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Spirited Away

Spirited Away

List Price: $29.99
Your Price: $22.49
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: spirited away
Review: I've been wanting to see this movie for so long and I finally got it! Spirited Away is sooo unbelievably amazing! The storyline is terrific and the animation is spectacular. Miyazaki intended for this film to be aimed towards young girls, but people of all ages and gender will surely fall in love with it.

This movie is about a girl named Chihiro. She and her parents have just moved, and the story starts as the family is driving to their new home. However, Chihiro's father has taken a wrong turn and they up near this tunnel. Of course, they go through the tunnel and end up in this place. Little does she know, this is where Chihiro will experience the greatest adventure of her life. She will grow tremendously, from that little whiny girl to a courageous young woman.

I highly recommend this movie to absolutely anyone. So go out and buy it!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: 10 Stars!
Review: Brilliant? A masterpiece? Amazing? Those words don't do this movie justice. Not only is this the best anime ever made but also the best cartoon ever made and one of the best films period. When I heard about how wonderful this movie was I was skeptical because I've seen some jaw dropping animes before such as "Akira", "Metropolis", "Grave of the Firefiles" and "Perfect Blue" but when I saw "Spirited Away" it was like I was seeing for the first time in my life. No matter what you hear about this movie nothing can prepare you for what you're about to see. It's like Miyazaki's head opened up and all of his imagination just spilled on to film. This is the "Wizard of Oz" of animation. The best word to describe this movie is "Wow!"

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: A whole mess of confusion
Review: Spirited Away was my first experience with Japan animation. If the rest of the films are like this, it is my last. The movie itself was not horrible. It just felt incredibly long, drawnout, and pointless. The acting (voice overs) in this film were horrible. The whole time Chihiro sounded like she was screaming. The actor who played her did a much better job in Lilo and Stich. The characters are flat. And I jsut don't know what else to say!
I had to stop and start the film four times because I either lost interest, fell asleep, or was bored by it. It did have a few good moments, yet the only reason why this film, which has projectile moviting, inter-ghost cannibalism, and horrifying transformations, got a two star rating was for its beautiful animation and SOME memorable characters.
While it has many extraneous and pointless scenes, dialogue, and characters, Spirited Away isn't a complete loss to watch. I recommend it if you are trying to keep up with viewing OSCAR winners (which is should have lost to Lilo) and are up for a change and challange to watch a film.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A real story.
Review: I would compare the method of story-telling of Spirited Away to that of The Lord of the Rings. The plot and characters emerge from a deep and full fantasy world. This instead of prefabricating a plot, squishing a character into its contours, and surrounding him with a cardboard backdrop.

In such worlds, not all magic must or can be scrutinized. That's a drawback for those who want to watch dominoes fall down in a line. It saves the realism of the story, however, and helps adults to suspend their disbelief.

In both stories, the beginning and end tie the whole into a package which provides resolution while leaving the future open in the most natural way.

LoTR aside, Spirited Away is also visually appealing, and the animation is a significant part of the story.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Amazing, dreamlike story
Review: Beautiful animation, amazing dreamlike quality. We were quite surprised and very pleased. We had rented a copy and my wife immediately demanded that we buy one for ourselves. (And we don't have much of a video library, either.)

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A superior version of Alice in wonderland
Review: This movie reminded me of a slightly more manic version of Alice in Wonderland. The viewer is introduced to a world that is devoid of logic. As I watched on, I felt like a child entering a circus for the first time. Everything was new, colourful, bizarre and exciting. This is probabily the reason why I liked this movie so much. It's as if I had kalidoscope eyes. I like movies that take me away from reality and this one did it for me. To their credit, the animators were able to capitalize on the medium by creating scenes and elements that would be difficult if not impossibe to create with real actors. Saying that, I thought "The adventures of baron munchausen" was quite successful in acheiving that. I have a feeling that this movie would appeal more to adults than kids because it restores some sense of imagination that we lost while we grew up.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A Beautiful Work of Art Destined to Become an Instant Classi
Review: First, I'd like to say that I'd probably give this 4.5 stars for only a couple reasons... Another reviewer made me realize something that had been lurking in my subconscious for awhile after I saw this movie when my sister got it for her b-day...
#1. Why are we not allowed to care about anyone but Chichiro? And why do we still no virtually nothing about her?
I'm not the first to notice that unlike other Miyazaki films, I really didn't see the character depth usually present... All we know about the main character we sob and smile over for 2 hours is that her name is Chichiro, she has a mother and father, she moved to a new house, and she once almost lost her shoe in a river... That's not much... And we get even less about the other characters... Like I was really curious about Kamaji and Lin... Lin seemed unhappy at the bathhouse "Someday I'm getting on that train..." How did she come to be at Yubaba's in the first place? Same with Kamaji who saved train tickets for FORTY years just to give them to a little kid, a mouse, a bird, and a no-face... And where did Yubaba get a baby?! I can't help but wonder that several times a minute while watching this film... It's a beautiful movie but we wanted more about the characters... If they had cut out parts at the beginning that got a bit tedious, they might have been able to explain a few things... We're supposed to care about Chihiro, which most of us do by the end of the picture, but we really don't know much about her... Why did her parents decide to move them into such a remote location? What did she like to do before life at the bathhouse? Where had she lived in the first place and what had she been like there? They spend a bit too much time in the scene before Haku tells her to get a job from Yubaba... I brought this over to the kids I was baby-sitting's house and they practically slept through that entire first part... It was artistic but not very entertaining... My dad kept asking, "Have we gotten to the good part?" In "Mononoke" they go into great detail about where the characters came from and why and their backgrounds... I didn't see that here...
#2: The ending was somewhat unsatisfying... One minute, Chihiro is flying through the air, the next minute she's passed Yubaba's test, the next moment she's back in the human world going to her new house... I mean... Couldn't we have drawn that out a bit more? We just abandon every character we've grown to know except slightly Haku... Didn't stupid Chihiro have ANY desire to say goodbye to her other friends from the bathhouse like Lin and Kamaji??? WHERE'S THE APPRECIATION HERE?! Then at the end her dad does a nice job posing his comment about how moving to a new place was a little scary... I was expecting a dramatic pause and Chihiro to look out the window to see something that reminded her of the bathouse and then smile and say, "I think I can handle it..." We don't even get a final shot of her face and she says it so fast before the credits role my little sister completely missed it...

But besides that, this is a wonderful movie... Although Chihiro's dubbed voice was a tad annoying at times, most of the voice actors were EXTREMELY well-selected which really surprised me since I've witnessed the horrible dubbings of many great Japanese films... I really liked Lin's voice... It seemed PERFECT for her part... Chihiro's voice in the subbed made me wish for ear plugs! She has this scratchy hoarse voice that sounds like some old dying woman! The French version was cool! (There aren't enough movies translated into French... What's the point of taking it if you never get to use it?) The music is beautiful and the message that by conquering her fears, Chihiro became a better person and was able to save the ones she loved was well put across... I only speculate how Chihiro will react to the human world after spending so much time in the bathhouse... Oh well, guess we'll never know... The great director/writer Miyazaki doesn't make sequels...

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Spirited Away
Review: Chihiro is your average ten year old girl moving to a new town. Along the way she and her parents stop at what seems to be an old, abandoned amusement park. Her parents, who smell delicious food in the air, unwisely decide to follow the scent. When they reach the booth they start eating and boy do they starting eating when they both turn into pigs. Chihiro must embark on a quest to save herself along the way meeting new friends and towars the end finally grows up into a young women. This inspiring masterpiece is sure to amaze because the animation is drop-dead beautiful! It is easily the best animation that I have ever seen. The dubbing from japanese to english was seemingly perfect! The world Miyazaki creates is brilliantly brought to life in this masterful work of art! Kids and adults will both appreciate this movie and it deserved the awards and accolades that it won. This is by-far Miyazaki's best work that I have seen and definetly the best animated feature since Toy Story! It also has excellent music to complement perfectly Miyazaki's world! Prepare to be amazed!!

The DVD itself is excellent. The set includes: Dic One: English Dolby Digital 5.1, surround sound, original Japanese track, Widescreen (2.1:1)- Enhanced for 16x9 Television, Spirited Away introduction by John Lasseter, French Language Track. Disct Two includes: The Art Of Spirited Away, The Nippon Television Special- The Making of the Film, Select Storyboard-To-Scene Comparison, Behind the Microphone with Suzanne Pleschette and Jason Marsden, Original Japanese Trailers. This DVD set is spectacular triumph in modern filmmaking! Miyazaki is one of he best animated film directors, following in the footsteps of Walt Disney!!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Beautiful animation with a beautiful story.
Review: This movie goes along the line of great Japanese animation such as Princess Mononoke and Kiki's delivery service. Which, by the way is done by all the same person; the brilliant and unbelievable Hayao Miyazaki.

For young Chihiro and her family, a mysterious tunnel and haunted town lead to the Land of Spirits, inhabited by gods and monsters and ruled by the greedy witch Yu-baba. Chihiro's parents are transformed into pigs; to rescue them, she must surrender her name and serve in this world. Luckily she finds friends and allies, including the handsome but mysterious boy Haku. Initially sulky and listless, Chihiro (or Sen, as she's now called) finds inner strengths and establishes an identity in this strange world. The rest of the story tells of her trying to go home with her parents transformed back.

The initial conflict is not as many think as Yu-baba vs. Chihiro, but Chihiro vs. Chihiro in which she battles herself to find inner strength. What is interesting about this movie is there no definitive bad guy. They all have good reason why they do the things they do. Look at Yu-baba, she is only trying to run her bathhouse successfully.

The music fits wonderfully with the movie. It has an indescribable sound to it with a both melancholy but yet uplifting quality in it.

The characters are neither all good nor all bad. The main character is not an overly brave overly talented girl, very average and very easily relatable. The main guy is not all good when his character flaws start emerging with its mysterious unknown past. The 'bad' guy isn't all that bad. These are characters that will stick with you and make you root for them until the very end.

The animation will floor you with its painstaking details and breathtaking colors. Not since beauty and the beast have we seen such animation that truly deserves an oscar. Frame by frame is like piece of artwork genius. Very impressive and truly a work of art.

The story goes by quick and the ending may not be what most fans expected and sadly so. But every movie has its vices. Still, everything mores than makeup for it.

A movie worth seeing more than once. I should know, I've seen at a lot more than once. Deserves all its praise and much more. A must see movie spectacular.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A great movie
Review: When i rented this i wasn't sure if i would like it or not. I was bored and saw a preview and thought hey well maybe it will be ok. what i saw was more than ok it was brilliant. it starts out with a family that is moving to a new house. the husband finds a short cut(he thinks)and he comes to a bridge but its not possible to go through. He goes through thinking its a lost fairground. Then he smells food and they start pigging out on it. they turn into pigs that the people use for food. she tries running and she runs into a boy named haku. he helps her and says he'll help her get to her parents. HE tells her to do one thing remember her old name(yubaba will give her a new one)for he forgot his and the only way he can be set free is to remember.he was a slave and somhow controlled by yubaba. the girl Chihiro doesnt know he does dirty work for the master of the bath place. When he gets hurt stealing sumthing from the master of the bath place (yubaba) twin sister zeniba he has a curse put on him only love can brake. Chihiro brakes it and takes the stolen item back to zeniba. when he wakes up he relizes what chihiro did for him and talks to yubaba convincing her to let chihiro and her family go. If you want to know if haku ever remembers his name or if chihro ever gets her and her family watch this movie. You wont regret it. its hard for me to say it but i actually cried because i got so into it. I HIGHLY recomend you buy or rent this movie if you rent it you will want to buy it though. i rate this 100000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 but 5 is as far as i couls go :) bye the way im danielle cathy's daughter


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