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Ella Kalnes
Mr. Hackney
Rhetoric 101
22 October 2014
Spirited Away: The Film That Started it All
Director Hayao Miyazaki has been working on animated films for almost 40 years. His
movies often contain recurrent themes, like humanitys relationship with nature and technology,
feminism, and maintaining a nonviolent ethic. The main characters in his films are usually
strong, independent girls or young women. Although Miyazakis films are highly acclaimed in
Japan, having won Picture of the Year twice in the Japanese Academy Awards, his movies are
far less known in the United States. That is, until he released Spirited Away in 2001. Spirited
Away unexpectedly flourished in America and went so far as to win an American Academy
Award. Spirited Away tells the story of Chihiro, a quiet 10 year old girl who, while moving to a
new neighborhood, enters the spirit world. Once her parents are turned into pigs by the witch
Yubaba, Chihiro decides to take a job at Yubabas bathhouse to find a way to free herself and her
parents and return to the human world. Even though Morgenstern and Boyar agree that Spirited
Away has extraordinary animation and messages that apply to viewers of all ages, their opinions
differ when it comes to the reputation of the director.
Miyazakis animation style is unique because the majority of his time is spent using hand
drawn animation, predominantly watercolors. He believes that hand drawing on paper is the
fundamental of animation (Miyazaki) His methods proved successful when both Morgenstern
and Boyar agreed that the animation in Spirited Away was phenomenal. Morgenstern claims that
Spirited Away is a masterpiece and a wonderfully welcoming work of art that's as funny and

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entertaining as it is brilliant, beautiful and deep. Miyazakis film emphasizes these qualities
most in its landscapes and elements of nature. He gets most of his inspiration from the variety of
places he lived as a child and his desire for the world to be a less technology driven place. Boyar
believes that there's something mysteriously dreamlike about how the story's various elements
coalesce into something coherent and wondrous. The minor characters in the story contribute to
this coalescence the most by using their unique traits to teach Chihiro different things about
herself. Miyazakis characters seem realistic because he follows the ideology that animating
people can only be done by those who spend time observing others (Miyazaki).
Animated films, especially those in Japanese culture, often depict lessons through stories.
Spirited Away is no different. The film covers many relevant issues including the life of the
spirit, materialist greed, the importance of words and the power of love (Morgenstern). The
issues in Spirited Away are ageless and will always be present in some part of our lives. As
Boyar mentions, Spirited Away is a film that children will love, as will their elders. This film
allows children to come to terms with growing up and getting through certain anxieties on their
own. The film also gives adults a chance to go back, to that early, wide-eyed time of [their]
lives when the visible world obeyed no known rules, and what [they] saw... pulsed with inner,
inexplicable life (Morgenstern).
Director Miyazakis films did not gain much coverage in the United States. At least, not
until years after their original release. In fact, Miyazakis early films werent even shown in
American theaters. With such a late blooming career in America, critics have many different
views on whether or not Miyazaki is a successful director. Boyar states that, Miyazaki is a great
animator and original storyteller, but, up to now, the history of his movies in this country has
been heartbreaking. Boyar finds it unfortunate that Miyazaki is not well known in America but

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he acknowledges that that is the case. On the other hand, Morgenstern practically worships
Miyazaki and speaks as if he is a legend that anyone could easily recognize. His use of phrases
like the man who gave us and honors the eye-popping essence of Mr. Miyazaki's work prove
that Morgenstein believes the best of Miyazaki. The facts still remain, that Miyazaki was not
internationally renowned until the release of Spirited Away. However, he has directed many
noteworthy films since then.
While both Morgenstern and Boyar have differences in opinion regarding Spirited Away,
they both agree that it is a groundbreaking film that has paved the way for future animators and
their careers. Miyazaki proved time and time again that beautiful things can be created using the
simplest techniques. With attention grabbing animation, unique characters, and morals, Spirited
Away has something that can capture all audiences around the world.

Works Cited
Boyar, Jay. `Spirited Away a Magic Carpet Ride. Orlando Sentinel. N.p., n.d. Web. 18
Oct. 2014.

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Lamb, Lynzee. Miyazaki: The Problem With The Anime Industry Is Its Full of Otaku.
Anime News Network. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Oct. 2014.
Morgenstern, Joe. A Dazzling Spirited Away Is More Vivid than Reality. The Wall
Street Journal. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Oct. 2014.
Spirited Away. Dir. Hayao Miyazaki. Studio Ghibli, 2001. Film.