The imaginative Chihiro in Spirited Away reminded me of the young girl who tumbled down the rabbit hole in  the 2010 Disney animation Alice in Wonderland. Both Alice and Chihiro entered worlds completely different from their own and struggled to accept the new world as real. The films use animation to transport the viewers into a worlds that are completely different from our own, but still manage to seem realistic. They have very different messages. Alice in Wonderland highlights American ideals about not conforming, individuality and rebellion against societal norms. Spirited Away seems to stress more the need for a stubborn and rude child to develop manners as shown by the scene with Yubaba.

Although the plot and the characters in Spirited Away remind me of Alice in Wonderland, the animation in Spirited Away is beautifully distant from that of Alice in Wonderland. Unlike the CGI animation in Alice in Wonderland, it seems like the animation in Spirited Away is hand drawn. While the CGI in Alice in Wonderland looks 3-D, it lacks the warmth of hand drawn animation. The animation is Spirited Away is also captivating because it bring to life even the most mundane actions. Every detail is planned, like the shading of the rain clouds and the way a character looks when they fall. In some ways, the animation reminds me of a story book or the animation in 101 Dalmatians. It seems like it is an older style of animation. The human characters in Spirited Away have large eyes, thin lips and thin eyebrows, where as the features on the humans in Alice in Wonderland are more “realistic.”

This is the first Studio Ghilbli film I have seen and I am impressed by both the animation and the plot. The characters are so dynamic and interesting to watch. The plot is also exciting and emotional. Disney Films tend to follow a very similar plot: a damsel in distress that finds a happily ever after. The storyline is usually flat and predictable, but Spirited Away has some interesting plot twists and character development. The dialogue, animation and action weave together to form a captivating story of a girl lost in a spirit world.