BY JOHN CARTER JR
When analyzing a classic anime film like Spirited Away, I think it’s important to take into account the history in which the people who created it should be accounted for. This is especially true in the case of a film like this which came from a great filmography legacy and left a great legacy of its own. Laputa: Castle In The Sky, Grave of The Fireflies, My Neighbor Totoro, Only Yesterday, Porco Rosso, Pom Poko, Whisper of The Heart, Princess Mononoke, and My Neighbors the Yamadas are just some of the great films that predate this one. Directed by Hayao Miyazaki, Spirited Away is one of the biggest anime successes and is one of many in Studio Ghibli’s repertoire of amazing films.
Something that always must be taken into account when evaluating the quality of a Ghibli film is the overall design and artwork: we must examine the food that is drawn to look especially delicious or mouth watering. Spirited Away is no different from any other Ghibli film when it comes to this factor. It is something that is very alluring and catches the attention of the audience. It is amazing to examine the detail presented in these films and the design of the food is not excluded from that. It is especially important that this execution is done well when a lot of the times the foods can have significant importance to the film.
In the case of Spirited Away the alluring effect of the food jumpstarts the story of the film. If the food were to be drawn at a weaker quality standard then the delivery of this moment in the story would fall flat.
Firstly, the design and artwork incorporated in this film’s development are something to stand the test of time. First looking at the design of the characters, each of their individual personalities being expressed in such a colorful and individualized manner allows for a well-paced or dynamic story. This is seen through how each important character makes an appearance throughout the film, and in particular in what order. First human characters including the protagonist and her parents, then you meet a boy who is human in appearance but has magical powers, along the same time we meet Haku you also meet various spirits who are more along the lines of a mythical appearance, then the boiler man with spider-like arms and a Bath House worker, and finally meeting the witch of the bathhouse and her sister. There are plenty of other characters who are important, for this review, let’s focus on Chihiro and Haku, Kamaji and Lin, Zeniba and Yubaba, and No-Face.
To not talk about the relationship between Haku and Chihiro would neglect one of the biggest reveals in the entire film. The dynamic between these two hairdos starts from early moments in the film when Chihiro meets Haku. We find out that this is not the first time that she had met him as it would later be revealed that he is a River Spirit. The development of these characters represents growing up and discovering yourself or regaining what you have lost/forgotten. Chihiro has to go through many trials in order to save her parents and along the way, through the help of many confidants and friends, is able to save Haku and remind him of who he once was.
A pair of characters who are in the supporting cast that are important to mention are Kamaji and Lin. These characters help Chihiro become adjusted to the world of the bathhouse and more specifically how they should deal with the witch who runs the bathhouse, Yubaba. This also shows the amount of dedication and talent in this work. Specifically, in those side characters in this film are unique and well-designed. The boiler man, Kamaji, is spider-like (and his animation shows this) all while still maintaining a friendly or deuteragonist-like feeling about him. Similarly the way they animate Lin in this film, especially in her facial expressions like Kamaji, express her personality.
The twin witches, and no we’re not talking about Twitches from the Disney Channel, Yubaba and Zeniba are a magical forest present in this film. One being antagonistic and the other promoting the success of the protagonist. Yubaba is the boss of the bathhouse and is drawn in a way that makes her seem like an evil old witch. Large caricatured features of an elderly woman painted in makeup and jewels, depicted with a giant nose, allow this character to look like the traditional cliche of an evil witch minus a shade of green to cover her skin. However when seen in Zeniba these gigantic features make her look more like an adorable lady. It’s this contrast that allows a similar character design to express two completely different characters. It’s also Suzanne Pleshette’s performance in the English dub that conveys the difference between the two characters, for English listeners.
Ephedra marked as the icon of the film, and one of the various icons of Studio Ghibli No-face is a character who intrigues fans for all the scenes that he is in. At first, he just seems like a black blob with a painted mask on, but he soon shows that he’s much more than that as he takes an interest in the protagonist Chihiro. The character design for No-Face has many different points of development throughout this film and that is due to the fact that the character changes forms throughout.
At one point this black blob consumes people and food to the point which he develops a voice, hair, arms, and legs. He becomes the embodiment of gluttony or at least that’s how I describe him because his appearance is that of a gigantic hungry beast. This I believe is the exact direction the team was going for on this project with his character. In that, No-Face could have eaten all the food he wants and manipulated all the people in the bathhouse but at the end of the day, he wasn’t going to be able to satisfy his hunger because what he was hungry for was company. No-Face would have a short redemption arc at the end of the film when he would come work for Zeniba.
In conclusion, this film’s care design allows for it to have some amazing scenes for the eyes to behold. The designs of the characters simply represent their personalities and desires. The character design in the development of it throughout the film shows that education and the challenge of the people working on said film. Studio Ghibli will continue to do this throughout their long history of animated works, and it is my belief that they will continue to hold this standard of quality in animation for years to come. Studio Ghibli has been known as a proponent of anime in both older and younger western audiences and also for their own domestic audiences. Spirited Away will always be one of the greatest, if not the greatest, anime movies of all time.
I give this film a 9 out of 10 for its impressive character design, story development, and for the food!
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