Spirited Away - 2001 Review

Even people who love animated films may not have seen this movie, because it certainly isn't mainstream cartoon fare and it wasn't heavily promoted in this country. Don't let that stop you. If you're in the mood for something rich and magical, find this and watch it. Here are three reasons why you should:

The artwork! Visually this film is nothing short of a masterpiece, with loving detail crafted into every single frame.

The story, which has an intensity and an authenticity reminiscent of the best American animation of decades past.

The characters. Not only because they are a collection of bizarre entities from a creative imagination, but because they are multidimensional and... believable. Odd to say such a thing about hungry spirits with no faces, or boys who are dragons, or parents who turn into pigs and back again! It is the complexity of the characters that makes them feel real -- their ambivalence, their stubbornness, their changes of heart.

I cannot recommend this film strongly enough. It is absolutely one of my very favorite films of all time.