Not to be confused with the Madonna epic SWEPT AWAY.
SPIRITED AWAY is Hiyao Miyazaki's (PRINCESS MONONOKE, MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO) new film. If it's playing at a theater near you, run out and watch it. If it's not, well then, start driving. It's fan-f**king-tastic.
I don't really want to tell you anything about the movie, for fear of spoiling anything. It's suitable for children and stars a little girl. The movie will at times remind you of ALICE IN WONDERLAND. At other times it will remind you of THE WIZARD OF OZ. Or it may remind you of every other fairy tale you've ever seen.
Miyazaki, already a master of visual spectacle, really lets his imagination run wild on this one. Sweeping may be the word. Haunting, hilarious, heart-warming, harrowing. . .
If you're a fan of anime, or just animation, or just movies in general, SPIRITED AWAY is the movie to see.
(I didn't get payed to write the above review.)
>It's suitable for children and stars a little girl.
Is it suitable because it's been edited by the American censors, or did it arrive here intact? I seem to recall Disney being a little annoyed that they weren't allowed to butcher... I mean edit, Princess Mononoke.
I remember hearing that Disney planned to import Vampire Hunter D, but decided it was too violent for the Mouse House's image.
I'm getting into anime more and more, and Spirited Away looks good. As long as it's not tree hugger propaganda like Princess Mononoke.
It's probably 99.99999% unedited; Studio Ghibli is a big stickler for keeping their works intact--probably because of the hideous butcher-and-dub job done on "Naucisaa In The Valley Of Wind," AKA "Warriors Of The Wind."
There IS stuff in "Spirited Away" (Stomp Tokyo review here (http://www.stomptokyo.com/movies/s/spirited-away.html), Quick Time trailer here (http://www.apple.com/trailers/disney/spirited_away.html)) that could freak younger kids out if approached the wrong way--spooks, dragons, witches with BIG HONKIN' HEADS, dancing heads with no bodies, spirit-world critters and goblins. The majority of them are actually benevolent, and not too weirder than anything seen in "The Wizard of Oz" or "The Neverending Story." (The Stomp Tokyo review has a number of framegrabs of these things. They also have reviews of "Nausicaa," "Castle of Cagliostro," "Kiki's Delivery Service," "Laputa," "Mononoke," and "My Neighbor Totoro.")
Not ALL Miyazaki/Studio Ghibli stuff is suitable for ALL kids; the heroine of "Nausicaa" endures some horrible experiences--including, in the movie's ultimate jawdropper, being severely wounded by machine-gun fire, and as John mentioned, Disney wanted "Mononoke" clipped. You don't even want to KNOW what awaits you in "Grave of the Fireflies" (non-Miyazaki Ghibli film, also reviewed at ST), which is definitely NOT for kids or the emotionally immature.
If you like subtitles over dubs--like I do, even in animation--you might want to consider getting the original Japanese DVDs. J-List (http://www.jlist.com/) carries region-free DVD players, as well as several Miyazaki films on region-2 DVDs--which come with ENGLISH SUBTITLES. You can even nail "Spirited Away" already, and in its 'pristine' pre-Disney condition! (The J-List DVD page has samples of the subtitles. They also handle requests, so while they don't have "Nausicaa" on their page right now, they could be persuaded to put it there.)
I'm dying to see it. I still remember other Miyazaki movies / series years after having watched them. Watch "Conan - The future boy" (TV series) or "Porco Rosso" (anime) anytime you have the chance, you won't be disappointed.
Well, I did amend my original "suitable for children" sentence by cutting out the "for all ages" part.
SPIRITED AWAY reminded me of earlier Disney works because of a higher level of emotional intensity. There are scenes that could freak out a really young child, but no more than say a movie like PINOCCHIO. (And I'm not referring to the new Roberto Benigni movie.) This is certainly no UROTSUKIDOJI, but it's certainly a PG movie, if ratings are the way you want to go about it.
Now if you are a huge stickler for subtitles, import the DVD's. But I have to recommend watching it in the theater. Unless you have an absolutely gigantic television at your house, the experience is just not going to be the same. Seeing METROPOLIS at my house just can't compare to seeing it in the theater. One word of warning, the theater is probably going to be filled with children unless you see it later in the evening.
Miyazaki has an enviable track record. This shoud be memorable.
....I'll have to check out the J-list, Squish. Looks like another good sourch of materials. Thanks.