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Chihiro in wonderland
Spirited Away tells the adventurous tale of a 10-year-old Japanese girl
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Arthur J Pais
A rousing entertainment for children and adults, Spirited Away is an ample proof that children too can enjoy an animated film with deep psychology and some dark hues.
Created by writer-director Hayao Miyalzaki whose hits include Princess Mononoke, which grossed nearly $180 million in Japan alone four years ago, the new film has bewitched over $240 million at the Japanese box-office, eclipsing the record of Titanic. With video and DVD sales, and various tie-ins, Spirited Away is expected to generate $1 billion in Japan.
With its unending visual delights created by the eye popping, old-fashioned and often hand-created animation, the movie tells the story of a 10-year-old girl Chihiro who is whisked away to a mysterious world and learns to overcome her fears and braces herself to great challenges so that she can save herself and her parents.
It was a huge favourite of the audiences at Toronto International Film Festival where it premiered early this month. But will the American audiences, used to more diverting animated movies like Monsters, Inc. care for a refreshingly different kind of work that could be a major contender for the Oscars this year? Princess Mononoke hardly made any money in America but Spirited Away, which has grossed about $30 million in limited release in Europe, might change the way Americans perceive animated films.
The first animated film to win the coveted Golden Bear Award at the 2002 Berlin Film Festival, the English version of Spirited Away was produced by Walt Disney Studios.
Flawlessly dubbed into English by John Lasseter (the creator of Toy Story and many other animated hits), the film was a big success with the critics in Toronto. Practically every major American and Canadian reviewer gave it a rave that can be translated into an A grade. Roger Ebert of Chicago Sun-Times called it one of the best animated movies he has ever seen.
'Miyazaki's works have a depth and complexity often missing in American animation,' he wrote. 'Not fond of computers, he draws thousand of frames himself, and there is a painterly richness in his work. He is famous for throwaway details at the edges of the screen [animation is so painstaking that few animators draw more than is necessary]. And he permits himself silences and contemplation, providing punctuation for the exuberant action and the lovable or sometimes grotesque characters.'
Miyazaki, 60, was not interested in merely creating wonderful art work. He was testing himself if he could create a new hero --- or to be exact, a heroine.
He got the idea for the film when he met a young daughter of his friend who seemed bored with life and was apathetic about the world around her. When he started reading about young Japanese girls, Miyazaki found there were thousands of bored, apathetic girls. He decided to make a film for them --- and for their parents, brothers, and perhaps, their would be husbands.
For many years, he has been creating the leading roles that were meant to please him. But this time, I wanted to make a film about a typical girl and her unusual experiences, he says. I wanted to make a film about an everyday, real person. This kind of character is more difficult to create in an animated film.
I do not like weak female characters, Miyazaki says. Things have become so boring with males being held up to us as heroes. It is the females who are really tough today.
When Chihiro and her parents take a wrong turn on their way to their new suburban home, they arrive at what they think is an abandoned amusement park. But when the parents start eating a tempting buffet, they are quickly turned into large pigs. Chihiro, who is desperate for help, finds a pal in a mysterious boy, Haku, who has magical powers. Through him she meets a variety of spirits. Chihiros encounters with Yubaba, a fierce, greedy and short tempered woman with a huge head and short body, leads her to new challenges. Yubaba's ability to change into a bird allows her to spy on anyone she wishes and control those who come her way.
Chihiro, keeping her calm, continues meeting spirits, monsters and creatures from ancient legends who lead her to awesome adventures. She also learns the rules of survival as she continues meeting such mysterious characters as Kaonashi, the semi-transparent figure who poses danger to anyone who approaches him. A lot of the action takes place in a bathhouse. Among the more interesting characters there is an army of soot-balls carrying coal to feed the bathhouse furnace, and the Stink God, a lumpish creature.
"I have set the film in a hot-spring bathhouse frequented by the Japanese gods and spirits," says Miyazaki. "I always wanted to stage a film in such a strange place and I thought a bathhouse for gods would be even more fun."
He did not want to turn the film into a battle between good and evil, Miyazki says in the production notes of the film. His heroine manages to come back not because she has destroyed the evil but because she has acquired the ability to survive against odds. In doing so, he is offering a realistic picture of the world.
'Most people just panic and collapse while shouting, 'it can't be true',' Miyazaki notes. 'But what makes Chihiro a heroine is that she is strong enough not be eaten up.'
Chihiro, seen with skinny legs and a sulky face in the early part of the film, is seen with an inviting and attractive face by the end of the film.
'The aim of the film is to provide moviegoers, especially young girls, something through which they can encounter what it is they truly want.'
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