Spirited Away (2001)

Over the course of my film-loving life, I hope to see around twenty-five films that are perfect. This number will probably wager, but my current estimate is that as of 2011, there are 25 perfect motion pictures in the world. And the only thing bad about seeing one of these perfect films is that there is less to enjoy. But I can find perfection to shout to the world. Spirited Away is the fourth perfect film I have ever seen, after Citizen Kane, The Godfather, and Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World. Directed by legendary director Hayao Miyazaki, Spirited Away is the first anime film I have ever seen. I had a mild period when I was about nine when I read nothing but manga for three months, but I had never seen a full anime film. Now I have. And then I will see many more. This movie won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature in 2002 (the American release of this film was after the awards, but since it won the award in 2002, I am using the eligible release date, the 2001 Japanese one, not the 2002 American release date), and that was a mistake. It really should have won Best Picture, but an animated film would not win, and will not win for a very long time. This was the single best film of 2001, better than the first The Lord of the Rings film. I love The Lord of the Rings, more than nearly anything else on the planet. That just shows how much I love this film. The film follows a ten-year-old girl named Chihiro Ogino, who is moving into a new town when her parents begin to explore. They come across what they think is a run-down amusement park, and begin to go in places they weren’t supposed to be and eat tons of guests’ food. Their gluttony and their trespassing transports the pair and their daughter to an alternate world where spirits roam, ruled in the form of a bathhouse run by the evil Yubaba, who transported the family there to keep them forever. This wonderful fantasy world is magical, brilliant, and astounding. The characters are true, alive, and more real than most of the characters in live action films. You fall in love with these people, and you fall in love with this film. I fell in love with this film like no other. I will recommend this film to every single human being on the planet. And if you are on the planet, watch this. Watch the subtitled version instead of the dub; it preserves the integrity of the film. And this film has such an integrity, one so pure and amazing. So perfect. So perfect.
10/10