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Spirited Away Actor: Miyu Irino Director: Hayao Miyazaki Number of Items: 2 Picture Format: Anamorphic Widescreen Format: Animated, Color, Closed-captioned, Widescreen, Dolby Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested) Running Time: 132 minutes Studio: Walt Disney Home Video Region Code: 1 Product Group: DVD Release Date: 2003-04-15 Buy from Amazon |
 "Who needs a bath?"A friend introduced me to this short magical film that does not have a distinctive story etched to the contcatanating skeins of a vividly visual experience. I really loved this fairly new concept (perhaps a hitherto but underexposed aspect of Oriental culture) in a spirit world, parrallel to our own where ghosts can converge to have a bath and a little girl, lost in it does her utmost to save her porcine parents from being eaten up. Fortunately she has friends, queer, wonderful friends and the means to hand if only she trusts herself/others and her own heart in a multidimensional adventure in which one is never sure what could happen next. Overall there are little vignettes of a strange spirit world and it leads to a conclusion but not a conventional ending. This film is not just for children though children would enjoy it and find it scary. A very wholesome, lavish expose of the ghost world and its interaction with our seemingly more real domain. Quite magical. "Japanese anime.....what more can I say?"I am always intrigued with the creative sensibility of Japanese anime movies. I believe this one tops most of the criteria of an artistic expression of the people who made this. I could not believe myself fixated thru the whole movie even for the realization that it is for one, "animated". "* Haku's name was NIGIHAYAMI KOHAKUNUSHI, and he was a river god."Sorry, as great as I thought T. Nakajima's Spotlight review was for this wonderful movie (great idea to give tips for non-Japanese viewers!), he made an error in his Tip #4, Haku's real name. And as I love Haku's gentle (JAPANESE) character too much, and Chihiro and Haku's relationship is so vital to the story, I had to correct it and add additional insight. (Also Disney BUTCHERED the English version giving Haku a commercialized "Hi! I announce the rides at Disneyland!" voice with butchered dubbing....sob). OK! So the correction: "[4] Haku's real name is "Migihayami Kohakusui." All the Japanese audience, as Chihiro in fact was, would be surprised to hear this long and old-fashioned name, which clearly suggests his ancient and aristocratic origin." This is incorrect. Haku's real name is.. (drum roll please...) NIGIHAYAMI KOHAKUNUSHI. (nee-gi-ha-ya-mee ko-ha-ku-nu-shi) And he is, in case you missed it, a river god. Nushi, in Japanese denotes deities and spirits. Haku was the god that protected the Kohaku river until (urban development) filled the river and it was no longer. See Miyazaki's message here? Chihiro tells Haku that her mother once told her that she fell into a river when she was a child. She remembers this when she clings onto Haku's horns (when he is in dragon form). It brings back the memory of when she fell in the river and Haku guided her back to shore, saving her life. She says the river no longer exists because they built apartment complexes over it (in Japanese, called "mansions"), but that the river was called.. the Kohaku river (Kohaku-gawa, "kawa/gawa" = Japanese for river). There is a fan on the web who managed to transcribe Haku's entire name to be "Master of the peaceful and swift-flowing small white river." (...) which I think is pretty close to the fact. Haku, means White, in Japanese. Plus I mentioned the Disney travesty for more than one reason. The original Japanese voice for Haku, is that of a YOUNG boy (well, young "god" boy). Haku, is a young river spirit, as far as spirit years go, hence he is a young boy in human form. It would be worthwhile to see the subtitled version of this movie, as even not understanding Japanese, you may catch the softer inflections in his voice when he speaks to Chihiro, and also enjoy Chihiro's young, NON-whiny voice. "Best AniMe of all time.....Mulan can't touch this "Hayao Miyazaki is the grand master when it comes to creating animation at its best. I love all of his movies but this one is truely his best work to date. I am not going to tell you what 'Spirited Away' is about since many reviews below has already gone thru that which is kinda bad since part of why this is such a great movie is the suspense as well as the breathtaking visual. His movies are much better than any other Disney counterpart that i have seen including Mulan. There is something about Spirited Away that goes beyond the norm when it comes to animation. It has a human aspect that you can relate to by seeing the reaction in the character faces and you know its not forced or contrived. Its feel so genuine that one cannot describe but enjoyed even long after one has seen it...myself included and i am a tough critic. Anyone who seen 'My Neighbor Totoro', also created by Miyazaki, knows what im talking. Powerful is the word that associate to this movie. Oh i have to warn you that his movies will make you cry and this one is a tear jerker for sure so have a box of tissues available for those touching moments cause you will need it as you journey into aa unforgettable place of enchantment. The musical score is beauty to my ears...i just close my eyes and enjoy. If this movie doesn't turn you into an anime fan, then you just don't like animation.....period. Highly recommended! "Very beautiful & strange animation"I bought this DVD after seeing a review for its animator on the CBS show Sunday Morning. The piece said that the Japanese artist is considered by many to be the best living animator in the world. Intrigued, I got a copy of Spirited Away, and I couldn't be happier. It is a bit like an Oriental version of Alice in Wonderland. A little girl and her parents take an accidental detour on their way to their new home. They wind up in the spirit world, and many strange adventures befall the little girl as she tries to rescue both her parents and herself and return to the ordinary world. Though the story is suspenseful and interesting, the beauty of the artwork is the true treasure of this amazing work. Highly recommended! |
