Spirited Away

This fable-istic Hayao Miyazaki anime about a little girl trapped in a parallel world of spirits has been almost universally praised, but it left this reviewer unaffected and completely indifferent. Beautifully hand-animated and conceptually imaginative but never quite engaging in a narrative sense, the elusively metaphorical story is something akin to a Japanese Alice in Wonderland, except that it seems to be more aimless and takes itself far more seriously. As the girl meanders through a strange world of exotic beings (a witch who runs the bathhouse where she's forced to work, a "Stink-God" customer who is eager to please her while devouring everything else in its path), she only occasionally puts any effort toward trying to rescue her parents (who have been turned into pigs) or returning home. Esoteric, confidence-building adventures abound for the better part of two hours before the film reaches an ironically contrived conclusion. Surprisingly well-dubbed, the American voices include those of Daveigh Chase, Suzanne Pleshette, Jason Marsden, Susan Egan, David Ogden Stiers, and Lauren Holly. Optional. [Note: DVD extras include a brief introduction by executive producer John Lasseter, a 42-minute Japanese Nippon TV making-of special (including a segment where director Hayao Miyazaki makes ramen noodles!), a 15-minute “The Art of Spirited Away” making-of featurette, 11 minutes of selected storyboard-to-scene comparisons (using the angle function), a six-minute “Behind the Microphone” featurette highlighting the voice cast, and 29 minutes of Japanese trailers. Bottom line: a cool extras package for this year's Oscar winner for Best Animated film. Plus, Disney has also released double-disc editions of Miyazaki's earlier films Kiki's Delivery Service and Castle in the Sky.] (R. Blackwelder)[DVD and Blu-ray/DVD Combo Review—Oct. 17, 2017—Shout! Factory, 125 min., PG, DVD: $19.98, Blu-ray/DVD Combo: $29.95—Making its latest appearance on DVD and Blu-ray, 2001's Spirited Away features a great transfer and a DTS-HD 5.1 soundtrack. Extras include storyboards (125 min.), a subtitled Nippon TV special (42 min.), a “Behind the Microphone” segment with the voice cast (6 min.), and a booklet. Bottom line: an excellent edition of this Oscar-winning anime film.]