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I’ve watched this movie a dozen times before now, so instead of a full breakdown I’ll just comment on the things that stand out to me.
- Hayao Miyazaki does not give a fuck about holding the audience’s hand. In just about every frame there’s something that piques our curiosity but Miyazaki refuses to answer 99% of the questions he raises. Like I can’t even list all the bizarre worldbuilding elements that just unapologetically exist. In case it wasn’t clear, I consider this a GOOD thing. For more info on soft worldbuilding, check out this video from Hello Future Me (it discusses this very movie, actually)
- Chihiro is badass! This is a great demonstration of character vs. characterization. Chihiro/Sen is characterized as shy, clumsy, and fearful of everything. But when something needs to get done she makes it happen no matter what. In no particular order, our hero:
- Stands up to Yubaba to get a job at the bathhouse.
- Saves the river spirit when none of the spirits even dare approach him.
- Shoves medicine into the throat of a feral dragon and clamps his jaws shut with her entire body, even as his tail thrashes and destroys the room, until he swallows it.
- Refuses to be distracted by anything, including an endless amount of gold
- Sprints across a rickety pipe high off the ground (great comparison to her timid descent down the external stairs at the beginning)
- Outsmarts Yubaba to save her parents. Oh yeah, the driving force of the entire movie is Chihiro’s directive to save her parents, the people that are supposed to protect her. And at the conclusion they have no idea what their daughter is capable of.
- Speaking of character development, it only occurred to me on this viewing that Chihiro allows herself to be dragged into the spirit world because she’s completely dependent on her parents and fails to assert her preferences. In the end, she saves the day and leads her parents back to the human world.
- As always, I ache for a Zelda movie by Miyazaki. Spirited Away doesn’t share a lot of elements with Zelda, but the landscapes and piano motifs heavily influence BOTW and TOTK.
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