Spirited Away (千と千尋の神隠し) is a 2001 Japanese-animated fantasy film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki, animated mainly by Studio Ghibli. Spirited Away tells the story of Chihiro Ogino (Hiiragi), a 10-year-old girl who, while moving to a new neighborhood, enters the world of Kami (spirits of Japanese Shinto folklore). After her parents are turned into pigs by the witch Yubaba, Chihiro takes a job working in Yubaba's bathhouse to find a way to free herself and her parents and return to the human world.
It won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature at the 75th Academy Awards (2003), making it the first (and, to date, only) hand-drawn and non-English-language animated film to win that award
There are so many things to talk about in this movie. I have to admit, I didn`t want to watch it, but my sister practically forced me to do it, and I don't regret it. Is one of my favorite animated movies and I will explain to you the reasons.
The animation is one of my preferred things, is detailed, clear, and colorful, which makes the movie catchy and beautiful. The characters are unique and funny, something that you could never imagine.
The meaning behind this story...is still unclear for many spectators and there are many theories about it. The first one, and the most accepted one, is the one about consumerism. In Japan, there was a time of fast growth, thanks to the shift in the type of economy, and consumerism was the main thing that changed the life of many Japanese people.
The second one is about child prostitution. It is clear that child and forced prostitution is a problem all around the world, and this movie somehow portrays that. In the movie, Chihiro has to work at the bathhouse because of her parents, this is a clear example of how poor parents sold their children. Also, in the film, Chihiro is hired as a “Yuna”, literally translated as “bath girl”. In Japanese, this word is used for a woman who works in a bathhouse to bathe and massage clients, but very often this service would include sexual services.
Digging a little deeper, she is forced to work in the bathhouse and a witch named Yubaba gives her a new name. This is a common practice among prostitutes in Japan, who change their names to a nickname. The name Chihiro is given is Sen, which, when we use the kanji character version, looks like this: 千. This is the character for 1000, possibly showing Chihiro’s worth as a prostitute (1000 yen).
This innocent animated movie, if you watch it when you are still young and ignorant, you could just see it as a fantastic fantasy movie, but watching it at an age of 15 years old, you can easily see these little things that make the movie have a different and deeper meaning.
"Once You've Met Someone You Never Really Forget Them. It Just Takes A While For Your Memories To Return"
This is a heart-touching film, that you should totally watch.
By Manuela Orozco, Step 10
