Spirited Away

Spirited Away arrives as an animated adventure directed by Hayao Miyazaki, and its first strength is a clear sense of purpose. Daveigh Chase and Suzanne Pleshette give Spirited Away a recognisable human centre before the larger mechanics take over. The central situation in Spirited Away comes into focus without a long explanation: During her family's move to the suburbs, a sullen 10 year old girl wanders into a world ruled by gods, witches and spirits, and where humans are changed into beasts. Across its 2h 4m running time, Hayao Miyazaki keeps Spirited Away assured without becoming rigid.

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Hayao Miyazaki shapes Spirited Away with an approach that feels assured without becoming rigid. The best directed passages in Spirited Away establish an objective, let the characters respond and then allow the pressure to change naturally. Its polish rarely hides the personality underneath in Spirited Away, particularly when Hayao Miyazaki resists the urge to underline an already clear emotion. My main reservation about Spirited Away is that one or two themes receive more explanation than they need, a limitation that interrupts rather than defines the experience.

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The craft of Spirited Away is defined by bold colour choices, supported by bold colour choices rather than overwhelmed by decoration. Tokuma Shoten gives Spirited Away a production framework in which expressive movement can remain connected to story. Made from a Japan production context, Spirited Away uses setting and design to clarify mood before dialogue has to explain it. The technical finish of Spirited Away works because image, sound and editing appear to be serving the same immediate purpose.

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The central idea running through Spirited Away concerns identity and the courage required to grow beyond familiar expectations. Daveigh Chase gives that idea a human scale, allowing Spirited Away to remain accessible even when its world becomes larger. By returning to an important relationship, Spirited Away turns theme into a source of pressure rather than a message waiting to be delivered. The handling by Hayao Miyazaki lets Spirited Away leave a little interpretive room, which gives its better scenes an afterlife.

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Daveigh Chase gives Spirited Away its most dependable performance, finding a clear emotional intention beneath the plot. Opposite Daveigh Chase, Suzanne Pleshette brings Spirited Away a contrasting pace that prevents the central relationship from feeling flat. Miyu Irino widens the ensemble of Spirited Away through reactions that suggest a life beyond the immediate scene. Hayao Miyazaki serves the cast of Spirited Away best when a look or pause is allowed to finish before the story moves on.

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At story level, Spirited Away turns During and the central character into the source of its main tension. The role played by Daveigh Chase becomes the viewer's route through Spirited Away, especially when an important relationship begins to alter the situation. Hayao Miyazaki gives Spirited Away momentum by allowing choices to create consequences instead of treating each scene as isolated information. Even when a difficult choice pushes the plot toward familiar ground, Spirited Away remains attentive to what that pressure means for its characters.

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For animation fans who value character as much as visual invention, Spirited Away is ultimately an easy recommendation. Its most persuasive combination in Spirited Away brings Daveigh Chase together with expressive movement under the direction of Hayao Miyazaki. The fact that one or two themes receive more explanation than they need prevents Spirited Away from being entirely seamless. Even with that reservation, Spirited Away has a clear point of view and enough genuine feeling to justify the journey.