,878 total. It won numerous
awards and among them were Best Animated Feature at the Oscars 2003, the Academy Award for Best
Animated Feature at the 75th Academy Awards, the Golden Bear at the 2002 Berlin International Film
Festival, Best Film and Best Song at the 25 th Japan Academy Award and is among the top ten in the BFI
list of the 50 films you should see by the age of 14.
The story revolves around Chihiro Ogino, a ten-year old girl who was traveling with her parents to their
new home. Chihiros father takes the wrong turn and they find themselves in front of a long tunnel. At the
end of the long tunnel is an abandoned amusement park and a dry riverbed. Chihiros parents get
tempted by an empty restaurant stall which displayed freshly cooked food and as they eat, Chihiro finds
herself exploring the place only to arrive at an exquisite bathhouse. She wandered and as the sun sets, a
young boy named Haku warns her to return to her parents before shes seen by the spirits and never find
her way out. However, Chihiro found her parents a little too late as they already turned into ravenous pigs
and as she tried to find her way out, she discovers that the river was now flooded and the place turned
into a lively place filled with sprits of all kinds.
The anime-fantasy film, to begin with, is like any other childrens filmcolorful posters, full of life lessons
and friendship. Clich, some would say but as you press the play button, only the most enchanting and
eccentric characters will welcome you into a world full of spirits and reality. Yes, the film was meant for
ten-year old girls but as the story progresses on, not only kids would be enthralled by the plot but also
adults.
The script of the film was very well writtenall the sympathetic words and the most insulting ones said at
the right time. The characters were able to portray well the emotions in every event and their feelings,
despite being only 2D objects, were very realistic that the audience will be able to relate immediately.
Although there were too much fantasy and undertones of romance, they were placed at the right
moments which made the film not too much of a fantasy but still realistic. The film was well directed too
no dozing-off moments and no too predictable moments. Although some of the characters physical
appreance were bothering especially with the big nose of Yubaba and that four-legs of No-Face when he

turned into a monster, the physical appearance still fit the attitude of the characters which made the
characterization more effective. Even the dullness of Chihiros appearance matched the intensity of
Hakus character from a young boy to a white dragon.
Miyazaki easily blends the characters and the environment which balances the film in many aspects like
the atmosphere of the movie from dark to light and vice versa. The setting of the film is very colorful too,
never failing to draw attention of the audience. Its impressive color easily showcases the culture of the
Japanese from their famous stalls to their bathhouses. One thing Miyazaki didnt miss was the presence
of the geishas in the bathhouse because somehow, they are one of the most prominent things in the
Japanese culture and history.
The film would have been better if Chihiros parents were more exposed or were more established
because after all, they were the cause why Chihiro ended up in that bathhouse. The audience wouldve
received more light and understanding if their characters, whether as pigs or as humans, were more
explained or given background too. Also, the ending would have been better if the final test of Chihiro
which involved her parents were more explained. That part was tricky especially because Chihiro was
able to guess that her parents werent amongst the hoard of pigs without any given explanation. The
audience probably has experienced some confusion in there especially that not everyone were paying
attention to the tiny detail of the parents snouts.
Another small loophole is some of its animation: The smudge on Chihiro's face changes shape, switches
sides, and disappears at random during the first 40 minutes of the movie. Also, some parts were kind of
vague and left unexplained like how Chihiros disappearing physicality started when the spirits from the
cruise ship arrived. This part would probably have left the audience clueless, thinking that why on earth
would Chihiro suddenly disappear and be binded?
But regardless of the loophols of the storys plote and animation, one of the most outstanding traits of the
film was its ability to showcase symbolisms through the good characterization and plot. Who wouldve
thought that the simple ghost town represents ordinary life. While Yubaba represents our ego that lives on
top of the bathhousethe bathhouse itself represents our body and mindwhich is again, a great
presentation because true to reality, our ego is always on top of our heads. The huge baby Yubaba takes
care of represents our emotions which we pamper all the time. Miyazaki has found a very visual way of
representing the three developmental levels that we all have in our minds: reptile, mammal, and human,
represented by the bird, the giant baby, and Yubaba, respectively or, in other words, the survival instincts,
the emotional reactions, and intelligence.
The setting itself represents our daily lives. During the day, the people in ghost town are frenzied with
activities to prepare the bathhouse for the village at night time. Like our minds, we are very busy during
the day and at night; our ego seems to abandon temporarily ourselves. The employees of the bathhouse
represent the multitude of thoughts and mental activities we have during the day which attract the ghosts

that represent all kind of stimuli that enter our senses. Among the employees of the bathhouse there are
three characters who help the girl: the young Haku who represents transformation, the old Kamaji who
represents the body in the service of mind, and the maid Lin who represents our capacity of sacrifice and
effort. The mentioned symbolisms are only part of the films great characteristics. These symbolisms
make the film shift into a deeper theme which can relate to adults and to children as well.
The movie, over-all, is worth praising for its incredible plot and characterization with symbols and
uniqueness. Its recommendable to both adults and children of any age. 4.5 out of 5 stars is deserved by
this must-watch-and-not-miss anime-fantasy movie by Miyazaki.