Well in my opinion....

Today I am going to review a very popular anime movie, one that we all should see. The creation of this movie rivals the end of world war two, the birth of Martin Luther King, and Columbus discovering America. I know what your all thinking, “No movie could be this good.” But you must remember, you are only mortal, and I know what I am talking about. The movie of course is “Spirited Away” by Hayao Miyazaki. This has been called his greatest work ever. On March 23, 2003, Hayao Miyazaki's Spirited Away scooped the Oscar for Best Animated Feature Film at the 75th Academy Award Ceremony. This movie is about a little girl named Chihiro, becoming trapped on one side of a river after walking through a dark tunnel. She finds herself in a town normally invisible to humans, one in which various gods, from local deities to goblins and monsters, are quite visible. After she is trapped in this town with her parents, who are turned into pigs for eating the food of the gods without permission, Chihiro begins to disappear. She survives by getting a job from the witch Yu-baaba at a public bath for gods, which is the main attraction of this strange town. In order to receive her job, however, she is forced to give Yu-baaba her name, who then replaces "Chihiro" with the moniker "Sen."

A major theme is that of the existence of good and evil in the world. In Spirited Away we are taken into another world, one that comes beautifully to life in the hands of the animators. It is distinctly Japanese, and flows from that rich and unique folklore history. At its core, however, it is also a reflection of our world, and brings this movie into the realm of allegory. Chihiro's adventures in the public bathhouse is characterised by meetings with many types of gods, both good and evil. Through her wit and with the help of her friends, she survives. In the end, when the lights go on and the credits roll across the screen, the story is done not because evil was vanquished or the other world disappeared, but simply because Chihiro found the will to survive. It is in movies like this that we find ourselves wondering “What if….” At the end. This is an instant classic and Miyazaki’s next feature film “Howl’s Moving Castle” is guaranteed impress.~Ian