There is much love on here for Spirited Away, which is to be expected since this film has had almost universal acclaim worldwide. It has the unique distinction of being both the highest grossing film in Japan, and the winner of the Academy Award for best animated feature that year. Instead of heaping praise or criticism on the film, I’d like to take a slightly different approach by talking about something that caught my eye.
After seeing the film, I looked up Roger Ebert’s review of Spirited Away. In it he writes: “Miyazaki says he made the film specifically for 10-year-old girls. That is why it plays so powerfully for adult viewers. Movies made for "everybody" are actually made for nobody in particular. Movies about specific characters in a detailed world are spellbinding because they make no attempt to cater to us; they are defiantly, triumphantly, themselves.”
In his review, Ebert really champions character driven films. During his prolific career, Mr. Ebert saw thousands upon thousands of films, but this is one that stood out above many others in his mind. I think that we as filmmakers and media creators can learn something from this. Not only does it remind us that films are made for an audience, but also that we must make bold choices to engage that audience.
Yay a fellow Ebert fan! (I may or may not put a quote from his reviews if he has one in all the Signs and Wonders promo material. In fact I used part of that quote in the promo for Spirited Away~ ^___^)
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