On Being Spirited Away

Oh, how I love this movie. I have fallen absolutely head over heels in love with all of Miyazaki’s films and The Walt Disney Company’s wonderful “re-capturing” of these stories in English; and while all are masterfully well done, I feel Spirited Away is the figurehead for a new and vibrant form of storytelling which presents a new way of portraying and connecting with children through the art of a cross-cultural imagination. And I find it so exciting and fulfilling to see Studio Ghibli and The Walt Disney Company walking hand-in-hand with a dream to share such beautiful stories with the wider world.

Spirited Away is a film which is so nostalgically and magically Japanese, and while the story and characters may seem strange to Western audiences, I willingly let myself fall head-first into the magical and frightening world of Chihiro. Watching Spirited Away for the first time was like having a small child tug on the hem of my skirt to present a closed fist, which when opened tenderly, revealed the glow of a lightning bug or other wondrous treasure, which illuminated my face with its strange beauty and lit in my soul a passion for the culture that nurtured such a visionary artist and storyteller.

Chihiro

Miyazaki’s tale begins with Chihiro, a spoiled and apathetic young girl. She’s travelling with her parents to their new home when they lose their way and end up in what her father believes is an abandoned and overgrown theme park nestled somewhere in the foothills outside their town. Curiosity gets the better of the small family, and they decide to explore; little do they know that they’ve crossed into the realm of the spirits. As the sun sets, Chihiro’s parents are turned into gigantic pigs as they gorge themselves on spirit-food and a horrified Chihiro watches the “abandoned” amusement park come to life and realizes she is alone in a twilight-world of magic, strange shadows, spirits, witches and dragons.

Chihiro must adapt to survive in this ancient and magical world in order to save her parents, and through her personal journey of self-discovery, reliance and growth into a kind and confident young woman she becomes the impetus of hope, love and redemption within a highly structured and secret world. 

By drawing on motifs present in Japanese legend and folklore, Miyazaki creates a world that, while entirely his own, has all the realism and wonder of actual myths and the harsher truths an relatability of our own reality. These little nuances, such as Chihiro's need to consume food from the "spirit" world, her need to work to keep her place and the necessity of a test to acquire the object of her quest, are cleverly employed and give Spirited Away a realistic structure present in only a handful of other movies I've seen.

The Bath House of the Spirits

Spirited Away is filled with a very colorful cast of supporting characters. My favorite is Haku, the mysterious boy who first comes to Chihiro's aid, saying he has known her since she was a small child, and instructs her to seek a job in the bath-house. He protects her from the watchful eye of his Master and tells her that only if she is given a job will she be allowed to stay; otherwise, she’ll also turn into a pig like her unfortunate parents.
Haku is voiced by Jason Marsden, who I had no knowledge of until I watched Spirited Away. I almost can’t watch the original version of Spirited Away, if only because of the voice of Haku. For some reason, Haku elicited a strong emotional response from me – he is definitely my favorite character of the film. I enjoyed the mysterious aspects of his character, and how I could never really understand why he decided to help Chihiro. He tells her he remembered her from the past, but Yubaba had laid claim to so many of his memories that he couldn’t remember why he remembered her. And really, beneath everything…he is a little soul lost in the world, and perhaps he felt he could save himself if he helped another lost soul. Marsden’s voice captured the strength, irritation and aloofness of Haku’s character, but also his tenderness and kind heart.

Haku rescuing Chichiro

Haku sends Chihiro to Kamaji, the Boiler-Man, who is voiced by David Ogden-Stiers. Ogden-Stiers is part of my childhood—he’s been the amazing voice actor behind so many delightful characters and his performance as Kamaji is both frightening and loveable. Oh, he’s terrific! Unfortunately, Kamaji has no need of human help, but for some reason Chihiro’s resolve wins him over and he convinces another bath-house servant girl named Rin to take Chihiro to Yubaba, the powerful witch that runs the bath-house.
The film's villain, the witch Yubaba is, quite frankly, one of the creepiest animated villains I have ever laid eyes on. Oh, I really don’t like her. I do, however, ADORE how masterfully Suzanne Plechette voiced such depth and a comic likability into such a strange character. I’m not sure who Disney has on their team when they approach the project of dubbing a Miyazaki film, but they just “get it.” They understand how to accurately re-form these characters purely in voice, and they’re successful in communicating that to the actors they include in the project. Props, ladies and gentlemen!

Kamaji, the Boiler Man

Yubaba

Despite her repulsive character, she claims she’s actually a nice person and concedes to Chihiro’s request for a job in the bath-house. In exchange for her new Job, Yubaba takes Chihiro’s name away from her and renames her “Sen.” Haku warns Chihiro that Yubaba controls her servants by taking their names, and that Chihiro and her parents will be trapped forever in the spirit world if she forgets her name.
The "remember your name" plot device fits so perfectly with the feel of Spirited Away, and carries the theme of self-discovery in a subtle, poignant way. Also, it should be noted that while Yubaba is the "villain," she doesn't see herself as evil...probably because she really isn't. She isn't a Jafar (from "Aladdin") or Ursula (from "The Little Mermaid"); she is trying to run a business and is tired of humans wasting her time.

So, Sen begins her new life in the bath-house serving the various gods and spirits found in Japanese fairy tales and mythology. For the first time in her life, Sen must get her hands dirty and work hard to keep her place. And for the first time, Sen’s parents are relying on her. She works under Rin, the servant-girl who originally took her to Yubaba. Rin is voiced by Megan Egan, who’s voiced many Disney characters, namely Megara from Hercules and she brings an excellent edgy and lyrical tone to the cast, which I feel works very well against Daveigh Chase’s shriller performance as Chihiro/Sen.

While working, Sen sees a Masked Spirit standing alone out in the rain, and taking pity on him, invites him into the bath-house. Shortly after, what appears to be a very large “stink spirit” enters the bath-house, and what follows is one of the most entertaining scenes of the entire film, mostly because the characters react so comically and strongly to the overwhelming stench of the “Stink Spirit” and Sen (being lowest on the staff “totem pole”) is tasked with serving him. He smells so terribly that food rots as he passes. Sen manages to clean him, revealing him to be a sacred, ancient spirit of a polluted river. In return for restoring his health, the river spirit gives Sen a magic dumpling.

This scene is classic Miyazaki, with the "OMG HE STINKS" expressions displayed by the characters, the wonderful accompanying score and the restoring of polluted/abused nature.

A classic "Show, don't Tell" moment. :D

Sen and the Stink Spirit

The next afternoon, Sen is wondering about Haku, and the rumors that he works for Yubaba and is a friend she should not have made. Gazing out from her room, she sees a dragon being attacked by shikigami* (in Spirited Away, the shikigami are paper-birds), and she realizes that the injured dragon is actually Haku.
The combination of animation and musical score in this scene is breathtaking. I particularly loved the fluidity of Haku's movements (as if he's swimming through the air) and the menacing fluttering of a thousand paper birds.

Later, the Masked Spirit reveals his true nature and evolves into a horrendous monster called "No-Face". It swallows one of the servants in order to speak, and offers gold to the staff in exchange for huge quantities of food. No-Face eats and grows dramatically in size, also swallowing several other employees. He demands to see Sen, and when she is brought before him, he offers her heaps of gold. He seems infatuated with the young girl and years for her approval and love. When she rejects his offers of gold, he grows angry and threatens to devour her. She gives No-Face the remainder of the magic dumpling, causing the monster to violently regurgitate everything and everyone it has eaten.

Refuing No-Face

This was such a strange scene that was both disgusting and cleansing, as Sen frees No-Face from his greed and gluttony. In his own way, No-Face can be seen as a symbol for Sen's journey. He has no identity, and relys on others to communicate. He bribes and commands to be loved because he is lonely and therefore deserves to be loved, not because he has opened his heart and yearns for true friendship. Sen recognizes this (though it's unspoken, as many deep emotional connections are left unsaid in Japanese anime/manga), and she is able to redeem him by extending true friendship.
The following scene with Sen and No-Face on the train is such a poignant cinematic moment. It’s a very quiet and introspective moment filled with slow, dreamy movements and a simple, beautiful overture which creates a bit of a respite for both the characters and the viewer. One particular moment has always haunted me, as I could not figure out what Miyazaki was trying to communicate. All the other figures riding the train appear only as shadows, and the train passes a station, Sen notices the form of a shadow-girl, who gazes longingly at the passengers in the train.

The train ride to see Zeniba

My favorite scene in the film is one of the very last ones, where Sen suddenly remembers a memory from her childhood caused by the sensation of the wind in her hair as she rides on Haku’s back. She had fallen into the Kohaku River as a child and Sen realizes that Haku is the spirit of that river and the one who saved her as a child.

"I knew you were good!"

Reunited at last with his true name, Haku is freed from Yubaba's spell. He is suddenly released from his dragon form an the two freefall hand-in-hand as Haku laughs and Chihiro cries and oh my heavens it makes me cry in joy every time.
Chihiro is offered a final test: she has to guess which pigs are her parents out of a farmhouse full of them. She correctly answers that her parents are not among the pigs, whereupon her friends (Kamaji, Rin, Boh and others) leap and jump in celebration.

Passing the Test

While the performances of the voice actors in the English dubbed version capture the depth and emotion of character required in a Miyazaki film, the translation itself weakens the film in a number of ways. This is not a stab at Disney; it's just the sad reality on how certain aspects of Miyazaki’s films (and to be fair, Japanese films in general) are simply lost in cultural and literal translation. English adaptions must often add (sometimes unnecessary) explanations and localize the vibrancy of the original to accommodate Western audiences, but this results in a few parts in the film coming across as a little silly. But, the film is a fantasy, so it's not too difficult to let minor inconsistencies slide by.
In the Japanese original, Yubaba states she must give Chihiro the final test because she is also bound by the rules of her world, and that she cannot break the spell the girl's parents are under because she wishes to. In the English version, Yubaba insists upon giving the test simply because she that was the deal she had struck with Chihiro (or rather, Haku). The folkloric motif of requiring a test to break a spell is sacrificed for the weaker contractual obligation, and one that does not even make sense, given that Yubaba does not seemed compelled to make Chihiro undergo the test in either the English or the Japanese version.

Haku takes her hand and leads her towards the entrance of the park. He promises they will see each other again, but warns her not to look back until she and her parents cross back over the river.

A promise

Chihiro reunites with her parents, who do not recall anything of their experiences, and the family leaves. Before they drive away, Chihiro casts once final glance over her shoulder and her expression is of a young woman who has become confident, strong, self-reliant and assured in her identity. But there’s the lingering thought that perhaps Chihiro has forgotten her experiences, too.
All these elements are able to captivate the viewer within the world of Spirited Away. The film evokes a sense of awe, an the magic the the existance of another profound and ancient world hidden just behind the veil of our own ordinary reality, and Chihiro's encounters with the beings of this spirit realm consistently impress me with the power and mystery of such ancient and comical little characters. Chihiro's bravery in facing this world of awesome power (a world that is not evil, but remains dangerous) is a sublt commentary on the journey of a young girl towards womanhood. In fact, these three emotions, heroic bravery, personal growth and awe, are effectively combined and balanced by Miyazaki so that each complements the others and all contribute to the film's overall effect.

The ending to Spirited Away is a perfectly bitter-sweet one. It is a simple, compelling and brilliant way to close the story and finish the take, but I felt there was just something left hanging. But in no way am I saying I’d like to see a sequel to the movie, as that would ruin the sweetness of Haku’s parting.

But unfortunately for Haku, I keep looking back and looking back and looking back to this jewel of a film and I suppose I’m forever lost in the world of the spirits.

 *Shikigami are said to be invisible most time, but they can be made visible by banning them into small, folded and artfully cut paper manikins. There are also shikigami that can show themselves as animals or birds. They must be conjured during a complex ceremony and their power is connected to the spiritual force of their master. If the evoker is well introduced and has lots of experience, his Shiki can possess animals and even people and manipulate them. But if the evoker is careless, his shikigami may get out of control in time, gaining its own will and consciousness. In this case the shikigami will raid its own master and kill him in revenge. Normally shikigami are conjured to exercise risky orders for their masters, such as spying around, stealing and enemy tracking. (from Wikipedia)