Spirited Away

Yet another Miyazaki film based of fantasy, but I'm not complaining!

Spirited Away is a movie that is a bit more modern based with cars and such. The story concerns appreciating what you have and to not take it for granted, and also not everything is as it may at first seem.

The story begins with a young girl named Chihiro. She is burdened with the idea that she is moving. The first introduction of her character has a very blunt statement about her. She is negative right off the bat. On their way to their new house this family of three, father, mother and Chihiro take a longer detour than they had planned. They end up on the other side of an odd building and decide to take a look On the other side the structure appears to be a train station that seems to be an attraction; part of a larger amusement type place that appears to be still in business but without staff or guests. When Chihiro returns from a brief look around of the place she returns to two giant pigs where her parents once were. Suddenly the park comes alive and creatures begin appearing out of thin air, it seems she has entered the spirit world. She makes a friend in a strange boy, Kohaku who helps her hide from those who wish harm onto her. From here on Chihiro is shoved into working in a giant bath house for those whom couldn't care less for her, working with and for spirits and Gods alike. She has to change so she may return her parents back to normal and return to her world. Although she runs into many spirits with not so positive dispositions at first, behind closed doors they are secretly happy of her presence. However she runs into her fair share of those who appear friendly that only turn into monsters later (heh).

One of my favorites of Miyazaki's films now. I never realized his artistic style until this movie. He likes to use descriptive and realistic images in his backgrounds with a combination of regular animation in the foreground. This makes the entire image pop and is very appealing to the eye. Also, I noticed Miyazaki takes music/sound effects very seriously, timing is perfect and can change the whole mood with a single song and facial expression from the characters.

Princess Mononoke

Princess Mononoke is a visually stimulating story about the clash of new and old ideals. As with director Hayao Miyazaki's movies, Princess Mononoke is based on fantasy. The idea is the upraising of man & his technology clashing with the old ways of thinking.

The story begins in a small village under attack by what appears to be a rampaging demon. Ashitaka, our hero/main character, jumps into action immediately avoiding harm to the beast until the very last minute. Most unfortunately Ashitaka is touched by the cursed demon and is to forever bare a mark on his arm that will gradually rip apart is soul then his body (he also has little resistance to the marks own will). His only choice is to leave his home and adventure far to west and beg the Spirit of the Forest to lift the curse. We soon discover that a woman named Lady Eboshi Gozen, the leader of Iron Town; whom is trying to destroy the forest so that the town may mine the ore from underneath it. And the plot only thickens further when we discover that not only is the forest in danger, but he Forest Spirits head is on the line, quite literally.

I absolutely love this movie. Miyazaki is always does wonderful work keeping his fiction well, realistic. What I mean by this is as a director he manages to keep facts of present day (present day > whenever the movie is taking place in) and keeping them as a constant while still fluttering the screen with imaginary characters and creatures and are both captivating and unique.