Spirited Away

by Andrew Osmond

Overview

Spirited Away, directed by the veteran anime film-maker Hayao Miyazaki, is Japan's most successful film, and one of the top-grossing 'foreign language' films ever released. Set in modern Japan, the film is a wildly imaginative fantasy, at once personal and universal. It tells the story of a listless little girl, Chihiro, who stumbles into a magical world where gods relax in a palatial bathhouse, where there are giant babies and hard-working soot sprites, and where a train runs across the sea.

Andrew Osmond's insightful study describes how Miyazaki directed Spirited Away with a degree of creative control undreamt of in most popular cinema, using the film's delightful, freewheeling visual ideas to explore issues ranging from personal agency and responsibility to what Miyazaki sees as the lamentable state of modern Japan. Osmond unpacks the film's visual language, which many Western (and some Japanese) audiences find both beautiful and bewildering. He traces connections between Spirited Away and Miyazaki's prior body of work, arguing that Spirited Away uses the cartoon medium to create a compellingly immersive drawn world.
This edition includes a new foreword by the author in which he considers the world of animated cinema post-Spirited Away, considering its influence on films ranging from del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth to Pixar's Inside Out.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781838719524
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	05/28/2020
Series:	BFI Film Classics
Edition description:	2nd ed.
Pages:	128
Product dimensions:	5.35(w) x 7.45(h) x 0.30(d)

About the Author

Andrew Osmond is a freelance journalist based in Berkshire, UK. He writes for a range of high-profile film magazines including Sight & Sound, Empire and SFX.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements
Foreword to the 2020 edition
1. Being Spirited Away
2. On the Train
3. Background
4. The Origins of Spirited Away
5. Into the Woods: The Journey Begins
6. In the Bathhouse
7. Adventures in Wonderland
8. Conclusion
Notes
Credits

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

... thorough and well written, covering a number of bases. For any student of animation, fan of the movie, or just someone with an interest in anime generally, this is an insightful study and valuable tool to understanding one of the key anime films in recent years.' – Neo Magazine

'Andrew Osmond does a fine job, not only expertly breaking down Spirited Away's myriad signs and wonders, but acting as a cultural translator to boot.' – Empire

Editorial Reviews

The kind of poetic, insightful examination that Spirited Away deserves.” —Ain't It Cool News

“Osmond has done a fine job of conveying the sometimes complex traits of the film that have confused many Western (and Japanese) audiences since the film debuted in 2001 ... overall, the book is a definite must-read companion to the film. It does an excellent job of stripping away some of the layers and, at least for myself, has lead to a clearer understanding of the film.” —The Animation Anomaly (on the first edition)

“Persuasively and fluidly written.” —Time Out London

From the Publisher