Somewhere Beyond The Tunnel

"Spirited Away" is a journey of the mind and a journey for the eyes that has been created by acclaimed Japanese animation director Hayao Miyazaki. Not only did its Oscar win for Best Animated Feature put the film back in the theaters, but the win came at a time where the film was about to go to home video. With a film that struck me as very impressive, I'm glad I made time for "Spirited Away" when it played in theaters.

"Spirited Away" starts as a journey from a family's old home to their new one, but the journey takes an unexpected turn when they get lost. They find themselves in a place that appears to be an abandoned amusement park. However, the parents (voiced in the English language version by Michael Chiklis and Lauren Holly) find an abundance of food that is unattended. They help themselves, and invite their daughter, Chihiro (Daveigh Chase, who was Lilo in "Lilo & Stitch") to partake. Chihiru, who has been complaining about the trip from the start, refuses to join them. Chihiro then watches in horror as her parents keep eating and turn into pigs before her eyes. Lost in this world, Chihiro tries to run for safety, and for aid for her parents. A boy named Haku (Jason Mardsen) tells Chihiro what she must do in order to get back her parents and to get back to her world.

Chihiro and her parents have wandered into a spirit world. In order to get back to her world, she must demand work from Kamaji (David Ogden Steirs), the boiler room man. Kamaji sends her to Yubaba (Suzanne Pleshette), who runs the bath house in the spirit world. Yubaba is obliged to accept all workers and all customers. Therefore, Chihiro is assigned to be a bath assistant to Lin (Susan Egan). One of the bath house's toughest customers turns out to be Chihiro's first. A stink spirit has come, wishing to be cleansed. Although she is just as scared as everyone else, she proves she's willing to earn her keep with Yubaba. This impresses Yubaba, but only to an extent. She still wants any excuse to turn Chihiro into a piglet, and her parents into dinner. The stink spirit is cleansed, but it also starts eating some of Yubaba's staff. Also, Yubaba is involved in an ongoing power struggle with her twin sister, Zeniba (also voiced by Pleshette) that leaves Haku stuck in the middle.

While "Spirited Away" has some traditional Japanese storytelling elements, such as shape-shifting beings and masked spirits, the Walt Disney studios have shown they can make this movie translate easily into English. In the arrangement between the Japanese Studio Ghibli and Disney, Disney did not alter one frame of the film. The original script, which was also written by Miyazaki, gets a respectful translation by Cindy and Donald Hewitt. Director Kirk Wise and producer John Lasseter made sure the English translation was perfectly paced, without a loss of timing or emotion. Chihiro is like Dorothy in the land of Oz, except that the spirit world is never that welcoming. Her parents find that out the hard way. All along the way, Chihiro has to take the focus off herself and her worries and take care of those who have done well by her. As she becomes less selfish, she finds strength within herself that she has seldom utilized. At the beginning of the movie, she complains that her flowers are dying. Chihiro has to do things she has never done before, like work, to keep her parents from meeting their end in the spirit world. The story also contains messages about greed and the environment that apply to both children and adults.

Then there's the fertile imagination of Miyazaki himself. The spirit world of this film is inhabited with all sorts of unusual creatures, such as smoking and talking frogs, giant radishes and yellow birds, and and soot balls that have been transformed into boiler room assistants that stoke the furnace with coals. He also pays beautiful attention to the small details, such as the movement of strands of Chihiro's hair, and the blowing of leaves and blades of grass. The drawings of the backgrounds seem virtually as realistic as much of the animation in "Shrek," except Miyazaki does not rely on computer-generated images. Miyazaki still creates his animation by hand, one drawing at a time. His imagination and eye for detail make very frame a visual experience. The spirits could be benevolent, but they could turn on Chihiro if she's not careful. It's a world that would be virtually impossible to recreate with live action and special effects.

The origin of "Spirited Away" may be Japanese, but its story and messages could just as easily be applied to most of the world. It's a journey that begins with an outward move, but turns inward to tap the strength and the resolve of a girl who seems to lack those qualities. It is also the journey of an emotional girl who must use her head, but not lose her heart. Chihiro must learn about herself so that she can help those that she loves. Along the way, she learns that moving to another city should be the least of her concerns. Life can be so much worse without love for others, and without interests that aren't self-centered. "Spirited Away" takes Chihiro and her parents away from the path they were taking, and sends them on a course their lives should take. The story and the vision of Miyazaki make "Spirted Away" a most special trip in any language.