Synopsis
As a sullen 10-year-old girl named Chihiro (Daveigh Chase) mopes in the backseat of her parents’ car, her mother (Lauren Holly) tries to cheer her up. “Quit whining. It’s fun to move to a new place. It’s an adventure.” Winding up through the hills, her father (Michael Chiklis) seems to get them lost. Instead of finding their new home, he comes across what appears to be a deserted theme park. Walking through a long tunnel to investigate, Chihiro’s parents smell food. They make their way through a mock town, discovering a fully stocked buffet. Chihiro wants to leave, but as her mother and father gorge themselves, they transform into pigs.

As lumbering spirits rise from the buildings, Chihiro discovers that a river now blocks the pathway back. She also appears to be dissipating in mass. A boy named Haku (Jason Marsden) appears, giving her a berry that returns Chihiro to solid form. Haku promises that she’ll see her parents later, but warns her that others are looking for her. He uses a spell to make Chihiro invisible as they mingle with the fantastic spirits and creatures crossing a bridge to a bath house. Haku instructs Chihiro to seek refuge in the boiler room and ask the six-armed Kamajii (David Ogden Stiers) for a job.

With the help of the punchy Lin (Susan Egan), Chihiro is taken up to see Yubaba (Suzanne Pleshette), the witch who rules the spectral bath house and hands out work assignments. Yubaba refuses to accept her. “You humans always make a mess of things. Like your parents, who gobbled up the food of the spirits like pigs. They got what they deserved. And you should be punished too.” But Chihiro persists, and Yubaba agrees to give the girl the most difficult job she has, working as Lin’s assistant. Lin advises the human that Haku is Yubaba’s henchman and not to trust him.

Though Yubaba has stolen Chihiro’s handwriting and taken her name from her, Haku warns her that if she forgets her name, she’ll fall under the witch’s control forever, like him. Chihiro and Lin are tasked with cleaning the biggest, filthiest tub in the bath house, which soon becomes the destination of a stink spirit that checks in as a guest. Chihiro discovers that Haku has the power to turn into a white dragon and has been tasked with stealing a magical gold seal from Yubaba’s twin sister Zeniba. By using her wits to render help to all those she encounters, Chihiro begins gaining the power to save her parents and return home.

Production history
Hayao Miyazaki had worked in animation for twenty-two years when in 1985, he joined Isao Takahata - who Miyazaki had befriended at Toei Animation Company - and producer Toshio Suzuki to found their own studio. Taking its name from a World War II Italian airplane, Studio Ghibli produced three critically acclaimed fantasy films Miyazaki co-wrote and directed: Castle In The Sky, My Neighbor Totoro and Kiki’s Delivery Service. In 1997, Miyazaki’s ecologically themed epic Princess Mononoke shattered box office records in Japan. This led to a deal with Disney to dub into English and distribute Studio Ghibli’s films in the West.

Miyazaki’s hands-on approach - checking all key animation, redrawing characters he felt weren’t performing right - had taken its toll during Princess Mononoke. Miyazaki announced he would never again direct, not in that way. On a group holiday, Miyazaki observed five daughters of a friend flipping through a manga. He was not impressed with the reading material. “I felt this country only offered such things as crushes and romance to 10-year-old girls, though, and looking at my young friends, I felt this was not what they held dear in their hearts, not what they wanted. And so I wondered if I could make a movie in which they could be heroines.”

Miyazaki first considered an adaptation of the children’s book A Mysterious Town Over the Mist by Sachiko Kashiwaba. He later drafted an original story that ended up being about “a scary old woman sitting on the bandai of a bath house.” Toshio Suzuki suggested the director go back to a film that would appeal to young girls. Miyazaki began storyboarding panels for what became The Spiriting Away of Sen and Chihiro, the tale of a 10-year-old girl whose parents make a wrong turn and end up trapped in a bath house of the spirits, a world which the young heroine Chihiro must find her way out of.

With a budget of $15 million USD, Spirited Away went into production February 2000 at Studio Ghibli in Tokyo. While Miyazaki had experimented with computer generated imagery in Princess Mononoke and utilized Softimage in his follow-up, the characters were animated largely by hand. In July 2001, Spirited Away opened in Japan with moderate commercial expectations. It became a box office sensation, the first non-American movie to gross $200 million outside the U.S. A screening at the Berlin International Film Festival was so well received that the animated picture shared the festival’s top honor - the Golden Bear - with Bloody Sunday.

Toshio Suzuki took Spirited Away to a screening at Pixar Animation Studios. Pixar’s chief creative officer John Lasseter - a friend and admirer of Miyazaki’s - was blown away. Lasseter eased Disney’s concerns that American audiences would be put off by the film. “I felt that it would be particularly accessible to Western audiences because it is seen from the point of view of a modern, materialistic young girl who is unfamiliar with her own cultural past. The way the story is told, it works as an introduction to a fascinating, rich culture whether it is the viewer’s own heritage or not.” Lasseter served as executive director of the English language version, supervising the dub directed by Kirk Wise.

Spirited Away opened September 2002 in the U.S., never expanding beyond 151 screens. But the New York Times, the Village Voice, and the Chicago Sun-Times among others ranked it one of the ten best films of the year. At the Academy Awards, Spirited Away surprised many by winning Best Animated Feature, over Lilo & Stitch and Ice Age. Miyazaki did not attend the ceremony, issuing a statement thanking “the friends who made efforts to have Spirited Away open in the United States and the people who viewed it positively.” Alluding to the war in Iraq, he added, “I feel saddened by the fact that the world is now faced with a very unhappy situation that prevents me from rejoicing wholeheartedly.”

Opinion
Musical numbers, furry creatures, pop culture jokes and a running time under two hours are just a few of the conventions of American animation not found anywhere in this extraordinary film. And it’s about time. Spirited Away is a movie with the kind of unique characters and magical - at times unsettling - qualities that fans of Lewis Carroll or L. Frank Baum books will embrace, but what makes the film a classic is that instead of trying to sell commercial tie-ins or toys to kids, the animators are more interested in moving the audience, kids and adults, with a beautifully told and original story.

The divide between the physical and spiritual worlds moves quite a bit in Miyazaki’s films. Spirited Away is perhaps the most vivid illustration of this philosophy to date. Parents might nitpick whether the film is too dark for little kids, while anime fans can debate the merits of the original Japanese version versus the English version. Daveigh Chase and the English voice cast (including Pixar veteran John Ratzenberger) are said to have listened to the Japanese voice performances to help gauge their own here and are commendable. What’s indisputable is the masterful level of character design, art direction and imagination that Miyazaki invests his world with.

Vince Leo at QWipster’s Movie Reviews writes, “Spirited Away is one of those films that you are either into or you aren’t. It’s definitely going to hit home with people who admire a talented genius at work, and those who love unique characters and richness in adventure, especially if you agree with the moral lessons the film has to teach. As for me, the elements of the story reminded me a little too much of Jim Henson’s Labyrinth, another Alice in Wonderland-like film that I found to be much more engaging, even if it isn’t as profound as Miyazaki’s creation. That Spirited Away is a remarkable achievement, I have no doubt. Perhaps it is just me that wasn’t ‘in the spirit of things’ to be carried away myself.”

“Spirited Away is not just the best animated film of 2002, it is the best film of 2002, period. And perhaps one of the most artistically satisfying animated films ever made, in terms of both its visual splendor and thematic depth. It will amaze kids with its cornucopia of surprises - and the fact that it never talks down to them and gives them a role model more realistic than any live-action Disney Channel show. It will give adults plenty to talk about - artistically, politically, and philosophically - for years to come,” writes Mike Pinsky at DVD Verdict.

Dawn Taylor at DVD Journal writes, “During its two-hour length, Spirited Away contains more characters, ideas, laughs, thrills, and story elements than the last four Disney films combined - which is another area where comparison between Miyazaki and the products of the Mouse House falls apart. The third act of Spirited occasionally drags (just a tiny bit), but it still keeps the viewer wondering what will happen around the next corner - right at the same time that most Disney films devolve into predictable chase scenes, sappy song-and-dance numbers, and teary reunions. Never boring and never predictable, Spirited Away is already on its way to classic status, standing as an important achievement in the art of animation and - far more importantly - a damn entertaining flick.”

© Joe Valdez

The Browser: News & links to raise your eyebrows & furrow your brow.
New headlines will be added as the day goes on. Stay tuned.
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This Is How I Know

Check it out: A new song by Ron Sexsmith from his upcoming album Exit Strategy of the Soul.

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“Smart, Quick, and Funny”

Ebert finally writes about Iron Man:

Another of the film’s novelties is that the enemy is not a conspiracy or spy organization. It is instead the reality in our own world today: Armaments are escalating beyond the ability to control them. In most movies in this genre, the goal would be to create bigger and better weapons. How unique that Tony Stark wants to disarm. It makes him a superhero who can think, reason and draw moral conclusions, instead of one who recites platitudes.

…

At the end of the day it ’s Robert Downey Jr. who powers the lift-off separating this from most other superhero movies. You hire an actor for his strengths, and Downey would not be strong as a one-dimensional mighty-man. He is strong because he is smart, quick and funny, and because we sense his public persona masks deep private wounds. By building on that, Favreau found his movie, and it’s a good one.

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Stephen Hunter has a chat about leaving his post at The Washington Post

Here’s one memorable exchange from Hunter’s farewell chat:

Ballston, Va.: You took the buyout. WHY? You’re leaving. Desson’s leaving. Ann’s great and all, but this development … how should I put this? … sucks.

I guess you’re taking your Pulitzer and moving on. Nothing left to accomplish at the Post. Books to write.

We’ll miss you.

Stephen Hunter: More than the money, more than the books, more than the movies, it was that #$%^&*( $#@!$%&&*( ###$$$@ drive down New York avenue that finally ground the bloom off my rose. A life with no New York Avenue in it seemed entirely worth living.

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Donnie Darker?

Okay, okay… I’ll try not to be pessimistic. I’ll just say… The Hollywood Reporter has the latest on the sequel to Richard Kelley’s cult classic Donnie Darko. The sequel that Darko’s creator wants nothing to do with. (Stop! Must restrain cynicism! Practice hope! Practice restraint!)

Elizabeth Berkley and Briana Evigan have boarded “S. Darko” (aka “Samantha D”), the sequel to “Donnie Darko” being directed by Chris Fisher. Ash R. Shah is producing.

Ed Westwick (”Gossip Girl”) and Justin Chatwin (”The Chumscrubber”) also are in the movie, which stars Daveigh Chase, reprising her role from the original cult classic.

The story, set seven years after the first film, follows Donnie Darko’s sister, Samantha, who, in dealing with her broken family, flees town with her best friend (Evigan) when they are plagued by bizarre visions. . . .

Berkley is playing a speed freak-turned-Jesus freak whose sentiments about ridding the world of its exponential sin are rivaled only by her infatuation with her dreamy pastor. . . .

Titled “S. Darko,” this next film continues the bizzare tale in the Darko family tree and picks up seven years after the first film when little sister Samantha Darko and her best friend Corey, who are now 18, go on a roadtrip to Los Angeles only to be plagued by bizarre visions.

Daveigh Chase reprises her role as Donnies little sis Samantha, now all grown up. She was 11 years old in 2001 when the first film premiered. It starred Jake Gyllenhaal in the title role, turning him into a major Hollywood talent.

Berkley will play the role of a druggie-turned-Jesus freak. She seems to have only two goals in life — ridding the world of sin and bedding her pastor.

“Donnie Darko” writer and director Richard Kelly isn’t attached to this one. The movie will be directed by Chris Fisher (”Moonlight,” “Chuck”).

[Pictured from R to L: Daveigh Chase, Elizabeth Berkley]

Movies Online offers:

From the studio comes your first exclusive look at the Donnie Darko 2 poster along with an official synopsis! This next chapter of the Darko saga picks up with Samantha, Donnie’s younger sister, who, in the wake of his death, has found herself at 17 with a broken family, mired in feelings of insignificance, and with no aspirations for the future.

Now I still haven’t figured out if I want a sequel though I am morbidly curious about Daveigh Chase as the only thing I have seen her in is Big Love and she plays such an odd character there. This poster however gives me nothing to draw me in.

It looks so much like the original poster with the stylized bunny image in it. So does this make you want to see it at all?

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[Posted by Jeff Sneider]
UK-based sales company Velvet Octopus will be selling a sequel to Richard Kelly's 2001 cult hit Donnie Darko at next week's Cannes Film Festival.

Titled S. Darko, pic is set seven years after the original Jake Gyllenhaal-starrer and will follow Donnie's sister Samantha (Daveigh Chase) as she is plagued by bizarre visions while on a roadtrip to L.A. with her best friend Corey (Briana Evigan, star of Step Up 2: The Streets). Other cast members include Gossip Girl's Ed Westwick and War of the Worlds' Justin Chatwin. Although neither Jake nor sister Maggie Gyllenhaal will return, there is no word yet on Frank the Bunny.

Chris Fisher will direct the $10 million film, with which Kelly is not officially involved.

Fox has already snapped up North American rights to the sequel, which starts shooting May 18.