Sen to Chihiro no kamikakushi (2001)

Director:

Hayao Miyazaki

Writer:

Hayao Miyazaki (written by)

Release Date:

27 July 2001 (Japan)

Genre:

Animation | Adventure | Fantasy

Tagline:

(The tunnel led Chihiro to a mysterious town,,,)

Plot:

In the middle of her family's move to the suburbs, a sullen 10-year-old girl wanders into a world ruled by gods, witches, and monsters; where humans are changed into animals; and a bathhouse for these creatures.

Plot Keywords:

God | Bathhouse | Spirit | Pig | Car

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 35 wins & 19 nominations

Cast

Rumi Hîragi	...	Chihiro / Sen (voice: Japanese version)
Miyu Irino	...	Haku (voice: Japanese version)
Mari Natsuki	...	Yubaba / Zeniba (voice: Japanese version)
Takashi Naitô	...	Chihiro no otôsan (voice: Japanese version)
Yasuko Sawaguchi	...	Chihiro no okâsan (voice: Japanese version)
Tatsuya Gashuin	...	Aogaeru, Assistant Manager (voice: Japanese version)
Ryûnosuke Kamiki	...	Bô (voice: Japanese version)
Yumi Tamai	...	Rin (voice: Japanese version)
Yô Ôizumi	...	Bandai-gaeru (voice: Japanese version)
Koba Hayashi	...	Kawa no Kami (voice: Japanese version)
Tsunehiko Kamijô	...	Chichiyaku (voice: Japanese version)
Takehiko Ono	...	Aniyaku (voice: Japanese version)
Bunta Sugawara	...	Kamajî (voice: Japanese version)
Noriko Kitou	...	Additional Voices (voice: Japanese version)
Shiro Saito	...	Additional Voices (voice: Japanese version)

Also Known As:

Miyazaki's Spirited Away (International: English title) (USA) (poster title)
Spirited Away (UK) (USA)
Sen (Japan) (informal short title)
Sen and the Mysterious Disappearance of Chihiro
The Spiriting Away of Sen and Chihiro (informal literal English title)

MPAA:

Rated PG for some scary moments.

Runtime:

125 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS-ES | Dolby Digital EX | Dolby (English-language version) | Dolby Digital (English-language version)

Certification:

Netherlands:6 | Argentina:Atp | Australia:PG | Austria:0 | Brazil:Livre | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Chile:TE | Denmark:7 | Finland:K-7 | France:U | Germany:o.Al. | Hong Kong:I | New Zealand:PG | Norway:7 | Portugal:M/6 | Singapore:PG | South Korea:All | Spain:T | Sweden:7 | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | UK:PG | USA:PG

Company:

Studio Ghibli

Trivia:

The kanji names of many of the characters provide clues to their identities: Yubaba - hot-water crone; Zeniba - money crone; Kaonashi - no face; Bô - young boy/child; Kamajii - kettle/boiler pot/old man; Chihiro - thousand fathoms or thousand searches; Sen - thousand (pronunciation of chi kanji when isolated).

Goofs:

Continuity: When Sen steps in the Black Slug in the boiler room, the slug goes all over the bottom of her foot. When she kneels down next to Haku, the black slug remains are no longer on her foot.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Chihiro: [reading a card] I'll miss you, Chihiro. Your best friend, Rumi.

Movie Connections:

References Tonari no Totoro (1988)

Soundtrack:

6 Banme no Eki

Dub or sub?

Last year I saw Spirited Away on it's UK release. I've never been a particular fan of anime, and it didn't really occur to me that I was watching a foreign language film dubbed into English (or 'American'). I can't imagine seeing a live action foreign language film dubbed into another language, but hey, this is a kids cartoon, what does it matter? Up to a point it didn't, because I loved the film. I enjoyed it so much I set about digging up the Studio Ghibli/Miyazaki back catalogue, in the process Sprited Away was filed away as one of the lesser Ghibli's - still great, but compared to Laputa, Grave of the Fireflies and a few others, it seemed a little weak.

BUT... I recently re-watched it on DVD with the subtitles and found the difference unbelievable. The film came alive like the other Miyazaki's I've seen. It seemed infinitely more layered, detailed, intelligent and witty than I remembered. Could it be that retaining the intended performances (even if the words are unintelligible) can make that much difference? Maybe the dub was just poorly done? Or was it just because I was now versed in the language of Ghibli? As a little experiment I decided to re-watch some of the film with both the English subtitles and English language dub in order to compare, I ended watching the whole thing out of morbid fascination. It's simply amazing what a difference there is. Entire scenes change. It's not just that subtle emphasis is shifted or the same points are made in a different manner - in the dub, the subject of whole conversations and scenes are changed, and often to some flat and uninteresting hokum. Relationships between characters are changed, their motivations and personalities are changed, the difference is shocking.

I appreciate western, and particularly American audiences can be put off by subtitles. And cinemas are less likely to show the film anyway. It's pointless to be all righteous when, fundamentally, you just want people to see the film. Unless they do, this treasure trove will remain undiscovered, and maybe finding it will encourage people to conquer the 'subtitle demon' (as Miyazaki might call him). But the problem is the quality of these dubs, and the liberties taken with the source material. Of course, without speaking Japanese, who can say it's not the subtitles that are way off? They're probably written by westerners too. But the dub just stinks of Disneyfication. Saturday morning generic nonsense. The challenging, uncompromising and emotionally ambitious nature of the film is severely watered down.

A fair question might be, 'if it's so bad why was it so successful?' The success is evidence of the films staggering quality. Even so, it hardly challenged whatever Jerry Bruckheimer movie was showing at the time. In Japan it's the biggest grossing film in history. 'Go figure,' as Chihiro wouldn't say.