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"Spirited Away ... emmm views please?"

I recently went to see Spirited Away at the cinema as nearly every critic has given it 5 stars. However after I saw the film I felt that it didn't deserve it. Possibly 3 stars but that's it.

Ok the animation is unsurpassed by anything else this year (except possibly Finding Nemo but those animations aren't abnormal in cinemas) and the storyline is surreal when you consider the possibility of the spirit world which it is suggesting but apart from that what is so great about it? I can't even remember the wee girls name and even if I did her character was about as deep as a garden pond. All I knew about her past was that she had to leave her previous school to go to a new house. After that you just follow the events in chronological order with no real reference to anything that would give us an insight into her mentality eg was she the odd one out at school?

This lack of depth applies for most of the characters however I did feel some kind depth to the evil witch of the bath house however she was about as scary as a pensioner who just saw some kids on her lawn. If you want a scary (well scary-ish considering it's a U) animated witch then watch Sleeping Beauty. Anyway that was just my opinion but I really want to know what other people saw in it. Any insight would be great.

Yep its a good film/anime

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All I knew about her past was that she had to leave her previous school to go to a new house. After that you just follow the events in chronological order with no real reference to anything that would give us an insight into her mentality eg was she the odd one out at school?

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I guess her (she's called Chihiro) past really wasn't that important to the story, all you really need to know was that she is moving house, she's spoilt like most Japanese girls, she isn't familiar with a lot of Japanese culture and folklore like the adults. oh and the event that lead to her remembering Haku's real name. I'm guessing you really wouldn't need to know more about her, just an average Japanese girl.

As for Yu-Baaba I don't think she's suppose to be evil. Her son Bou shows that she can be very caring but when she's really angry she can get very nasty. She's like a very strict old lady and unless money is involved she won't even bother with you, even a little girl stuck in another world. Chihiro's parents ate the bath house food, so she turns them to pigs. She takes Chiriho's name and makes her work in the bath house, otherwise she too would be turned into a pig. I guess that's what you get for going into other worlds and eating other peoples foods, especially the world of the gods, spirits and other mystical creatures. They aren't exactly keen on humans anyway.

This is what Hayao Miyazaki said on Yu-baaba.

"The scary woman, Yu-baaba, who looks like a bad guy in this film, is actually the manager of the bath house where the heroine works. She's having a hard time managing the bath house; she has many employees, a son, and her own desires, and she is suffering because of those things. So I don't intend to portray her as a simple villain."

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LOL I like how Mystique and Goatboy post a reply just to say they don't like anime. Although Goatboy tends to take every oppurtunity he can to express his dislike and lack of knowledge for anime.

I can understand what Cubist is saying, however the target audience for the film is 10 year old girls, but that's not to say no one else can enjoy it. The film, Spirited Away has won many awards, around 30 some of which include;

Best Animated Feature Film; 75th Annual Academy Awards
Golden Bear 2002 Berlin International Film Festival
Best Directing in an Animated Feature Production; 2002 Annie Awards
Best Writing in an Animated Feature Production; 2002 Annie Awards
Best Music in an Animated Feature Production; 2002 Annie Awards

It has also been listed in 94 top 10 critic choices for the year 2002, from #1 in the New York Times to #10 in USA Today ("Disney gave this Japanese animated film a modest release, perhaps to avoid revealing how unambitious its own fare is by comparison. The mystically tinged adventures, gorgeous artistry and dreamlike storytelling are a rare treat among children's films.") As you probably guessed no other animated movie has been praised so much.

Getting back to why you made this thread, I guess the quote above helps, It's not like other animated movies, it's incredibly beautiful, it's an original story, it hasn't been dumbed down, it's not predictable at all, it's everything a Disney film isn't. Not everyone will rave about it like the critics and the academy awards but that's expected with every movie, you either like it a lot or not. Bearing in mind the target audience is 10 year old Japanese girls who may not know as much as they should about their own culture and folklore which is what they created it for.

I personally love the film, I already own it on DVD and will buy the UK version when it comes out (hopefully I'll win the competition and have my artwork included in the gallery). Anyone wanting to watch a deep, beautiful and magical animation, completely different from the stuff Disney churn out, then do what Jonathan Ross and everyone else says and see it for yourself. You might like it a lot.

Would Sleeping Beauty get a 5 then? :S

I really want to see this, but unforunately it's only shown in the larger cinemas (or so it seems). Which means I'd have to go to Manchester or York to see it. Odd considering it's had good reviews in mainstream newspapers and magazines and features on programmes such as Film 2003.

Yup
Check the "Bootleg" topic a few down from here

*points*

O-Ren is the one played by Lucy Liu, right?

The anime stuff is O-Ren's childhood, how she became who she is.

It's basically a grindhouse movie, stuffed with everything QT loves about B-movies. Sub-titled kung fu, anime, exploitation etc etc.

Kill Bill? Anime? What's it going to be, a cartoon Uma Thurman with outsized eyes and a triangular mouth killing the bad guys, who also have comically sized facial dimensions?

I don't like anime stuff, it just makes me think of Dogtanion.
Probably some good stuff out there, I just find myself unable to watch any kind of Japanimation. Bores me stupid.

Kill Bill has anime in, from the people that did "Ghost in The Shell", which a cartoon-loving mate says is awesome.
I watched Akira and just found it dull.

I think it's an amazing film, but I am a teensy bit bias because of my love for anime films, and especially the Ghibli ones.

It's just bursting with so much creativity and a sense of wonder, something that is really lacking in Western animation these days, where it's now just the custom to make an animated film as merchandisable as possible without worrying about little details like the quality of the film (take the last few Disney films and that's what you have).

I think with this kind of film you either love it or you don't, like anime in general really. It is fairly odd to most Westerners as it's full of very Japanese ideals/cultural references/locales etc, so some of it we may find a little odd, but the basic Alice in Wonderland style story and adventure element is one everyone can enjoy.
I think it's the kind of film that would benefit from multiple viewings; I first saw it a long time back when I was lucky enough to download it from Kazaa, and it seemed just odd. I have since seen it a few more times on the US dvd, and then again at the cinema, so I have a better understanding and appreciation of the film as a whole (the characters/themes etc).

It's had a shed-load of good press around the world, something I think it deserves, and it shows modern Disney films up for what they really are.

For more loads of info on the movie (character info, plot, themes, reviews, etc) look here: http://www.nausicaa.net/miyazaki/sen/