There are over four hundred amusement parks in the United States and the word “fun” is used in the names of these parks more than any other descriptor. Rightly so, as many people would describe amusement parks as great places to get away from the dull routine of daily life and enjoy time with family. They are known for their greasy, yet addictive, food and thrilling rides and attractions. In Hayao Miyazaki’s Spirited Away a family of three stumbles upon what they believe is an abandoned amusement park. Unbeknownst to them, the amusement park is inhabited by spirits and witches whom are not interested in sharing the place with humans.
The young heroine of the movie, Chihiro, has to face many formidable obstacles in order to rescue her parents. The movie is filled with great themes that can be applied to the world today, along with being able to apply to people’s personal lives. Not only does it have numerous significant topics, but it is also a beautiful work of art with its graceful animation and music that gives people goosebumps. Overall, the movie was extremely successful, and it is an original composition that will forever be a timeless classic.
It would be very beneficial for the students in Mrs. Hemphill’s third hour class to watch Spirited Away. For a movie or any sort of medium to be influential, it needs to have substance and depth to support it. That makes for a powerful and worth watching movie. Spirited Away has many profound motifs that are pertinent to the world, and some that are specifically applicable towards high school students or anyone going through a change in their life. Spirited Away portrays messages in a unique way, without just coming out and blatantly saying the main idea. Many themes are represented through characters.
Chihiro, a ten-year-old girl, has to fend for herself in a world of spirits. In the beginning of the film, she is whiny, weak, and helpless; what someone would expect of a little girl on her own in a foreign place. As the movie goes on, however, she gains ambition and matures. She knows that she has to do everything she can to save her parents and get home. She gets a job at the bathhouse and begins working despite never working a day in her life. At first, she is inefficient and complains constantly, but she eventually learns how to become an effective worker and even takes on great tasks.
According to James Boyd, who wrote an interpretation of the film, “the story depicts Chihiro’s journey from being a sulking child to that of a young person who acts with genuine sincerity toward others and the world” (Boyd). Chihiro gets a shock from the adult and working world that she is completely unaccustomed to, and she learns how to deal with it. This is an important message for high school students to learn because most are dependent on their parents one way or another, whether it be financially or entirely dependent.
The time to start becoming independent and acclimate to the idea of working comes very quickly for people who are in high school, and the movie shows that people are able to adjust to any situation. Another message of the movie is environmentalism and how people are destroying the environment. While working at the bathhouse, Chihiro runs a bath for a river spirit and finds a “thorn” in its side. All of the employees of the bathhouse work to pull it out and they discover it is not a thorn and rather the handle of a bicycle, and it gets pulled out along with a great deal of other debris.
Another example is a river spirit forgets his name because they filled in his river with concrete to build an apartment complex. The obvious message is that the rivers are being polluted and the people need to do their part in restoring them. The beautiful part of this movie is that all messages are illustrated the way a child might picture them, but it does not make the ideas any less powerful. Although this movie is animated and full of creatures that are outlandish and are of complete fantasy, it tells an important part Japanese history that began in 1853.
In Ayumi Suzuki’s review of Spirited Away, he talks about how capitalism was viewed as a very negative concept when it first arrived in Japan and that is reflected in the movie. In the summer of 1853, American Commodore Matthew Perry led an expedition with the goal to restore open trade between Japan and the western world. When Japan opened their doors to the idea of trade with the United States and other countries, it brought a flood of western ideas that were unfamiliar to the Japanese people.
This led to a more capitalistic society and Japan became much more money-oriented, and many of the citizens of Japan suffered because of this (Suzuki). Characters in the movies are portrayed as greedy; always wanting gold and always looking for a way to obtain it. Chihiro, who is only a child, needs a job or she will not survive, and some characters are even referred as slaves to the bathhouse. While Yubaba, the owner of the bathhouse, is living a lavish life, representing the upper class, and the lower class is only alive to serve her. They have to do this in order to keep up with this new society where money is crucial to everything.
The contempt of this new lifestyle is shown when Chihiro’s parents are turned into pigs. They are greedy, eating all the food that is not for them. When Chihiro is worried about them eating the food, her father exclaims, “Don’t worry, you’ve got Daddy with you. He’s got credit cards and cash! ” The idea that you can get away with anything as long as you have money is shown in this scene. Unlike the messages which are up for interpretation, Spirited Away includes an actual history lesson depicted in a children’s movie, and shows how an entire nation changed.
If the idea about the message and history of the movie were not enough, this movie did extremely well in the box office and has won many awards; definitive proof that Spirited Away is considered a great movie by many audiences. The movie has been nominated for over forty awards in many different countries and has won the majority of them. Some of those awards include: The Academy Award for Best Animated Feature in 2003, The Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Films Award for Best Animated Film in 2003, the Blue Ribbon Award for Best Film in 2002, along with many others.
Spirited Away continues to be the highest-grossing film in Japan’s history, grossing over 30. 4 billion yen, and it has a worldwide total of about $289 million. When it won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, it became the only hand drawn animated film and Japanese animated film to win best animated film in history, and it was also voted the fourth best film of the 21st century. If hundreds of critics and movie experts love this movie, then it is safe to say that most people would enjoy this movie.
Most of the negative reviews of this movie claim they do not like the anime style of the movie. Although they are allowed to have that opinion, it is not a legitimate reason to dislike this movie. Some people dislike classical music, but they can still appreciate a beautiful piece when they hear it. The sensational movie that is Spirited Away needs to be seen by all people, but most importantly it needs to be seen by Mrs. Hemphill’s third hour class. This movie is absolutely stunning and it is meaningful movie, and one people never forget.
More importantly, it has a great message about growing up that students can relate to, especially if they are graduating soon. Every time it is watched, something new can be noticed and learned. With the hand drawn animation, the message, the history, the music, or just being shocked by the unique characters and plot; there is no way Spirited Away cannot be considered memorable. Trips to the amusement are always amusing, and just like a family always remembers trips to the amusement park, people who watch Spirited Away will always remember it.