I have fond memories of Spirited Away. I can't remember the first time I was exposed to it, one of my earliest memories must've been catching it airing one day on television. My first viewing of My Neighbor Totoro came from a viewing in the morning on a day in which I was sick, staying home from school. I would not say I am a massive Studio Ghibli fan, there are still films of theirs I am yet to see, but some of their films have managed to impact me in ways I can't believe. While my first viewing of Spirited Away came at a young age, even in my early twenties I found myself much in love with the world that is created within Spirited Away. I suffered greatly from insomnia for most of my life, incapable of holding a decent sleeping pattern and thus constantly staying up all night and sleeping all day. In order to sleep, something I still do, I would throw on a television show or film to watch to help send me off to sleep, background noise always seems to work. I had a much larger interest in the world of anime back then, having not seen a whole lot and had plenty to catch up on. Spirited Away, for a short period of time, was my go-to film to throw on that managed to very quickly send me to sleep. And I say this with great admiration for the film, rather than my sleep being a result of boredom.
Watching Spirited Away yet again, it's a film I still feel I discover something new in each time. With so many little details to be seen that I have just not noticed before. This viewing, a spontaneous choice a result of a sudden feverish illness I've been plagued with. Bound to my bed and with a hunger for cozy, gentle stories. It is interesting how a film or television show may impact us throughout our lives, unintentionally and in unique ways depending on our positions in life itself. I'm sure Spirited Away was not made to help guide a twenty-something insomniac to sleep, after all. Yet, I return to this film in various stages of my life, learning something new from it and its wide range of strange characters that each have something to tell us. Likely a lesson Miyazaki himself must've managed to learn at some point in his own life. While there are thousands of films with so much to say, animations tend to be the most vocal. Perhaps in their gentle tones and cartoonish styles. Or use of fantasy creatures to amplify their direction. I feel these are often the films that impact us the most, mostly through childhood.
Funnily, I wouldn't even classify Spirited Away as my favourite Ghibli animation, but it's one that probably return to the most.
Spirited Away
For me, Spirited Away's charm sits in the musical composition. A beautifully gentle orchestra and piano which sets the curiosity of a child's mind perfectly. The sense of fear, discovery, and the challenges faced within a new place. I can't think of many films in which the music is just perfect, but Spirited Away is certainly one of them. And this music starts almost immediately, with Chihiro's initial fear of moving to a new place. This is a common theme of Miyazaki, to which he explores the fear of a child's mind in youth, and the inevitable growth that comes from a series of fantasy hardships which essentially force self-discovery and growth. Chihiro, a little girl full of fear, is thrown into a mystical world of spirits after her parents are turned into pigs as a result of their greed. This fantasy world seems to unfold at night, with various spirits roaming a Taiwanese-inspired small town rich in hanging lanterns and warm market tones, narrow streets turn ripe with the movements of ghosts. For Chihiro to survive and save her parents, she had to grow and adapt to a rapidly changing environment which is full of danger, growing and gaining independence.
The way Miyazaki displays this world is utterly beautiful. Despite its threatening nature, this spirit world is full of structure. Beautiful colours and expectations with the idea of a structured city, of which takes place in a traditional bathhouse that is aimed at providing a service to the various spirits of the spirit world. The bathhouse displays a location of greed, for the most part. The worst traits of an individual can be found here. Where money, luxury, and selfishness are at the forefront of all characters. Albeit a select few which have some generous traits and are generally aware. I find the colours and tones Miyazaki uses in this place to be interesting, highly inviting, and certainly a place of comfort. The soft of place one might fall for only to end up being engulfed themselves by the poor traits of its inhabitants. A polluted hivemind that consumes and spits out like-minded individuals.
Even so, Spirited Away is full of life. The characters displayed, of which are often greater spirits, are often various creatures both real and made up. All capable of speaking the same language. Some characters are humanoid, or slightly distorted or featuring additional limbs. But for the most part the characters are some variation of animals. And it doesn't end there. The backgrounds are something you can find yourself roaming your eyes around in search of something, either very open or dense in movement. Incredibly beautiful paintings that look like a total utopian dream, or chaotic interiors in which the movements of many clog up the scene. This contrast is quite interesting, showing a contrast between the simplistic nature to be found outside, and the horrors of the modern world that we have created, claustrophobic, based on greed, and cramped. Even in such wider perspectives, there are so many small details to notice that you're likely to miss on your first view viewings. In this viewing, after all these years, I still managed to notice little things I hadn't before. And this is what art can really be about. Hand-crafted, animated worlds with so much to say.
With a runtime of two hours, you don't really notice where the time went. Spirited Away is a film in constant motion, even when the camera is still. And when the camera is not still, you're in for jaw dropping animation techniques that really show a passion for the craft. This is where Miyazaki has fairly managed to earn his reputation: no matter what, the visuals are dreamlike and inspirational. A dismissal of the computer generated guidance, a love for the idea of sitting there, painting every frame, refusing to cheapen out and minimise the work, instead, an encouragement to keep pushing for more. And all of this plays into the main theme of the film. Spirited Away is about kindness, growth, and the willpower to get out of your comfort zone for both yourself and others. The realisation that there will be danger, fears met, but also friends to be made. Discoveries of the world that seemed unknown. Ultimately saying that we are all Chihiro at some point in our lives. And no matter what we may be up against, the world is still full of adventure and greatness, which makes it all worth it in the end.
