I Loved Spirited Away Once

    Spirited Away is a fantastic film, never should one forget that. Hayao Miyazaki truly hit it out of the park with his story of a girl who forget her identity, and it certainly deserved the Oscar back in 2002. However, I've seen the film about four times fully throughout the years and I have to admit that this time I wasn't blown away as I have been in the past.
    The first time I saw the film I must have been around ten, so about 2005. I absolutely adored it and considered it one of my favorites. I watched it again somewhere around 2008 and I had a similar reaction. The next time I viewed the film was 2012, and even then I still loved it, even if my opinion was heavily influenced by nostalgia, it still was grand. Well, the most recent viewing was in Signs & Wonders and I was not blown away. Yes, the film is still fantastic, but compared to Princess Mononoke and The Wind Rises, it's not as strong. I suppose I should keep in mind that Spirited Away is more of a children's film than the other two, but Toy Story is, and I consider that one of the best films of the 21st century. At this point in time I cannot really put my finger on why Spirited Away has disappointed me the fourth time around, but I promise that I'll be trying to figure such a thing out in the future. Regardless though, Miyazaki will always be one of my favorite filmmakers.