I know what you’re thinking.
“Eliza! How can you claim to be a lover of animation if you’ve never seen a Studio Ghibli movie?”
I have no idea, honestly. And I’m not sure why it took me so long to finally check one out. But boy oh boy, am I glad I did!
I can now say that I’ve seen one (1) Studio Ghibli movie: a little number called Spirited Away.
It revolves around a young girl named Chihiro moving to a new city with her parents. While exploring what appeared to be an abandoned amusement park, Chihiro becomes lost in a realm of spirits and must work in the bathhouse of the witch Yubaba to save her family and return home.
…Yeah, it’s a wild ride. The creativity of this world is what grabbed me first. A wide variety of spirits, rules, and lore are thrown at you from the start, yet it never feels overwhelming. The audience learns about this strange new world along with Chihiro, and the movie is able to balance giving viewers enough information and avoiding long-winded exposition. This allows you to get lost in the spirit world and invested in its characters’ plights.
Speaking of which, Chihiro is a strong central character, and her arc throughout the story is incredibly fascinating. She goes from a scared little girl to a strong, courageous person, and yet, she doesn’t feel like a totally different character by the end. She’s still Chihiro at her very core, her kindness allowing her to navigate this world and help the spirits she comes across. And even when this kindness causes issues, she owns up to her actions and does what it takes to make things right.
And much of her care centers on Haku, another employee of Yubaba and the one guiding her in secret. And honestly? He’s my favorite character. I don’t want to spoil anything, but he has quite a lot of depth to him, and it’s great to see that Chihiro refuses to give up on him, even when other characters voice their doubts. She and Haku’s dynamic is incredibly sweet, and I would always get happy when I see the two onscreen together.
Not to mention that the visuals are breathtaking. The animation is fluid and there are a wonderful array of absolutely gorgeous scenes. The bits on the train stick out the most to me. I don’t know- they remind me of long car rides when you’re just staring out the window and taking in the world as you rush by. But I’m also a sucker for that bit with Haku and Chihiro walking through the flowers. I can’t decide which I like more. Please don’t make me choose.
I could go on a lot more, but I’d have to get into spoiler territory, which I really don’t want to do. Please, if you haven’t already, check this out if you can! I can already see myself watching this over and over again. Not just because this is a fantastic movie as is, but this is giving me a lot of ideas for my own stories, especially since they too revolve around a spirit world. This is the kind of location I want to make one day. I want to have a world where you’re enchanted by the environment and the people within it. Maybe one day, I can reach that point. Maybe. Might take a while, though.
– Eliza