The nature of the story is tailor made for animation. Many of the characters engage in shape-shifting and the bathhouse is frequented by a variety of strange and ununusal creatures. While a few of the inhabitants of the spirit world look human, most appear to be anything but that. Take the boiler operator Kamji (David Ogden Stiers), for example. At first glance, he's just a cranky old man with a frizzy beard. Then we notice that he has eight legs and walks like a spider. We also find out that he's not as intimidating as he looks. His initially surly disposition melts away and he becomes one of Chihiro's numerous friends.
The film's animation is stunning, with richly-detailed backgrounds and flawless foregrounds. Unlike many animators, Miyazaki still relies almost exclusively upon hand-drawn artwork, and his meticulous care shows. The colors are bright and vivid, and some of the scences (especially those taking place during a rainstorm) are peerless in the world of motion picture animation. Also, with a running length that exceeds two hours, Spirited Away requires approximately 40% more cells than the average Disney release.
Miyazaki does not dumb down Spirited Away, even through his target audience is children. This is a true family film, in that adults will be as enchanted by the characters and situations as children will. The pace is a little slower then the average animated film -- there is not as much frantic action - but not so languid that younger viewers will become restless. The dubbing into English is very good (as is voice selection), so there is no subtitle barrier. Overall, Spirited away is sophisticated and beautifully rendered. Miyazaki has provided another triumph, and, in the midst of the quality fall-off of Disney's in-house animated projects, a reason for animation-lovers to rejoice.
Porculus