'Cool Reviews: Spirited Away

Ok, so after everyone feasted and left me what was at the bottom of the bucket, I was surprised to see this film wasn't picked up by anyone... "Haven't you heard of this?! Sheep! You are all sheep!"

But I digress.

Hayao Miyazaki's "Spirited Away is, well, think Wizard of Oz meets The Never Ending Story, and you get one heart warming acid tri

p of a movie.

The story follows Chihiro, a little girl who is basically dep

ressed with the fact that she has to leave behind her friends and old life to start anew with her family on the other side of town. The idea of meeting new people didn't sit too well with Chihiro, so in the process she became melancholy, distant, and a wee-bit of a brat...but only a little.

Chihiro's adventure begins when her par

ents lead her down what can be simply put as a gateway into another world, where due to their ignorance, leaves Chihiro to rescue them from the wicked witch Yubaba.

"Spirited Away" is largely about the growth of Chihiro. Several times during the film her will is tested, ultimately leading to a bulk in confidence an

d strength. Miyazaki creates a world of spirits, frogs, and big headed witches all in illuminating color. The characters of the movie reflect most of humanities natural emotions and vices, including greed, compassion, vengeance, and love, bringing the audience closer to understanding the motives and intent behind Miyazaki's unique art of story telling.

My only gripe with the film was how it ended. As mentioned before, Chihiro went through trial after trial and grew throughout the course of the film, and when it was all said and done, it seemed like she was handed her prize without much effort. It was like ordering a fight on Pay Per View. You watch great preliminary match ups that go the distance, but when it comes time for the main event, you get a knock out 26 seconds into the first round!?

Besides that though, I can understand why this movie has been held in such acclaim over the past few years. It's a beautiful movie that serves as motivation to never quit, that no matter what you're faced with, there's always a way to make things work (spare me your judgements, I know what I

just said was corny, but hey...sop). I recommend this movie for kids, esspecially between the ages of 9 through 13, mainly because there's a lot to keep up with. The flick gets an official Cool seal, check it out, and I'm gone.