Spirited Away [2 Discs]

MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

Master animation director Hayao Miyazaki follows up on his record-breaking 1997 opus Princess Mononoke with this surreal Alice in Wonderland-like tale about a lost little girl. The film opens with ten-year-old Chihiro riding along during a family outing as her father races through remote country roads. When they come upon a blocked tunnel, her parents decide to have a look around -- even though Chihiro finds the place very creepy. When they pass through the tunnel, they discover an abandoned amusement park. As Chihiro's bad vibes continue, her parents discover an empty eatery that smells of fresh food. After her mother and father help themselves to some tasty purloined morsels, they turn into giant pigs. Chihiro understandably freaks out and flees. She learns that this very weird place, where all sorts of bizarre gods and monsters reside, is a holiday resort for the supernatural after their exhausting tour of duty in the human world. Soon after befriending a boy named Haku, Chihiro learns the rules of the land: one, she must work , as laziness of any kind is not tolerated; and two, she must take on the new moniker of Sen. If she forgets her real name, Haku tells her, then she will never be permitted to leave. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

DVD FEATURES:

• Region: 1
• Number of Discs: 2
• Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1
• Aspect Ratio: 2.00:1 (Widescreen TV Enhanced)
• Screen: Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV
• Subtitle: Eng
• Features:
  • cc
  • "Spirited Away" introduction by John Lasseter
  • The art of "Spirited Away"
  • The Nippon television special - The Making of the Film
  • Select storyboard-to-screen comparison
  • Behind the microphone with Suzanne Pleshette and Jason Marsden
  • Original Japanese trailers
  • English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
  • Original Japanese-language track
  • Widescreen (2.0:1) - enhanced for 16 x 9 televisions
  • French-language track

AWARDS

• Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

•     Won Best Animated Feature - 2002 (Hayao Miyazaki)

• Berlin International Film Festival

•     Won Golden Bear - 2002
•     Won Golden Berlin Bear - 2001 (Hayao Miyazaki)

• Broadcast Film Critics Association

•     Won Best Animated Feature - 2003
•     Won Best Animated Feature - 2002

• French Academy of Cinema

•     Nominated Best Foreign Film - 2002

• Los Angeles Film Critics Association

•     Won Best Animated Feature - 2002

• National Board of Review

•     Won Best Animated Feature - 2002

• New York Film Critics Circle

•     Won Best Animated Feature - 2002

• Telluride Film Festival

•     Film Presented - 2002

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Cast:

  
       Daveigh Chase - Chihiro [USA Version]
       Jason Marsden - Haku [USA Version]
       Mari Natsuki - Yubaba/Zeniba
       Susan Egan - Lin [USA Version]
       David Ogden Stiers - Boiler Room Man [USA Version]
       Lauren Holly - Chihiro's mother [USA Version]
       Michael Chiklis - Chihiro's father [USA Version]
       John Ratzenberger - The Bathhouse Manager [USA Version]
       Tara Strong - Baby Boh
       Koba Hayashi - River God
       Tsunehiko Kamijyo - School principal
       Takehiko Ono - Employee
       Bunta Sugawara - Kamaji

• Director:

  Hayao Miyazaki

• Producer:

  Donald W. Ernst, Toshio Suzuki

• Screenwriter:

  Hayao Miyazaki, Cindy Davis Hewitt, Donald H. Hewitt

• Composer (Music Score):

  Joe Hisaishi

• Editor:

  Takeshi Seyama

• Associate Producer:

  Lori Korngiebel

• Executive Producer:

  John Lasseter, Yasuyoshi Tokuma, Hironori Aihara, Koji Hoshino, Takeyoshi Matsushita, Yutaka Narita, Banjiro Uemura, Seiichiro Ujie

• Sound/Sound Designer:

  Shuji Inoue, Kazuhiro Takeshige

• Special Effects:

  Michihiro Ito

• First Assistant Director:

  Masayuki Miyagi, Atsushi Takahashi

• Singer:

  Yumi Kimura

• Animation Director:

  Masashi Ando

• Translator:

  Linda Hoaglund, Jim Hubbert

REVIEW:

• This fantasy adventure combines the magic of Alice in Wonderland and Wizard of Oz with a wildly imaginative critique of consumption in contemporary times. With Spirited Away, master animator Hayao Miyazaki unifies elements of his previous works: the youthful innocence of My Neighbor Totoro, the independence lessons of Kiki's Delivery Service, and the powerful grown-up forces of the spirit world from Princess Mononoke. Introducing a huge number of creatures, the spirit world Chihiro stumbles into is nothing short of amazing. Using sparse computer animation in his previous feature-length film, Miyazaki experiments with a lot of CGI software for this dizzying journey, which mostly takes place in fantastical spirit bathhouse. The effects are put to good use as characters hold powers that enable them to change form into beings like bats and dragons. Bizarre creatures overpopulate the film, with everything from tiny spider-like workers to giant radish spirits. Although sometimes resorting to gross-out humor, the tale is really the most traditional of fantasy adventure stories. The plucky Chihiro starts out as such an average spoiled 20th century youngster and develops into a self-confident hero. Not overly cute or smart, she is just a kid that has to learn to survive. Beyond this seemingly simplistic narrative are fully nuanced characters, rousing action, and a weird fantasy construction of capitalism that hits home at a very base level. Although not exactly a satire, greed figures into the narrative as a driving force that demands choices from the hero. The result is a memorable and captivating journey, marking a high point in the director's career as well as duly serving the underestimated population of people that Miyazaki frequently portrays: ten-year-old girls. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi