Spirited Away Film Review Essay Hayao Miyazaki is widely considered one of Japan's greatest animation directors, earning him the nickname "Japan's Walt Disney." His films are known for their entertaining plots, compelling characters and the “breathtaking” animation they contain. Hayao Miyazaki has several hallmarks present in almost all of his films, including having a young protagonist or children play significant roles in the plot, references to environmentalism and pollution created by humans, including flying into action sequences, and have the human protagonists enter an unusual land that is inaccessible or forbidden to the outside world. Additionally, there are often two main characters, male and female, one of whom has an unusual past or magical power, they are often set in European cities with added Japanese influence, and there are also scenes involving work or recognition towards the working class. people with women and children offering assistance. Therefore, Spirited Away can be classified as a typical Hayao Miyazaki film, as it includes each of these trademarks that are constant in his work. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original EssayA very important theme that was a major plot point in this film was the importance of one's name. Yubaba taking away Chihiro's name signifies her initial enslavement to the bathhouse, as a way to strip her of her identity. However, remembering her name was the key to Chihiro's escape, and Haku tells her that if she doesn't she will be trapped in the spirit world forever. The power of a name is that it is the only word that defines a person, and although Chihiro lost it in becoming Sen, she needed to keep it to remember the qualities that make her who she truly is. Haku is used as an example of the danger that comes from forgetting one's identity, and only through Chihiro can he regain his identity and become free. Names are a key factor in the struggle for power in the spirit world, as people with the most power maintain control by stealing and changing the names of others, and only those with the inner strength to maintain their own identity will be able to assert themselves. . free. The power of words also plays an important role for the characters in this film. When Chihiro is first introduced to the word spiritual, she is repeatedly warned by Haku to use her words to get a job and not get distracted. Chihiro insists on getting a job by not listening to how many times she's been denied, and learns to use her words carefully to get what she wants from Yubaba, and essentially saves herself in the process. Furthermore, by saying only the right things, she was able to successfully save the others by not revealing the assistance Haku, Lin, and Kamaji gave her. This importance placed on one's words shows how powerful they can truly be and how careful you need to be when choosing them. Another important thematic aspect of Spirited Away is the way the film blurs the lines between good and evil. At the beginning of the film, the characters seem to be clearly divided into good and evil. However, as the film's plot develops, we begin to see other sides to these characters in how they influence Chihiro's quest to escape. Characters like Haku and Faceless seem good when we first meet them, but end up revealing their evil qualities later on. Meanwhile, characters like Zeniba, Kamaji, and Lin seem off-putting at first, but eventually play a roleimportant in helping Chihiro escape. The character who undergoes the most changes in this film is No-Face, as he goes from being innocent at first to evil after eating people, only to turn good again when Chihiro takes him to Zeniba's house to live with her . Even the clearest cut of the characters seems to show different sides to themselves, when the main antagonist Yubaba shows a lighter side to her as she takes care of Boh, her baby. This thematic decision is not usually used in the animated film genre, as these films usually show a clear division between good and evil. Being able to blur these lines of good and evil and challenge the first impressions we make of these characters provides a great example of these traits in the real world, which is incredibly important for young target audiences to understand. Spirited Away also subtly explores the shock that accompanies the transition from childhood to adulthood. Chihiro's experience at the bathhouse represented her immediate transition to adult life, launching her into the world of work. Being idle and inactive is a luxury that comes with childhood, and both Chihiro and Boh demonstrate these traits before experiencing major events. For Chihiro, it's her lying in the backseat of the car while her parents drive her, and for Boh it's always lying in her pile of pillows while her mother goes out to do her work. Both of these characters seem to be incapable of doing things independently and both have a tendency to complain or complain. When Chihiro first becomes Sen and has to start her job, she proves to be slower and less effective than the other workers. Lin confirms this behavior by saying that Sen must have never worked a day in his life. But just as people adapt to working life and improve their skills, Sen is able to slowly work her way up to becoming an industrious worker, as she is able to tackle challenging tasks such as washing stinky spirit. This is another theme that isn't typically addressed strongly in films of this age range, making it a unique aspect of Spirited Away. An important lesson this film teaches is that everyone makes their own choices that will define who they are. Much of Spirited Away's plot is influenced by the internal decisions Chihiro makes to help others, which were her own personal choices that created additional challenges for her to face. At the beginning of the film, Chihiro is entirely motivated by fear of the harsh and unfamiliar environment into which she is thrown. As the plot progresses and other motivations such as love and compassion for others come into play, he begins to face further problems. He begins to face resentment from others due to his desire not to follow the invariable lifestyle in the bathhouse, which stems from his deep love for Haku. He chooses to face the dangerous obstacles he faces with compassion, which is an entirely internal decision, despite the danger he puts himself in. The most important thing about these actions that Chihiro takes is the fact that she doesn't fully remember these decisions and the danger she put herself in those situations. This symbolizes to the audience that everyone has the power within themselves to show the same kind of compassion and love in their life, and even if no one remembers you or your actions, it still matters. One of the most intriguing characters in this film was No Face, the spirit who Chihiro allowed into the bathhouse. No Face goes through the greatest transformation of all the characters over the course of the film, starting out as seemingly innocent and friendly, transforming intoa monster who eats people, only to become innocent and friendly again when Chihiro saves him. No Face's defining traits are that it reacts to emotions and gains the physical and personality traits of those it ingests. Hayao Miyazaki explains that this character is a metaphor, essentially a libido that everyone secretly possesses, since all the actions we do are influenced by what surrounds us. One interpretation of the meaning of No Face is that it represents a child, with childlike qualities. The main evidence for this is how No Face essentially mirrors the actions and personalities of everyone around him. No Face begins by simply following Chihiro around, seeking her approval by offering her many bathroom tokens for her task, while she repeatedly rejects him. However, when No Face begins to interact with the other workers at the bathhouse, he begins to experience their greedy nature firsthand, as they all quickly seize the opportunity to collect the gold that No Face leaves on the floor. The more he interacts with these greedy individuals, the more their nature begins to wear him down, as he inherits their selfishness. This escalates to the point where he evolves into a monster, consuming everything and everyone in his way. Later, however, No Face manages to stabilize to more closely resemble his initial nature, thanks to time spent with Chihiro and Zeniba, characters who represent selflessness and kindness. These qualities are very similar to those of a child, as No Face essentially reflects and imitates the nature of the people around him. As shown by the bathhouse workers and their effects in No Face, the role of greed is significant in Spirited Away. Greed is also represented in Chihiro through her parents and the transformation they undergo by turning into pigs. These examples fall under the larger theme of temptation, which is shown through the bathhouse to represent its prevalence in the adult world. Early in the film, before Chihiro experiences the bathhouse, her first big shocking revelation is that her parents were turned into pigs when they decided to eat the food they found. Giving in to the temptation of the food they found, Chihiro's parents gave in to greed instead of thinking altruistically like Chihiro, who claimed that the food was not meant for them. In the film, this transformation into pigs was initially irreversible for Chihiro's parents, reflecting the nature of greed in the real world, as that kind of lifestyle can consume you. Additionally, Chihiro was able to determine during her challenge that none of the pigs in the pen were her parents due to her mindset having changed through everything she had experienced at the bathhouse. Greed was also a very evident factor when it came to Yubaba, who always wore extravagant clothes as a way to show her power over everyone. Through this powerful theme, Hayao Miyazaki was trying to show that everyone can be consumed by greed, as long as they are attracted to the right thing. Another theme shown in Spirited Away that is common throughout Hayao Miyazaki's work is environmentalism. Throughout the film, the consequences of harmful actions towards the environment and the damage they cause to people and society are often addressed. Two characters in particular, the stinky spirit and Haku, served as direct examples of environmental concerns when Chihiro encounters them. When the Stinky Spirit first arrives at the bathhouse, all the staff try to chase it away without success, as it turns into the largest bathtub. Chihiro then notices something sticking out of it, discovering that, 36(3), 261-267.