Spirited Away

Spirited Away - Reviewed by Pojo
DVD Available from Amazon.com

Spirited Away is an anime from Japan that rivals Disney’s Best. The first I had heard of this movie was from the phenomenal reviews it got from major reviewers. Check out all these people/sources that gave this movie 4 stars:

Roger Ebert
USA Today
New York Post
Newsday
San Francisco Chronicle
New York Daily News

You are probably getting the picture now. This movie is the top grossing movie of all time in Japan (unseating Titanic in that country).

This anime was written and directed by Japan's Hayao Miyazaki. This is the same person who brought us Princess Mononoke. (Another critically acclaimed film).

The movie is about a nervous 10 year old girl named Chihiro. She is moving to a new town with her folks. He father takes a shortcut down a pot-holed, wooded road, and winds up at an abandoned Amusement Park, or so he thinks. Her nosy mother and father want to check out the abandoned park. Chihiro is scared, and unwillingly enters the park.

In the middle of the abandoned park, her hungry parents find a large quantity of food cooking. No one else seems to be there.  Her parents are hungry, and decide to eat the delicious food. Chihiro wanders off on her own, and finds out the Park is an Island for Spirits to come at nightfall. She is warned to get off the island before nightfall by a mysterious boy. She tries to get her parents and go, but her parents have been chowing down like pigs, and have become pigs. It is now nightfall, and Chihiro has nowhere to turn. She can’t get off the island on her own. Chihiro must face her fears and explore the island.

The movie does a fantastic job of taking us away from what we consider the real world and into the spirit world. The only way for Chihiro to survive & rescue her folks is take chances believing in a variety of people, creatures and spirits. She is forced to mature quickly to stay alive. Her trust and honesty help her cope through a lot of fun & genuinely scary events.

This movie is not a musical like Lion King, Beauty and the Beast or Little Mermaid. And I am 100% thankful for that. Don’t get me wrong, I liked those movies, but I’m getting sick of seeing cute little animals singing songs to appease the little ones. Adults and teens will probably really enjoy this film. This movie has some very intense & scary scenes that might make kids 10 & under crap their pants.

The movie is totally engrossing. I really enjoyed it. The art, story and music are outstanding. I highly recommend adding this to your DVD Collection.

The DVD Features