Hayao Miyazaki Retrospective Spirited Away Review

to cinema geeks as we continue our Hayao Miyazaki

retrospective. Today we will be reviewing Spirited

Away. For those that are joining us for the first

time, yes we are going through the career of

Hayao Miyazaki. We started with his very first

release Lupin and we've been going movie by movie

based on release date since then. And today we

get to what some state is his best film of his

career. Do we agree? Disagree? We'll get to that

in just a bit. But of course, I am not on this

journey alone. Joining me today, as always, of

course, is hard candy Mandy. How's it going?

Hey! Hey Dan! How are things? Uh, things are

things. Looking up for the better, I would say.

Amanda just got a raise. Oh yeah, I did just

get a pretty nice freaking raise, but in the

realm of Hayao Miyazaki, I feel like we are reaching

the pinnacle of awesomeness here. There you go.

Start starting off with positive and as you heard

there Kevin optimus solo has also joined us Yeah,

interested to get back into the Hayao me Izaki

filmography and see where these uh I guess what

we had done to the last few or the last Handful

just kind of see how they how they're similar

how they're different and where they stack up

against one we've already reviewed Yeah, now

we're getting to the point where every movie

that's gonna be coming out was supposed to be

his last film at one moment in time But then

he kept going But also joining us last but not

least is Matt Fridley -Sent. How's it going?

I'm here too. Oh, I'm the quiet one. Yeah, so

today we're going to be looking at Spirit Away

and it's interesting when you look at the overall

thought process when it comes to a movie like

Spirit Away. When, you know, I went back, looked

at some reviews. This was the first movie ever

to win the best animated Oscar. It was, you know,

And you had not seen this before correct? No,

I hadn't seen this one. I really didn't know

what to expect. I really didn't know what it

was about. I didn't know what we are going to

be getting into here, but I was really surprised

at how much I like this film. The other ones,

you know, at some point I get a little sleepy,

maybe in the middle, maybe towards the end, and

I find myself drifting off a little bit, but

in this... Movie even while watching it like

in bed I didn't even get to a point where I wanted

to close my eyes I wanted to keep watching and

it was a lot in in the same realm He's built

up. We you know, we get thrown right into you

know, this magical fantastical world but it's

he does an amazing job of building that world

and then getting you vested in it and it was

a Really positive ride for me though, but you

know the whole time I enjoyed it and I think

this is definitely You know going to the tippy

top of the order of his films that I enjoyed

Amazing craze right there. It did not cause Amanda

to fall asleep. You do not get When it comes

to movies, so there you go Kevin your overall

thoughts are you in agreement with Amanda or

did you enjoy did you not feel it was? Up to

par compared to what we've talked about so far.

I think I enjoyed this one quite a bit actually,

so I'm gonna be in a lot of the same camp as

Amanda probably. What I am finding though is

as we've gone through this retrospective or this,

you know, his entire filmography, that this is

not gonna be something that I'm gonna be able

to like rack and stack in a single viewing of

each film. Like the more I watch each additional

film, the more I wanna go back and revisit the

previous films. Partially to make sure I can

keep them all straight in my head But but also

just to kind of once you've seen some of the

stuff that he does later on to kind of go back

and revisit some of them So there's just a lot

to unpack in every single one of his films, which

is why I think they they get the acclaim that

they do. And this one's no exception. There's

a lot of different ways to view this one. There's

a lot of different things and themes and different

things to unpack. You can make like a Venn diagram

of all the similarities that certain films have

with each other and where the differences are,

because obviously there are some recurring themes

and some elements that we've seen throughout

the other films. But I think the magic in Miyazaki

is the fact that he can reuse elements or revisit

different thematic or aesthetic. things within

his films yet they never feel he's reusing them

or they never get stale it's always new it's

being used in a new way it's being used in a

new environment or telling a different story

or sending a different message so it's kind of

a testament to his master class as far as how

he can weave such similar stories in completely

different ways. So I'm a big fan of this one,

too. I haven't come down yet on where it ranks

for me. Maybe I'll start to form that opinion

as we have this discussion, but I definitely

would be positive on this one. So a lot of praise

to start off. Matt, are you continuing that trend?

Do you feel at all different? I know you've said

you there's no such thing as a bad Miyazaki film

But comparing to where Kevin and Amanda stand,

what are your thoughts? I mean, I love this movie

this This is probably the second Miyazaki movie

I ever saw and when it won that Academy Award

I was actually watching which was how they and

they showed a clip of it and that was how I found

out that Miyazaki was a thing like because I

had seen Princess Mononoke I was like that, I

mean, clearly all Studio Gilly movies look like

the same, regardless of who the director is.

They all have that very similar style that is

so great and I love it. But like I saw that and

I was like, wait, so there's more than just the

one? And that's kind of what got me down the

rabbit hole and all of these. I love this movie.

It's great, but I don't even think I'd put it

in my top three Miyazaki movies. Like there's

so much good. Interesting, interesting. So I

guess I well, you know, I make it four for four

obviously I will not I want to kind of being

the detractor or you know provide a different

opinion and I Can't really to a great extent.

I think it is a really strong film I mean first

and foremost it is just like a visual feast on

nearly every page Now this was the first time

one of his movies was at least fully digital

and I think you see it like the animation is

even more crisp compared to Princess Manon. Okay,

it's some kind of I know like that little grit

that you get with film but I feel like with this

and animation it makes sense. I mean they're

also just the sheer imagination that it took

to construct this world is insane to me. There

are just so many little different facets that

you don't even focus on that are kind of in the

background but just seem so fascinating to me.

I feel like you could write more and more stories

about this world. Of course, because of Studio

Ghibli, they let things be, but I do think there's

even more ground that can be sown. When you look

at this compared to all the films he has done

or will do that we'll get to eventually, where

does it fall for me regarding his career? I like

it a lot, but... I tend to prefer Princess Mananoke

over this and I think a big reason for that There's

been two types of films. I feel like when we've

gone through this perspective the retrospective

There's been the films that are full of plots

and dense like Princess Mananoke like Nausicaa

There's just a lot going on. There's been the

films that are really lacking in any type of

plot They're just kind of slice -of -life films

like Tortaro and I feel like Spirited Away falls

somewhere in between like it It has that slice

of life feel. The overall general story isn't

really all that complicated. Maybe the pieces

are, but there's also a lot of other aspects

of the world that are, if you try to kind of

go bit by bit, might be somewhat confusing. And

maybe that's, those bits don't feel as well woven

to me as they do with some of his other films.

Like, you know, I feel like you don't really,

there's a lot. left unsaid which is fine and

makes the stories work fine but when you compare

it to something like Nausicaa where I really

feel like you get a strong sense of everything

I didn't get that necessarily here but I don't

know what you guys thought regarding that how

when you're looking at it compared to the other

films when it came comes to the narrative and

plot and is it do you feel like it's overly Plotting

is it? I mean, obviously we had great things

to say but does it just feel like more of a tortorial

film or does it feel more like a Nassica or Princess

Maniokia film to you? I feel like it's definitely

what you're saying and As in the middle there

is Seems like there's a ton of rules to this

world and you kind of find them out, you know

piece by piece but they all act like you know,

you should know these things and you know, they

they talk to Sin in a way that they're like like

I can't believe you don't know these things or

you don't know these rules or You know, I can't

believe you've never you act like you've never

worked today in your life, you know at one point

and I feel like that's kind of the same with

us how we're we're trying to figure out these

rules, but we don't know that we're finding them

out as she does and It's really interesting to

try to piece everything together and try to figure

out this world and because that's really what

it is he did an amazing job of building this

up here it's it's definitely you know within

his style to just throw us into something and

have us believe it right away just keep adding

on to that and you're right danny he did um leave

some things unanswered for us which is definitely

the case too with a lot of what he's doing it

but i do feel like that This was definitely a

learning film too because she she definitely

grows and has to move away from kind of like

the scared I don't want to say bratty, but you

know kind of a pampered kid almost she's not

super self -sufficient like we saw in Nausicaa

or kind of you know Ready to be on her own like

Kiki. She's she's not like the others that we've

seen so it you Be a growth here with her and

at first I was I didn't have much You know faith

in her as a character because she wasn't as strong

as the other characters that we were getting

is with these little leading ladies that were

used to with Miyazaki but as as it went went

on I really felt like She was learning we were

learning and you were seeing her growth and and

I enjoyed that I think there's a couple things

to bounce off there number one I think both of

you have kind of hit it a little bit as far as

what my opinion would be I would say it is a

little bit of maybe the best of both worlds in

a way. I don't think it's as complex of a story

as you do get with like Nausicaa or even like

Princess Mononoke. I think though, even though

it might not be as complex. from a distance,

I think the actual story becomes complex and

all the different ways they go and all the different

characters that they, and it's almost like there's

like a quest inside a quest inside a quest in

this film. I mean, you have like the outer, you

know, outline story that's going on, but it seems

like there's all these other little things that

are kind of each, it's almost as if every character

you're introduced has their own story that it

kind of gives you a little bit of an insight

in the. little bit of a peek into so Story wise

it might be closer to like a Kiki or a Totoro,

but I think it's and I know it's already been

compared You know by a lot of other critics to

something like Alice in Wonderland and it does

seem similar to me like something like that like

a Willy Wonka like a Alice in Wonderland type

of thing where it's not that Complicated of a

setup or a premise But then it can go all these

different directions once you go down the rabbit

hole and meet all these different characters

or once you're at you know, the chocolate factory

and kind of going through all these different

things. So it's like, I think it does get complex

within the story, even if it's not a complex

overall plot. And there's a couple other things

that you said that I'd like to bounce off of,

but I'll wait until we kind of get to that point,

I think, because I do think you make some interesting

points about the difference between Sin and some

of the other female characters that we've been

introduced. And I'm sure we can get to break

that down a little bit, but give Matt a chance

to kind of bounce off of. the plot and the complexity

and how it compares to some of the other Miyazaki

films. Yeah, it's similar to Totoro because these

are the daily, day -to -day things we're doing,

but at the same time, it feels more like an adventure

than Totoro. It's more like an adventure like

Mononoke. But what's amazing is it's this like

crazy, wacky adventure where it's full of just

a million and one characters that are all different,

unique. They have backstories. They feel like

real people because of how fleshed out they are.

But then this whole movie is in like one building.

Like five minutes into this movie, you're put

into this one building and you're in this building

for the rest of that movie. But it feels just

like this immersive world. Like you don't even

see the whole thing. You know, there's still

sections that building you never see and still

like. You're never once getting bored or tired

of it because it's just so interesting and fascinating

Like so it does it does have those adventure

elements of those sprawling adventure Miyazaki

movies while still having the day -to -day slice

of life elements of Totoro But just being a little

bit weirder, you know You know, it's an interesting

building if they can make just the boiler room

as interesting as it is Oh a room in any type

of building like nobody wants to go to the boiler

room But that thing was complex as heck the detail

in color and all these little pieces of the building

and and what you're seeing are Amazing and I

don't know if that's because they went digital

and they were able to you know to do that now

or what but it was really striking and it's stuck

out definitely with even like you Baba's like

clothes and like her outfit and like you even

like the wrinkles in her face are more detailed

than what we've been seeing and I thought the

just the look of it you know the the bathhouse

was really amazing and and the the set. Up of

how it's like, what do you call like a an abandoned

amusement park? You know is what he thought it

was at first like I thought even that premise

was pretty cool So it was it didn't bother me

that they were in like one room. Like Matt said

it still felt like an adventure movie I know

last time when we talked about Princess Manonoke

Kevin you mentioned that You you wondered if

someone was coming into like an anime film or

something like that like if there was someone

of a barrier there because of just like of everything

that was going on in that film. There's a lot

of pieces that may be somewhat hard for people

to approach you because Miyazaki treats you like

you know what's going on and like everything's

going and you kind of just jump on board as the

trains are moving. But with Spirited Away, we

have the character, as Amanda mentioned, with

Sen and who eventually turns into... Changes

and it gets her name changed. I'm just gonna

call her that because I don't remember Yeah,

so we get a type of character that we haven't

really got before when it comes to a Miyazaki

film and that's like a you know that audience

surrogate who gets to kind of experience what

we experience as we Learn this world and figure

out what's going on and she is ignorant to what's

going on as much as we are Do you feel? because

of that, this may be a more approachable film

compared to some of the other movies that we've

had in this retrospective. I'd say it is. I would

say I would probably introduce this one to a

non -anime or a non, you know, something that

hasn't been exposed to Miyazaki's films probably

before most of the other ones, just because I

do think you do have that, like you said, that

audience surrogate in the main character here.

And obviously, Miyazaki somewhat intended her

to be like that, to be a little bit less of Like

the leading lady and maybe a little bit more

every day Even to a point where I guess some

people might find her bland or dull at certain

points And so I do think she does provide that

Also, it seems like it's hard to kind of pinpoint

the ages that that all of these characters have

been throughout all the Miyazaki films but According

to him. This is an age group that he hadn't represented

before He'd either been younger or older than

this, and this is kind of that middle ground

that he wanted to kind of create a character

for. And I did think it was interesting that,

you know, it's not a character that has any type

of, you know, special power. It's not a character

that, you know, enjoys some of the fantasy moments

that we get with a lot of the other characters

in Miyazaki's filmography. But it's also not,

you know, the traditional or kind of the... stereotype

where we have the main female when there's got

to be like some type of love angle or you know

damsel in distress or anything like that so I

appreciate that it didn't go that route either

so I think it is it's someone that is an everyday

there was though there was a love element though

yeah there is but not played up like you get

in a lot of films like a Disney princess right

nothing like that so I think it is something

that you could relate to and that you could get

kind of an easy entry into this world. Now that

being said I don't know it's hard to answer that

question too though because this film might have

like Matt was saying the highest number of characters

and craziness that you also get introduced. So

I mean it does have that one character that is

probably easier for a lot of people to relate

and kind of get you into that world that way

but then it also throws at you a thousand different

types of characters. creatures, spirits, and

etc. I don't know if that counterbalances that

or not. Matt, would you say this isn't an easy

film for you to introduce to someone, or do you

think something else would be better? You know,

that came up, and I was thinking about it this

whole time we've been talking, and it's like,

what movie do you introduce them to Miyazaki

on? And I think that this one might be the best.

Like, again, because it's not my favorite, but

that doesn't mean my favorite's a good entry

point like like I mean are you gonna get are

you gonna wrap someone in with Totoro if they're

not like it's like hey here's this really sad

story but trust me like it'll make your heart

smile um it's gonna be like two hours long you're

gonna cry buy the whole time. Like, that's not

a good way to sell someone. But this one's got

the right amount of adventure, the right amount

of slice of life. It's like you get to see the

two halves that make up the Miyazaki catalog.

And again, it's so immersive. It just wraps you

in. This might be the best one to show someone.

I mean, it's like the most critically acclaimed,

I think. So I mean, if nothing else, then go

buy that. I think there's also more... Western

animated films that you can relate this one to

than you could with most of the other ones we've

seen so far. You know, like, just right in the

introduction, I was immediately getting, like,

little snippets of, like, inside out with the

whole move to a new town and, you know, not being

happy about it. Is there... I got a question

for you guys, though. Is there a rule in film

that if you are moving to a new town, a new school,

a new city or whatever, that it immediately means

that you're gonna have some type of adventure,

whether literal or... metaphorical and spirit

world or whatever. It seems like that is just

the thing. I never moved to a new town. I was

in the same town all growing up, but I'm pretty

sure when you move to a new town, you immediately

are introduced into an adventure. My mom always

tried to sell it as an adventure, like, oh, it's

going to be such an awesome adventure. But really,

you're just going into school and people are

going to make fun of you because you're different

and weird. OK, so no adventure. It's a different

type of adventure. It's not a good one. Swirlies

in the toilet bowl and all that type of I never

got a swirly but pretty close Dan I was curious

though like because like I said, I've seen I

can see comparisons to like an Alice in Wonderland

I can see comparisons to like an inside out in

a way. Do you think this one has more? relatable

counterparts in Western animation than any of

the other films we've gone through I would probably

say so because like a movie like torture Oh It's

unlike American films especially animation because

it is so unconcerned unconcerns not a word not

concerned with Like trying to have this complex

plot like that execution is different for I think

American audiences and some of the other films

are a little bit I mean you could probably relate

them to other fantasy films, but in the realm

of kids films or animation not necessarily at

least especially The one most people generally

would be aware of this one is I think a little

bit more comparable to what we would expect but

not necessarily in Probably in the more grander

scheme of things but in the actual kind of details

that is very different Shit was terrifying. I

feel like it had some really high stakes too.

Like what happens to her parents? Your parents

are First of all, can I just say that the parents

deserve that because they should get an award

for the worst parents ever First of all part

of me thinks this entire movie is a life lesson

about the importance of men stopping to ask for

directions That is the entire plot point, but

yeah, those were the scariest pigs I've ever

seen in my life. So they were freaky I was freaked

out and I was scared for her like and then scariest

birds scariest pigs I feel like the the stakes

were high too for her like they're like we're

gonna put you to work and we're gonna work you

till you die and when she's like seven or something

like she's super young and now she's having to

do all this really hard dangerous work dealing

with these creatures that she has no idea if

they're gonna hurt her or not like she's You

basically left to all these people to like she's

now become an orphan in a workhouse and you barely

getting to eat or sleep. You're at the mercy

of everybody around you in this. total, you know,

foreign world. So I feel like there was really

high stakes for her. That's what's going to happen

though. Your child is going to become an orphan

if you leave them in a car in a new city and

go down a dark tunnel and just say, hey, hang

out at the car. Nothing bad will happen. Like,

what parents do that? They also went off -roading

in an Audi, which I'm pretty sure doesn't have

four -wheel drive. And then they just left their

car completely unattended. Maybe they live in

a nice area. It does have four -wheel drive because

it was actually modeled off of Miyazaki's own

car. We've got cash and credit cards will pay

the bill when you get back Don't worry about

your possessions and your cars Just leave that

that'll be fine. And then it's like don't worry

about that You don't have permission to eat these

people's food. Just go for it. It'll be all right.

You got money Man rich people I mean obviously

there's a point in all that and there's it's

there's a purpose for those actions Thematically,

but I'm just saying they came across as terrible

parents I didn't want to kind of go back to something

that you know, we brought up love story on there

isn't one there isn't one but not necessarily

that question, but the key I think maybe the

key The relationship that is the focal point

of this movie even beyond that of sin and her

parents is that of sin and haiku You know how

he comes in kind of as like her savior in a way

and how a lot of the movie is the relationship

as they Cultivate it not necessarily a love relationship.

It's more I think almost just a friendship in

a way How effective do we think they are at making

that Haiku himself as a character? Because I

know there's some question of is he... I don't

think there's any question of is he evil, but

there is some mystery to him. How does that relationship

work within the movies for you guys? I think

I thought it worked rather well for me just because

of the way that they kind of set up that mystery

or they set up the fact that it's not just this

character like we've had in some of these other

films where they're just universally praised

or universally respected like this is someone

that does have like a prominent position and

does have some some power but it's someone that

you know we're also getting the other side of

it that he's just a pawn or that he's evil or

that you know this that and the other so it's

not it becomes more real when there's two sides

of the coin like that instead of just kind of

the the pain in the picture that he's just all

good or all bad so it worked for me in that respect

because you didn't you got the feeling that it

was more sincere when you kind of got those moments

between those two characters between haku and

sen that it meant a little bit more for me so

i worked it worked rather well for me i think

they could have done a little bit more played

up the fact that he was trying to hide the fact

that he was trying to help Sin. But when he's

like, you know, when he first kind of sets her

up to get her going, he's like, remember, you

know, I'm your friend, I'm on your side kind

of thing. But they don't really play up to where

he's seen, you know, by the other workers or

by Yubaba, you know, treating her any differently.

They only see... him sticking up for her really.

So I think they could have played off a little

bit more him, you know, pretending to be mean

to her to keep up, you know, the faces that they're

putting on. They really didn't. But that's not

that's, you know, a minor nitpick. I still think

that their relationship worked. And you you definitely

feel that both of them are are, you know, in

all the way in the relationship as a friend,

not saying that, you know, like a romantic relationship,

but they're definitely or trying to help each

other man what about you yeah yeah i i like the

uh is he good is he bad who can you trust um

because it's like some like it seems like every

character well like half the characters are like

really helpful and it's like are they all really

this helpful because it's like some of them are

like curmudgeon Things that are not gonna help,

you know, like the boiler room guys like I'm

not helping and then it's like I'm helping like

It's so like I think they do a good job with

Haku Lake where it's like I don't know if we

trust him or not like because he seems really

helpful really nice and she probably would have

died immediately but then like everyone's saying

these things like you can't trust him he's you

Baba's enforcer or whatever and so Like I think

they did a good job with that relationship and

I personally feel like it was more of a friendship

And it probably was even more of a friendship

in the original language, and if there's any

romance there, it was probably added in the English

translation, because Americans need that romance

for whatever reason. I thought it was good, though,

too, because they actually do show that it's

not just what other people are saying about him,

too, though. There are actions that he takes

that make it seem like he is a complex character.

He is in the gray area. He's not just good, not

just bad. He he's a character that's gonna make

mistakes and have different motivations for things

that he's doing So I thought it was good that

they kind of showed that his actions to work

in that great blurry area, too It wasn't just

what this person or that person was saying about

him, you know as far as being the enforcer being

evil this that any other Yeah, I feel like that's

a case in a lot of me is argue films and especially

here to where there's almost never pure evil

pure good even sin, I think has some of her qualms.

She's kind of loading who she is, really, but

Yobaba has some moments of heroism, where she

tries to take out no -face and things like that,

and she's not completely evil. There's some weird

things that she does, of course, and she certainly

has some methods to her techniques that are certainly

selfish and downright mean, and especially the

way she treats a giant baby, which is... When

a giant baby is like 15th on the scare of weird

creatures, you know, you're watching a Miyazaki

film, but. Dude didn't even have a diaper. It's

a baby. Give it a diaper. The thing was running

around with like an apron on, naked pretty much.

That baby doesn't, I don't get the feeling that

it was potty trained. What was going on with

that situation? It's a big ass baby. I think

no one wanted to clean up the diaper afterwards.

Either they, or they didn't make them that big.

I don't know. Lordy. We're bringing up a lot

of these side characters I just had a question

for you guys because outside of like obviously

sin and Haku and maybe even your Baba There are

so many different side character species spirits

this set and the other did I'm curious what everybody's

favorite? Work because I had a couple that I

definitely gravitated to and I want to see if

anybody else did too or if you were Kind of drawn

to different characters because there's a lot

of inside characters whether the ones that go

with her, you know, on the train ride. You got,

like I said, the different spirits, the different

animals that were introduced. You have the individuals

in the boiler room. You have the people that

she's working with. Matt, I mean, do you have

favorite characters or side of characters you're

supporting in this? I mean, can I say the dust

minds? I think they're the most - That's one

of mine. They're one of the most adorable scenes.

um and it's hilarious and very relatable of like

oh this person's doing the work i'm not going

to do any work um so i mean i really like them

like i for some reason no face has become like

the face of miyazaki like that's that's the thing

everyone goes to which is such a weird thing

because it's like i don't know he's he's like

there a bunch and he's kind of adorable and then

it's like he's a problem and then he's not a

problem I think the reason I like because he's

one of my you really mentioned the two that I

have down because the slit bugs were probably

my favorite and then I No face which why I have

ghostface killer written down But no face I really

liked him because I like the idea that a following

her and he's you know, this kind of creepy shadowy

figure that's First I was led to believe that

he was gonna somewhat call them out or or expose

the fact that Haku was helping her or different

stuff like that that's not kind of the way it

went but I I fell in love with his character

as far as the way the innocence that he has to

the beginning and the way that he's uh assisting

Sen and how he's trying to help even though she

will not take his help and she keeps denying

everything he's trying to give her even though

it's helping but I also liked how it kind of

illustrated some of those other themes that I

think Miyazaki was going for with some of the

different downfalls or Tragic flaws to some of

these characters because it kind of seems as

if he's As he's ingesting each one of these people

is he's somewhat taking on the traits of them

like they're living through him somehow So, you

know, he's getting greedy or he's hungry or he's

angry or whatever based on the people that he's

ingesting and then once they're all gone obviously

he turns back into more of an innocent helpful

creature, so I really enjoyed him not just for

kind of illustrating there or highlighting some

of those traits, but I just kind of liked just

the innocent help that he was providing to whoever

he saw that needed it. And it seemed like he

was also gravitating more to try to help people

that were a little bit more pure in their motives.

So I was a big fan of his character as well.

But I didn't want to cut you off, Matt, if you

had somebody else you wanted to mention too.

I mean, I think those head dudes are hilarious.

But I mean, that was all I could say, really,

to add on. Was terrified of no face. I was like,

what the fuck is this thing? Why does he have

a happy face? Cuz I don't feel like you should

have a happy face cuz I feel like he's gonna

do some bad shit and then he went nuts in the

bathhouse and it was creepy how like after he

ate the frog like he morphed and got like frog

legs and then like The voices that he was using

and like stuff that he was saying like he's like

do you want some gold? I'm not gonna give it

to anybody else and like he was just being really

freaking creepy and When then he started eating

people and I'm like, yeah, this dude is not on

some good shit and I I didn't know how she had

Like the strength if and like how she was so

brave to like just tell this dude No, like he's

obviously creepy. He's bigger than you. You don't

know what he's capable of He's handing you a

big -ass handful of what seems to be some gold

You're just like taking me like thanks and then

just get rid of it or something if you're scared

of what he's giving you but he like was He helped

her in the beginning. It seemed like he was really

trying to help her, but then it was so insistent

and creepy that I was like, man, I don't know

if I could just say no to this guy. I'd be like,

yeah, thanks, dude. And then, you know, run away.

Like, thanks for this candy stranger, but I'm

not getting your van. And I don't know. He just

really creeped the hell out. And then all of

a sudden he was like, oh, I'm good. And she was

just like okay with him coming with her after

he left the bathhouse. Like she just knew that

he was just going crazy because it was the bathhouse.

Wouldn't have done that. I'm like stay the hell

away from me. You were eating people you were

going nuts You were trying to kill me. We're

not friends anymore, bro It freaked me out, but

I think that I really like the boiler man, too.

He was pretty cool I was scared of him at first

too like this creepy old guy with all these arms

And shit and those black nails and use like some

sorcerer or something I don't know what he was

on either But he turned out pretty cool and he

stuck his neck out for her and did some cool

stuff like but I if I was the What was the girl's

name that was helping send in their work? Was

her name? I Don't know but the other chick the

helper lady I would have been super And he busted

out those train tickets that he'd been holding

on to for 40 years, and she's trying her hardest

to get those train tickets. And she was just

totally cool, like, OK, go for it. Dude, she

had four of them. You couldn't give one of them

to her so she could get out of there? Like, she

took these random people just to go with her

when she should've just, you know, gave her one

of those four tickets. Not only did that dude

keep her for 40 years, and he had four of them,

she still didn't get one. I felt bad for her.

I thought she was cool, though, too. The only

the one character I'll bring up to I don't know

if you would it's a little bit different but

it was the the river spirit or the which originally

was the munch creature just because I thought

visually that was it looked great and it was

one of my favorite scenes of the entire film

they start trying to like Fix this creatures

are pulling up bicycles and things like I thought

that was a great sequence There was also a cool

effect that they use on his breath Yeah, when

he had like the bad breath right in her face.

I thought I thought that was done really well.

See, you mentioned No -Face, and there's a lot

to like about No -Face, but I've also become

somewhat frustrated with this character, just

because his arc seems kind of all over the place,

and I know that maybe goes with the character,

he's almost like a child in a way, as he's just

figuring things out, but it's just... I feel

like he, I don't know if it's even a he, but

the character changes so drastically that it's

really hard to kind of get a grasp of what that

character is at some moments in time. I think

there's probably something there that maybe I'm

missing or something like that, but it seems

like the changes are drastic and grand in short

periods of time. I do think he leads a lot of

really interesting scenes visually It's a great

character, but there are just times where i'm

like I don't I don't know if I understand where

this character is going or why this character

is doing what he's doing But I don't know if

that's just me not picking it up more so than

the film uh failure on the film, but Yeah, I

can see that too because I was I was confused

a lot with that character too I was like I wasn't

sure like I get the fact that he Kind of morphing

into whoever eats, but he's also eating them

So like, you know, he's choosing to do that whether

it's just because it is mad because he's within

the bathhouse or not But then he wanted to get

there. So why did he want to get there? so it

was definitely had a mystery element that kind

of leaves you questioning what the underlying

motives or you know reasoning is for some of

his actions, I know as Miyazaki was kind of interview

regarding this film and he he talked about and

I guess he does this for all movies, but He doesn't

write scripts for films he they find the story

as they're kind of doing the storyboards and

things like that and I was wondering for you

like does that? Doing that kind of like finding

a story as it goes does it make the story feel

like it's progressing organically or does it

at all make you feel like the story is never

really able to find itself because just kind

of randomly going to the next spot based upon

whatever, you know, just like the turns are just

drastic and quick or does it feel like it's just

a natural flow for you all? I think that I think

there's a little bit of both. I think it does

make it feel organic. It does make it feel like

a natural process and I think it makes it easy

for you to watch it from that standpoint because

you're kind of going along with the flow as they

were. I think it does though have a tendency

to at times just make it seem like it's going

and You know three four different directions

at the same time I Did have written down at one

point like the that it was a little all over

the place narrative wise because like I said

it seemed like there was a Quest inside a quest

inside a quest for me. Like you have the overall

plot where she's trying to you know, find a way

to free her Free her parents from the pig state

and then you're introduced into you know side

quest a with Haku and his being somewhat captured

there, and his relationship with Yababa, and

then you have a side quest with No -Face, and

what's going on with this character, and then

you have the twin sisters that are having some

type of relationship. So I mean, it does seem

like you are going in a lot of different directions

at once. So I can see some people having that

as a problem, or that as a negative, that it

overlaps. Like the overarching story doesn't

seem to have like there's no it's not like what

we're raised to do You know, you don't make the

outline and you don't plot here, you know This

is gonna happen in act one act two act three

or the beginning in the end So I think some people

might be thrown off by that. But like I said,

I think it does add a natural organic Kind of

ability to it as well. I think that at some points

I I found myself saying, man, we still have to

finish this thing. We still have all this work

to do to resolve this issue. And now we're doing

something else. So I find myself, you know, trying

to figure out like, well, when is, when are we

gonna solve this? When is the end coming? He's

always trying to figure out when that climax

is about to hit. And with this, I just kept having

to push that back, push that back, push that

back because instead of resolution, of the main

thing that was going on. We kept circling off

and doing other things, which wasn't really a

bad thing. That's just me being super impatient.

But it was something that I had consciousness

of this time around. I want to be a dissenting

opinion. Go for it. I guess maybe I'm not the

most attentive viewer. If I'm enjoying it, I'm

enjoying it. I don't really think about those

things. If I'm watching a movie, like if I'm

watching a TV show, I kind of have that moment

where it's like, oh, you know, like Caton McCard's

got 20 minutes to wrap this guy up. But in a

movie, I somehow don't have that. I don't, I'm

not, I'm worried about the moment. And so like

thinking back at it, I almost love how it's like,

yeah, sometimes there's this time in a stretch

and all she's doing is like working at her job.

And then sometimes a thing happens at her job

and it's like. Oh, this is a cool adventure we

got to have at work, and then I still got to

go back and watch that dude. I kind of love that

it's really starting to stop, and it's kind of

how it would be in real life if you were having

a real life adventure within your own little

contained space. I kind of really enjoy that

quality to it, even if it is weird and unnatural.

For most movies. Yeah, I think for me, okay You

mentioned being a conflicting opinion and I feel

some some ways in my own self i'm conflicting

with with with it because Part of me just wants

that natural story point a point b But another

part of me thinks it works well because you know

this you have this idea of the story of how Obviously

kids or children can get lost in their own world

and kind of detach themselves even from their

parents But eventually have to try to find their

way back To that to that place and I think it

makes sense when that happens when if this is

almost like a Pseudo you mentioned inside out

similar to that where it's almost a venture into

a child's mind and child's imagination and with

that when you get into an imagination Imaginations

aren't really concerned about telling a story

that you're concerned about what's going and

trying to find something that's creative or Adventure

and with that things can kind of get jumbled.

So Think that that represents itself really well

and I think it thematically makes sense to have

that approach Though part of me does get frustrated

because it's like I know you need to do that.

No, what about this? And then part of me is like,

okay, wait, what are we talking? How did that

resolve? No, that didn't and so it's it's you

know It's doing what's what it wants to do, but

I wanted to do something else at times. So it's

I think for if it was handled by a lesser director

or in, you know or something like that, I think

it would be much more of a problem. I think the

fact that he does have such a, so much experience

in doing it this way and in achieving the results

that he achieves, that I think it's much more

palatable. And I think for those that do have

the, whether it's just they're not concerned

with the structure, whether you just have the

patience or the tolerance for it, I think it

is a rewarding experience and I think it does

work overall. I just, I guess I'm trying to look.

from an outside standpoint say like if you are

using this as the as an introduction to Miyazaki

or you know that type of thing Studio Ghibli

to an outsider who hasn't seen any of this I

could see them having that as a complaint because

we're so brainwashed or so used to the certain

structure of stories etc so I think that would

be a complaint that some people could have but

I didn't really necessarily have it but like

I said I think I'm with Dan if it was done by

somebody, you know, like less or, and there was

less craftsmanship behind it, it would be much

more maybe of an issue than it ends up becoming

in these films. That's just me though. Anything

else that you wanted to bring up or talk about

that we didn't mention yet? I know Amanda's got

while you're looking over your notes was the

vulgarity coming out and the evilness coming

out of that baby at first. Oh shit! trying to

break her. Mama will kill you. I'll break your

arm. I'll rip your mouth out. I'm gonna rip it

and say that. Oh, somebody else said that. Yeah.

That was just my my like five quotes in a row

of all this stuff capped off by the the boiler

man doing his karate chop through his finger

chop. He will be gone. That was a classic moment.

I love that. Okay. You've you've seen your nose.

What else you got? I just feel like things really

really escalated quickly and at first I was left

with a ton of questions I had no idea what was

going on, but I feel like it did a pretty good

job of answering some of that and you know showing

you pieces of this world that you needed to get

a handle on what was going on and I don't know

I was really really taken aback by the The stunning

detail and in the artwork and the the beautiful

use of color here, too It was I mean all of Miyazaki's

films look really really awesome, but I feel

like this was Super striking maybe it's because

I did stay awake the entire friggin time. I don't

know but um I think that I've covered everything

that's so that's uh on my list pretty much though

We good, bro Dan you didn't mention obviously

the critical response and that it was obviously,

you know Academy I could give it some recognition

also box office success as well as Success I

Don't know if it really any of the other Miyazaki

films compete with it At least when it came out,

I don't know if this is still true or not But

it was the highest grossing film in Japanese

history. I don't know if that's still holding

It sure not it just got beat last year by the

movie your name It finally beat its record. So

but until 2016 It was the highest grossing in

film and it made over 200 US dollars before 200

US dollars 200 million US dollars before it even

debuted in the u .s It didn't obviously have

the same type of box office here, but it did

do pretty well. So and obviously Internationally,

it was a huge success Yeah, and also very much

lauded as far as critical goes a rotten tomatoes

as it has the 13th best animated film on the

website. IGN had it the 12th best animated film

of all time. Metacritic ranked it number nine,

highest rated movie of all time as far as animated

goes. So a lot of love around the world in all

these different ways, which it seems like whichever

way you try to sum up this, whether it's box

office critical or whatever, it seems to be rating

pretty high. Let's go around the table here and

give our final thoughts and overall grade. Amanda,

starting with you, what are your final thoughts

and what grade would you give? Spirited away?

Were you spirited away? I was spirited somewhere,

that's for sure. I was definitely impressed,

especially not having anything to really go on

here as far as expectations or what the movie's

even about. I just knew it was gonna be Miyazaki

and, you know, we're... You know in this ride

right now, so it's not even a question of if

I'm gonna like it or not It's it's how can I

break this movie down? But I was entertained

by this some of the other ones were hard for

me to get it through Because it's so packed with

stuff and you know by the time we're watching

it. It's it's in the time of Night where my brain

starts shutting down so some of this more complex

stuff my brain just goes nope but this one I

even as complex as it was and it was entertaining

and enthralling and I Enjoyed it completely and

a little taken aback by how much I did like and

I think I'm gonna put it above My favorite Miyazaki

movie so far, which is Kiki's delivery service.

So I'm gonna give it I'm gonna give it a I'm

gonna give it a nine It's getting serious Kevin

final thoughts and overall grid I'm so torn.

Like I said, it's so hard for me to rack and

stack these films against each other. I'm going

to have to do a lot more thought before I can

do that. But I really enjoyed what we were talking

about at the beginning, where you kind of do

get a little bit of the best of both worlds.

You have a little bit more of a more accessible

story, but you do have it layered with all these

complex characters and different motivations

and things like that. I don't know if when you

put it all together, it's going to outrank some

of those more grand scope adventures. Sure films

that we've seen but I did enjoy it quite a bit.

So I mean, I guess I'll go oh I'll give it an

eight out of ten Oh, man, oh man, um I was hoping

to be last just so I can be like I'm gonna grab

the the one between eight and nine that isn't

Already taken. It's a real good movie and I got

lucky Enough that this one came to theaters.

So I saw this most recently in theaters Which

I had never done and that's great. If you can

do it like do it people. It's worth it I'm gonna

give this I'm gonna give it a nine Well, I'll

go nine as well, okay? My only quibble was the

one I mentioned with kind of the frustration

at times with some of the plot elements and I

had some problems with the the no -face character,

but overall it's a great animated film, one of

the best that we've talked about, one of the

best of the decade, and certainly deserving of

its recognition, and like we mentioned, a great,

if you're thinking about getting into Hamizaki

and you're wondering if his films are gonna work

with you or not, as mentioned, this is a good

starting point. It might set the bar really high,

but at least gives you an idea of what to kind

of expect, because I think something like Nausicaa

might be a little overwhelming, and something

like... Totoro might seem unremarkable if you

don't have the proper context, but I think this

hits the best of both worlds. So really strong

film. It's going to be one of the top films I

think we talk about in this retrospective. But

we will certainly be back shortly to continue

the retrospective, and we're nearing the final

stretch. We think we only have three more films.

Next time we'll be talking about Howl's Moving

Castle, which I'm interested in. I saw that one

time, and I always thought it was not that great

from what I can remember, so it's gonna be interesting

for the first time going back to a movie that

I didn't have high feelings for, so that should

be... a good episode to listen to, but before

we go, let's go over our contact information.

Amanda, starting with you, people wanted to get

ahold of you on Twitter. How can they do that?

What is your Twitter name? You can find me at

hardcandymandieyesnullwise. Kevin? You can tweet

me at OptimusSolo. Matt? I am at FridleyS - Sent

an I and Matt movie revolt and the show is at

cinema geek cast on Twitter Feel free to let

us know what you thought of our thoughts and

any any other questions feel free where we are

on Twitter? Ready to start conversation, but

thank you for listening for this week And we

will be back shortly to continue our haomi izaki

retrospective. Thanks for listening