Scott
後輩
- 25 Jun 2002
- 139
- 0
- 26
A movie about a 10-year-old girl has overtaken Titanic as the best-selling movie in Japanese history. Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi (English title: Spirited Away), a full-length animated film, opened last summer in Japan and has become a massive hit, now appearing on VHS and DVD.
Spirited Away is the first movie in four years by director Hayao Miyazaki, who is very popular with kids (as well as adults) in Japan. Fans lined up outside theatres for hours to see the movie on the day it was released. The film broke the Japanese record for some spectators shortly after it came out, and in just 56 days, it also took the record as the highest-earning Japanese film ever. Another Miyazaki movie previously held this record from four years ago, Mononoke Hime (English title: Princess Mononoke), which took about a year to set the record.
In Spirited Away, Chihiro, an ordinary 10-year-old Japanese girl, moves to a house with her parents when they wander into a mysterious town. Her father claims that it must be an old abandoned theme park. They wander into the heart of the small town, and her mother and father are turned into pigs after they eat food that was not meant for them. In shock, Chihiro runs around the town only to meet a boy of her age named Haku. Haku informs her that to survive and turn her parents back into humans. She must work for Yubaba, the witch who controls the town. Chihiro ends up working in a big bathhouse, where the many gods and monsters said to live in Japan come at night, across a red painted bridge, to relax and recover from the day's stress.
Yubaba robs Chihiro of her name, after Chihiro signs a contract, and changes it to Sen. The little girl will not be able to return to the human world if she forgets her real name. She encounters many strange obstacles along the way, such as a visit from the "Stinky God" to the bathhouse, and a meeting with Yubaba's GIANT son, who is referred to as Baby. Will Chihiro, who has suddenly lost her parents and been left to care and work for herself, be able to find her way back? Chihiro appears both weak and negative at the beginning of the story, but as it unfolds, she becomes increasingly stronger as it unfolds. For those of you who have seen Miyazaki's previous work, My Neighbor Totoro, you will notice that the little black dust bunnies play a guest role in this movie.
The film features subtitles in English, French and Japanese subtitles, and dubbed soundtrack in French, and Japanese. The film is provided on 2 DVDs and features many extras, as with all Studio Ghibli's DVD film releases. The first disc contains the movie, and on the second disk are many extras. You can view the film in storyboard mode on this disc, a great way to get insight into the movie and the director. There are also many other things, including an interview you don't want to miss, and a preview for the newest Ghibli movie, Neko no Ongaeshi (The Cat Returns).
Spirited Away, in my opinion, is the greatest movie ever produced by Ghibli. It also has serious potential for being one of the greatest anime movies ever made to this date. Spirited Away is a beautiful film, full of incredible scenes and characters that are especially eye-opening. There seems to be a combination of the inventions of Miyazaki and snippets from tales in ancient Japan and China.
For those of you who may have heard that there is a reddish tint to the DVD, don't let that throw you. I noticed a SLIGHT red tint which was easily improved by editing the color settings on my TV. After the first minute, you forget that there is a red tint, and by the end of the movie, you're questioning to whether there even is a red tint on the DVD.
I plan on watching and enjoying it many more times after today. I'm also excited to see the results of the English dub when it hits North American theatres this fall, in September 2002. If you're interested in more information, you can visit Spirited Away // Nausicaa.net.
In final, I suggest you buy Spirited Away today. I'm sure you won't be disappointed. It is available at most Japanese themed stores on the net.
Spirited Away is the first movie in four years by director Hayao Miyazaki, who is very popular with kids (as well as adults) in Japan. Fans lined up outside theatres for hours to see the movie on the day it was released. The film broke the Japanese record for some spectators shortly after it came out, and in just 56 days, it also took the record as the highest-earning Japanese film ever. Another Miyazaki movie previously held this record from four years ago, Mononoke Hime (English title: Princess Mononoke), which took about a year to set the record.
In Spirited Away, Chihiro, an ordinary 10-year-old Japanese girl, moves to a house with her parents when they wander into a mysterious town. Her father claims that it must be an old abandoned theme park. They wander into the heart of the small town, and her mother and father are turned into pigs after they eat food that was not meant for them. In shock, Chihiro runs around the town only to meet a boy of her age named Haku. Haku informs her that to survive and turn her parents back into humans. She must work for Yubaba, the witch who controls the town. Chihiro ends up working in a big bathhouse, where the many gods and monsters said to live in Japan come at night, across a red painted bridge, to relax and recover from the day's stress.
Yubaba robs Chihiro of her name, after Chihiro signs a contract, and changes it to Sen. The little girl will not be able to return to the human world if she forgets her real name. She encounters many strange obstacles along the way, such as a visit from the "Stinky God" to the bathhouse, and a meeting with Yubaba's GIANT son, who is referred to as Baby. Will Chihiro, who has suddenly lost her parents and been left to care and work for herself, be able to find her way back? Chihiro appears both weak and negative at the beginning of the story, but as it unfolds, she becomes increasingly stronger as it unfolds. For those of you who have seen Miyazaki's previous work, My Neighbor Totoro, you will notice that the little black dust bunnies play a guest role in this movie.
The film features subtitles in English, French and Japanese subtitles, and dubbed soundtrack in French, and Japanese. The film is provided on 2 DVDs and features many extras, as with all Studio Ghibli's DVD film releases. The first disc contains the movie, and on the second disk are many extras. You can view the film in storyboard mode on this disc, a great way to get insight into the movie and the director. There are also many other things, including an interview you don't want to miss, and a preview for the newest Ghibli movie, Neko no Ongaeshi (The Cat Returns).
Spirited Away, in my opinion, is the greatest movie ever produced by Ghibli. It also has serious potential for being one of the greatest anime movies ever made to this date. Spirited Away is a beautiful film, full of incredible scenes and characters that are especially eye-opening. There seems to be a combination of the inventions of Miyazaki and snippets from tales in ancient Japan and China.
For those of you who may have heard that there is a reddish tint to the DVD, don't let that throw you. I noticed a SLIGHT red tint which was easily improved by editing the color settings on my TV. After the first minute, you forget that there is a red tint, and by the end of the movie, you're questioning to whether there even is a red tint on the DVD.
I plan on watching and enjoying it many more times after today. I'm also excited to see the results of the English dub when it hits North American theatres this fall, in September 2002. If you're interested in more information, you can visit Spirited Away // Nausicaa.net.
In final, I suggest you buy Spirited Away today. I'm sure you won't be disappointed. It is available at most Japanese themed stores on the net.