Tag Archives: Hayao Miyazaki

Movie Review: Spirited Away (2001)

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As 2021 is the twentieth anniversary of Spirited Away, I thought it was a great idea to finally review the movie here on the blog. Woot. Spirited Away is quite possibly the most renowned of Director and Animator Hayao Miyazaki of Studio Ghibli’s works and as such has won plenty of notable awards, including the 2003 Academy Award for Best Animated Feature – something no other hand-drawn non-English-language film has ever done.

It’s also a surreal moralistic film about the dangers of greed and selfishness.

The Story

Spirited Away begins with Chihiro, a headstrong young girl who doesn’t like following instructions, and her parents, finding what looks like and abandoned amusement park. This park turns out to be an amusement park for gods, spirits, ghosts, and monsters where they can rest and enjoy themselves before returning to the mortal world.

Chihiro’s parents become trapped when they indulge in forbidden food and are transformed into pigs. The only way for Chihiro to free them is to work at the ornate bathhouse and earn back what they took. For someone who isn’t great at following instructions, this is a real challenge. But her love for her parents, and her growing like of a certain boy, Haku, push her to overcome her reluctance to do what is needed.

As she works, she learns that there is far more going on in this world than she imagined. Not knowing better, she invites an unfriendly spirit called No-Face inside who starts eating the workers of the bathhouse when they take his offering of gold. She also is given the worst job of the night, taking care of a stink spirit. When she does so without complaint, she’s rewarded a magic dumpling.

During the evening, Chihiro, now called Sen as part of a spell meant to lock her in the spirit world, witnesses a dragon being attacked and recognizes that the dragon is none other than Haku. Haku stole a magic golden seal from the owner of the bathhouse and is now cursed if he doesn’t return it.

Sen uses part of her magic dumpling to help Haku and retrieves the magic seal, resolving to return it to it’s rightful owner, the bathhouse owner’s twin sister. But, Sen still needs to save her parents who are lined up for slaughter with the other pigs. If she can identify them, they can go free.

Chihiro with Haku the Dragon

My Review

Spirited Away introduces the viewer to a fresh and magical world populated with the new and the unusual. As with all Studio Ghibli, half of the enjoyment of watching the film is in the artistry of the hand-drawn settings and characters. It’s a beautifully envisioned world. The other half is in the story, and Chihiro’s story is engaging. We know what she wants and why, but we also see that she has heart and is willing to put herself in danger if the need arises.

While there are quite a few very strange visuals, such as No-Face eating everything in his path, including some of the bathhouse staff and then throwing it all up again, and the boiler room operator who looks more like a spider than a man, they add to the intrigue and interest of the film.

Between the story, the music, and the artistry, Spirited Away shouldn’t be missed.

The enigmatic No-Face

Recommendations

This is a family friendly film best suited for kids eight and up due to mildly frightening images and several intense situations. That said, there is a good message and plenty of discussion that can happen after watching ranging from how different characters were affected by greed and how hard work paid off for Chihiro.

I rate Spirited Away 5/5 for its artistry and impact on the viewer.

Thank you for joining me as I reviewed Spirited Away today on the blog. If you enjoyed reading this review and would like to see more, please consider connecting with me by either following the blog here on WordPress, liking my Facebook page, or subscribing to my newsletter. As an added bonus, newsletter subscribers receive free books, stories, and special offers every week.

Movie Review: Mary and the Witch’s Flower (2017)

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I’m pretty sure I’ve mentioned my love for Studio Ghibli and the works of acclaimed artist and director Hayao Miyazaki here on the blog before. If not, it’s never a moment too soon to start. Hubby and I even cosplayed as No Face from the Academy Award winning movie, Spirited Away. For pics, head over to that post.

That said, Mary and the Witch’s Flower is not from Studio Ghibli. But, ask any fan of the studio and they’ll tell you that the most beloved elements of Ghibli are present from the gorgeous art style, the sweet orchestral scores, and the weirdness of the creatures and characters.

This is not by chance. The director of Mary and the Witch’s Flower, Hiromasa Yonebayashi, worked as an animator on many of Ghibli’s best loved films including Spirited Away, Howl’s Moving Castle, and Ponyo.

The Story

Mary, a girl of perhaps twelve or thirteen, is sent to the beautiful flower filled countryside to live with her grandma while her parents relocate for work. She feels out of place and that she can’t do anything right. One day she spots a cat and follows it into the nearby forest where she finds a rare fly-by-night flower.

This flower is magical and allows whoever crushes its blossom to fly on a broomstick. Mary finds this out by accident and the broomstick whisks her away to Endor College, a school of magic where all of Mary’s many wants and wishes could quite possibly come true.

But, as all stories go, Endor College harbors a dark secret. Terrible things are happening behind the scenes and Mary finds herself right in the middle of it. She must risk everything to try to set it right and save both herself and her new found friend.

My Review

Compared to many of Miyazaki’s works, Mary and the Witch’s Flower is far less weird. Some of the usual environmental themes still come through, in this case, a lesson on why one shouldn’t meddle with nature or create unnatural creatures. But, there’s no heavy handed harping about the evils of pollution or man’s tendency to destroy – which is a nice change.

Mary herself is actually a little irritating. They paint her character as unnaturally clumsy and awkward and not particularly kind to the neighbor boy who, compared to her, seems responsible and good natured. The story is meant to teach her that there is a world of things to care for and she should stop being so self conscious, and it succeeds.

Like I said before, even if you aren’t crazy about the story, the art style and music are fabulous and make up for a lot of the weirdness found in the story. My kids loved the movie and I thought it was excellent.

Recommendations

The movie kicks off on a fairly intense scene where a young girl is desperately trying to escape from creepy cyclops creatures amidst explosions and peril. My 8 year old was fine with it, but he’s generally okay with reasonable amounts of action and tension. If your little one is sensitive to dangerous situations and creepy images, then this might be too much.

Other than that, the movie is squeaky clean. No offensive language, no drinking or smoking, and no romantic elements. In addition, there are lots of good role models and positive messages about accepting yourself the way you are

I give Mary and the Witch’s Flower 4/5 stars for being fantastic but still a touch weird.

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What is Cosplay?

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Brilliant cosplay of Princess Mononoke based on the Miyasaki film of the same name.

photo credit: Anna Fischer via photopin cc

Cosplay, or costume play, has been around for ages.  As long as there have been iconic characters who inspire, there have been people who want to dress up like them. As children we used to dress up and pretend to be princesses, cowboys, and fairies to name a few. Every year for Halloween we celebrate our alter egos and indulge in a bit of self indulgent dress up. It’s fun, harmless, and a chance to pretend we are someone or something different than our ordinary selves.

Cosplay gives players both old and young a chance to enter this alternate persona and escape the pressures of the real world for a while.  I imagine it is not unlike the escapism of reading a really good book that pulls the reader into the pages and doesn’t let them go until it’s over, or that awesome movie that is so appealing in its story and artistic imagery that you can’t help but sit riveted to the chair.

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Xena, the warrior princess, with one of her macho friends.

photo credit: fabiogis50 via photopin cc

The holy grail for cosplayers is Comic Con.  Not only are cosplayers allowed they are encouraged to come in their most elaborate costumes for a chance at prizes and photo ops.  When Comic Con comes to town it is not uncommon to see the casts from popular sci fi and manga riding public transit and wandering around downtown.

These costumes can be as simple as one or two items worn casually over normal dress or as complicated as full body suits of hand crafted armor.  Those devoted to their cosplay spend hundreds of hours creating costuming and props. Some will spend a small fortune in creating the perfect look.  It is a passion.  If you have a friend who is into cosplay expect to see lots of pictures and hear some pretty cool stories.

I love the idea of cosplay. Having the chance to be part of a different world and spend time with fascinating people is very appealing. That’s the reason I write fantasy, it gives me the chance to be a part of a different world and meet fascinating people, both real and imagined.