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Spirited Away (2001)
Heralded by critics worldwide as one of the finest films of 2001, Spirited Away showed American audiences that anime films can contain substance and overwhelming beauty. Spirited Away tells the story of little Chihiro’s journey into the spirit world on a quest to save her parents. Like many of Miyazaki’s films, Spirited Away is more about growing up than it is about monsters or witches. Yet the creatures that inhabit the world created here are positively captivating. Both eerie and spellbinding, Spirited Away is definitely one of Miyazaki’s finest.
Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (1984)
In a post-apocalyptic future hundreds of years after man was nearly decimated by a nuclear holocaust, there’s a world struggling to survive. Into this world voyages young princess Nausicaa, who sets out to bring peace and understanding to the mutated environment in which she lives. What’s to be commended here is Miyazaki’s utter fearlessness in making a movie for kids that has the guts to go deeper into the human condition than The Little Mermaid ever could.
My Neighbor Totoro (1988)
Not all of Miyazaki’s films are reliant on darker themes; some of them happen to be sweet and uplifting. The film tells the story of two little girls who move to the country to be closer to their ailing mother. As they wait for her to recover they encounter the strange, yet loveable spirits that live nearby. There is an innocence and purity to My Neighbor Totoro that makes it positively endearing.
Sound Off
Last post: Aug. 20, 2009 at 10:39 am
Nikki (Nikki Blight) said on Aug. 20, 2009 at 10:39 am:
No love for Laputa: Castle in the Sky? It might not surpass Spirited Away, but it ranks up there.