Spirited Away

The story opens with Chihiro, a 10-year-old girl (voiced by "Lilo and Stitch's" Daveigh Chase), and her family moving to a new city. Chihiro is appropriately upset at losing her friends, and when a wrong turn takes her family into what appears to be an abandoned amusement park, she wanders off on her own to sulk. Her parents find a food booth and begin chowing down, but when night falls and strange things start to happen, Chihiro realizes it isn't an amusement park but a resort for the spirit world - and her parents have magically turned into pigs. Sacrificing her name (literally) to the enigmatic ruler of a large bathhouse, the crone Yubaba, and aided by a strange boy named Haku, Chihiro (now called Sen) tries to adjust to life in the spirit world while attempting to rescue her parents.

Like Miyazaki's other films ("Princess Mononoke," "Kiki's Delivery Service"), "Spirited" takes a non-condescending approach to children's filmmaking. Good and evil are not presented as polar opposites, but they can often be found in the same person. Yubaba, the "villain," isn't bad per se, and Haku isn't necessarily a paragon of good intentions. Chihiro herself is ambiguous, although good of heart and obviously trying to do the right thing. Her character develops more than any other in the film, and her transformation from a spoiled kid to a responsible young adult is both realistic and heartening. The backdrop of Japanese mythology and the Shinto/Buddhist spirit world is equally compelling, and although most of it will be strange to American audiences, the cultural barriers aren't difficult to overcome - as all timeless legends are.

When everyone is complaining about Hollywood's lack of ethics and/or making children's films that "talk down" to the kids, there should be more "Spirited Aways." It's unfortunate that a film like "The Iron Giant," similar in style if not in substance, was a relative flop at the box office three years ago; both it and "Spirited" belong in any parents' video library, and "Aladdin IV: Another Moneymaker" can gather dust on the warehouse shelves. This, friends, is what animated filmmaking should be about.

Final Grade: A

The plot follows 10-year-old Chihiro who is moving away to a new city and has a bit of a problem with being self-centered. When her parents stumble on an abandoned amusement-park and go exploring they come across some fresh food. Thinking the place might still be in business they sit down to eat and decide to pay later. The food ends up turning them into pigs and from there the plot spirals into a series of strange events that sometimes don't quite make sense, but are fun to watch anyways.

This movie holds quite a few themes and contains a lot of symbolism. It is rather complex, which is becoming rare for a PG movie. At times, it may seem a little rushed or random and many people may think Mr. Miyazaki is not quite all the way there or is abusing certain substances. These people, are closed-minded however and should shut-up and mind their own beeswax. This movie requires a selected taste and artistic understanding. If fantasy and fairy-tales aren't your thing, ignore, leave it alone by all means. If you are in the mood for something new and creative, if you want your kids to see something more than brainwashed cartoons, if you want to see beautiful animation, see this movie! It may take some time before you appreciate it, and you may have to expand what you think about cartoons or entertainment, but I think that expanding is a good thing. This is certainly not everybody's movie, but that's what makes it great. After all, do you prefer "one size fits all" or something tailored to be something specific. Of course, it may not be what you usually wear, but it wouldn't hurt to try it on for size.

Regarding children, I have heard all manner of things from "kids fled screaming in terror" to "they fell in love with it and want to see it again and again and again and..." When I saw the movie some kids there stayed for the whole thing, I think one person walked out. So let's be honest, this movie is not suitable for some children. There is a bleeding dragon, there are scary creatures, there are weird enchantresses with big heads and giant babies. It is weird and it can be scary. On the same note some kids might be enthralled with this movie. The giant baby could be found hilarious, the dragon (when not bleeding) magical, the creatures (or "spirits rather") curious and fun. It depends on the age and on the child. This is not Pokemon nor is it Princess Mononoke. This is very diffirent from both of those. Know your kids before letting them see it, see the movie before letting them see it. Parental Guidance is suggested folks, adhere to this.