Spirited Away

Will there ever be a film as perfect as this. From start to finish it was so good. I think I literally sat down and watched all two plus five mins of the film in one go, no breaks. Which is a record for me. I do not know where to start, I just wanna yap about this film because I love it so much. Hayao Miyazaki is an artistic genius, one of the greatest directors ever. He can touch every human emotion and apply it to his films. In Spirited Away, we laughed, cried, were scared, were happy and in the end we felt a sense of relief while also sadness, that Chihiro will never have this memorable experience yet again. Miyazaki is truly great, I don't know how he does it, he writes also wonderful lines like "that's the power of love" said by Kamaji. And he's written a group of very interesting characters and figures in this film, all who I admire and from time to time I often think about. Let's start from smallest to biggest. Okay the soot spirits were just so cute and funny, I know they don't matter much, but they added so much comedy to the film. There's more characters such as No Face with his enigmatic and horrifying appearance, all the while he is just someone who wants to have a friend. Zeniba as the cute old lady who is apparently evil but isn't evil. I adored those scenes with her they were adorable. The large baby Bo, which was just so random, and he kinda annoyed me initially but he did grow on me. YUBABA is MY ICON. OMGGG no because I don't even think she's a villain, she may be ruthless cunning and greedy, but she's literally a queen so leave her alone. Plus she's so motherly and looks out for her kid. Also I love how villainous characters in studio Ghibli films are presented with both ends, good and bad. Because no one is perfect. Kamaji is also a very cute addition, I loved him. Lin is one of my favourite characters and by far the most underrated character ever 😞 she was so iconic, so sassy, yet spirited and she was truly a mentor and acted as a substitute mother for Chihiro while chihiro's actual parents were pigs. Lin is one of my faves ever, I wish she had her own spin off or something. Haku kinda pisses me off, but he is very important I must admit, he isn't all that bad I suppose. He is very a mysterious guide to Chihiro in the beginning but turns out to be her long lost soulmate for life. Chihiro is the best studio Ghibli character ever. She's had the most interesting character development by far. She started off as an ordinary boring character. She was whiny, timid shy. In the opening scenes she clearly wanted to turn back and not wanna come on the journey her parents made. Also her body language and movements added so much to this aspect of her character, when she is scared and horrified. In fact she was kinda a brat in the first few scenes. But with grit and force she changed. She had a metamorphisis. A few events such as cleaning the guardian spirit and the no face as well as saving Haku and visiting Zeniba truly changed her character. She became an independent survivor. Chihiro would have to rely on herself and only herself to survive in this spiritual world. And she did. Her character development is by far the most intriguing to me. She went from boring character into the greatest character in studio Ghibli history and by far the most iconic to date. Spirited Away features insanely good music, one of my favourite scores. The music perfectly compliments every scene. The scenery, the images, the pictures are just perfect. Hats off to the animation team. This is one of the most visually stunning and most gorgeous films ever. I adore it sm. I wish I saw this film as a kid because I know it would have meant so much then as it means so much to me now. I can only wish that. I just love this film, it makes me happy. It truly is a comfort film. I love it I love it I love it I love it! Ugh words cannot describe how much I love this film. It's so compelling every aspect. I am so glad this recieved the recognition it deserved. It was Japan's highest grossing film EVER (until 2020). It has received international recognition and acclaim too, winning the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. And introduced a whole generation to studio Ghibli films, where this film is the defining artistic achievement of that studio. By far, this is Miyazaki's and studio Ghibli's magnum opus. It is in my opinion the greatest animated film ever made. And one of the best films ever released. And one day when it is possibly re-released in cinema, I will see it there.