VHS : Spirited Away

Rating: - Amazing!
Spirited Away is an amazing movie. It's very touching, and a great family movie. If you like Hayao Miyazaki, you should buy this movie. It's very touching...

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Rating: - FOR PARENTS: Beautiful but not for small children
This movie is beautiful and I agree with many of the reviews. But those that say it is for young children probably do not have children. I watched this with my five year old daughter (the first hour) and she got very quiet and left the room. She ended up being very scared and upset in a very real way. She even had nightmares. It was my mistake. I should have watched it first to see. I am not saying that ALL children would be. But I would definitly say it is for more sophisticated children/older. And yes-classic disney was a bit more scary. But the scene where snow white gets lost in the forest is not quite the same as the feeling and imagery of the this film which does not let up as does Snow White when she says "I was being silly to be scared" then starts singing. Just watch it first and see what you think before showing small children.

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Rating: - Great movie for adults and kids
This film is one of my favorites. It is a "work of art" as many have said. If I had children, I would want them to see this one (after the age of 5 or 6, I'd say), but it *is* long, and the young ones could fall asleep if you're watching it at night with them. I love the message of friendship, and how kindhearted the characters could be. Other characters were not so kind, but you later learn why they are unkind and are able to see why compassion reigns supreme. I have nothing but love for this film!

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Rating: - A fantastical movie!
Spirited Away is an imaginative tale about a little girl named Chihiro who becomes trapped in the spirit world after her parents are turned into pigs for eating the spirit's food. There, she must work in a bath house for the spirits until she can think of a way to escape.
In many ways, this film is excellent. The animation is beautiful, the setting is strange and entertaining, the story is full of twists, and the characters posess alot of depth. What I love most about this movie is the depth of the characters- no one is one dimensionally "evil" or "good". Every character posesses good and bad qualities to varying degrees. Even Chihiro starts off as an unlikeably whiny girl at the beginning, but by the end, has developed courage and self-reliance. I just love the departure from black-and-white moral categories to a more morally ambigous characters, because the real world is morally ambigous.
On another note, the setting of Spirited Away is strange and colorful. I was very entertained by the bizarre array of bath-house guests, the strange twisting layout of the bath-house itself, and the haunting and beatiful scenery viewed from the train. Also, anyone who's seen Miyazaki's My Neighbor Totoro might recognize the return of the soot gremlins. I had actually seen Spirited Away first, then My Neighbor Totoro a year later, so imagine my surprise when I recently rewatched Spirited Away and saw them. Soot gremlins!
Compared to his other films, this is one of Miyazaki's more energetic and action-packed films. So, if you've seen some of his other films and couldn't stand the slow pacing of the story, then Spirited Away may be just the thing for you. Well anyway, I can't recommend this movie enough! Please watch it at least once!

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Rating: - Quirky and bizarre but strangely endearing story. Beautiful animation.
My partner artist loves the work of Miyazaki and bought this film for his collection. But, I have to say, the first time I watched it, I was like, "what is this?" It was so weird! There did not seem to be a plot, just a bunch of weird scenes with strange characters, one after another. And, the girl's parents turning into pigs - graphically interesting but absolutely pointless element of the story. Then, we watched it again, and I saw something different the second time. I saw the progression of the young girl through this strange world with helpers and advocates, and the hidden messages of the story started to come through.
The third time I watched it, I was hooked and now I love it. The artwork is fantastic. We watched it both in Japanese with English subtitles and dubbed with English. I preferred the dubbed version as I think it helped to put the story into a better context for understanding.