千と千尋の神隠し
English title of the latest Studio Ghibli blockbuster movie directed by Hayao Miyazaki. This is the first film produced by Ghibli after the Disney-Tokuma Deal (Tokuma is Ghibli's parent company), and thus partly financed by Disney. As Disney had no say in the production however, it became a beautiful movie, a modern age fairy tale. Despite having been released in the summer of 2001, it is still playing strong to sold out audiences in Spring 2002, and has long since replaced Titanic as the most successful film in japanese history both with respect to audience and revenue.
The japanese title is Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi. Directly translated, it means "The spiriting away of Sen and Chihiro", but the official english title is "Spirited Away". The release in France, has been a success. There are also limited releases in Belgium and Switzerland. A release in the US however is not likely in the near future given the botched (some say sabotaged) attempt by Buena Vista to launch it's predecessor, Princess Mononoke in the US, and Buena Vista having purchased the rights for "Sen" as well.
The story revolves around a little girl of about 12 years of age, Chihiro, who stumbles onto the entrance into a parallel world, where Gods come to relax in a health spa. Her parents can't resist the food that is on display in one of the restaurants, and are turned into pigs in the process of stuffing themselves. So Chihiro must embark upon a quest to find and free her parents. On her way she sees many different and strange creatures, some friendly, some not. To free her parents from their curse she must find a way to convince the greedy witch that runs the health spa to turn them back. But that may not proove so easy.
I withhold any further comments as not to spoil the film for those who still want to see it. It's magical and I recommend it to everyone. Even if it won't be playing in your area of the world, there should be a japanese DVD release sometime this year, and so far, all releases by Studio Ghibli have featured english subtitles.
UPDATE: The film has received the golden bear (first prize) in the german movie awards, the Berlinale. It is the first time ever for an animated feature to do so, and was entirely unexpected by the press. This should prove beneficial for the international release schedule. And in other news, the movie also won the first Academy Award (Oscar) for animated feature films. So now there's another paperweight to be shown in the Ghibli Museum.
UPDATE #2: The japanese DVD release is now just a week old, and it has brought us another 2-disc set, with all kinds of special features, and one major bug: Somehow, the colours are misaligned, so that all whites become pinkish, and blue and green are too light. This can be regulated out with good TV's, but most of us will suffer an inferior picture. Official comments about a possible replacement have not yet been issued, and it seems that Buena Vista Japan wants to present this bug as a feature, saying this is how it was supposed to be from the beginning. Pity, as the film is excellent and would have deserved a much better transfer than this...
Update #3: Yep, they came out and said this is how it was supposed to come out. There is a noticable red tint in the picture, which makes all whites pinkish, and changes the other colors as well. However, the degree of the tint seems to be dependent on the sytems with which the DVD's are viewed. While some reported a really strong tint, others didn't even notice it. When I saw the DVD, I did notice the tint, but wasn't really disturbed that much. It made the picture slightly warmer on my set. Still would have preferred a perfect version, though...
Update #4: Rejoice, american fans, for the US-release is immanent. Just like Princess Mononoke, Miyazaki's previous work, Sen will be released in the states by Buena Vista Entertainment aka Disney. Sadly, as with Mononoke, there is next to no advertisement for the film: No theatre trailers before other Disney features, no mention in Disney's TV shows, and so on. Also, as with Sen, it will be a limited release at first, so if you want the film to succeed in the box office, go see it soon after it starts, and see it often, bring your friends, drive hours to see it, etc. Maybe after that, there will be a larger release following close behind the arthouse release. Oh, before I forget, there is a short trailer at: quicktime.apple.com. More info is available on the official website: http://spiritedaway.net. Check it out!
Update #5: It's out! Go see it, bring the kids! Although only a limited release, it is spread better, and Lo and Behold, some theatres are even showing the sub and dub in some theatres at different times. So go out to see it now! This movie is magic, more so than any other movie in the last few years...
Update #6:
A group of customers in Japan has just filed a case against
Buena Vista Japan, because of the red tint. The claim the product is defective and demand 10.000 Yen and a replacement disc without the defect. I tend to agree... Maybe there will be an exchange program after all...