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The incredibly beautiful and meaningful Spirited Away anime fantasy film created by the Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki in 2001 captivates one’s attention by its fairy-tale transformations and simultaneously makes one’s ponder over a range of issues. For example, in the five-minute sequence, when Chihiro calmly takes No-Face with her on the journey by the train, a viewer may note honesty, courage, and desire to help others.
The bright picture is just a pleasant addition to the rich inner world of the film. The secret of the mentioned scene is that it is close and understandable to everyone like the journey to the fairy tale that is designed not only to amuse and amaze, but also to compel heroes, remember childhood, and believe in the miracle (Ewens). In the flow of the narration, there are some of the most beautiful frames of modern cinema, not to mention animation. As noted in his review of the cartoon by the critic Roger Ebert, each frame is shot with incredible magnanimity and love, while some of them can be described as “gratuitous motions” that Japanese call “ma”. For each of such “ma”, there are details in the corners or in the background that express a certain idea. The key idea is that they offer some time to breathe and live in the world of Miyazaki. According to one of his interviews, people who make films are afraid of silence, so they want to fill it with paper and cover it up, worrying that the audience will be bored (Ebert). The underlying emotions are more important rather than the filling of the film.
The function of this scene with the train is to stop for a while and take thought to start something new. The master of anime uses stunning animation, detailed graphics, and luxurious design to depict beautiful landscapes that are observed by passengers (Ewens). The scene logically flows from the previous events and is told linearly, thus supporting the general idea of the anime movie. The sequence presents Chihiro calling No-Face to follow her as she cannot leave him alone. No-Face looks unnecessary, aimless, spineless, and empty. Even in the world of Yubaba, he is a stranger as he has no magic. Understanding these, the girl does not need anything from him yet regrets lonely No-Face, standing under the rain on the street (Runyon). After that, the sequence presents the characters on the train, where a viewer can point out the emptying railway carriage and the awesome colors of the sunset. At this point, various means of the interaction of the filmic elements are used, including meditative music, the lack of speech, and expressive images – all these channels interact with each other.
The sequence focuses on a steady perspective. The characters act as if there is no spectator – everything happens rather naturally. Chihiro presented as the main heroine is not idolized, yet she incorporates the impact of the society, primarily her parents, and her power to resist harmful issues, instead of raising positive ones. It also essential to point out the elaboration of background images, on which with every scan one can find more and more details, for example, flowers in a field where each petal is viewed. Peters states that “the fact that Miyazaki and his team hand-draw the images before they’re digitally colored and animated gives them artistry that has been woefully lacking from so many recent American features”. The film was depicted without inalienable computers and graphic editors: each frame was worked by hand. The music was performed by the new Japanese Philharmonic Orchestra, showing that the musical accompaniment performed on classical instruments is a win-win option. This music immerses a viewer in the fairy-tale world while such a natural effect of immersion is possible only at the highest level of music, and in this case, it sets the bar of quality.
The selected sequence supports the idea that Spirited Away does not know the division into positive and negative characters. Each character combines both good and bad, and the characters can change significantly, when they interact with each other. The character of Chihiro seems to be not so good at first, but the further, the more fully her kindness, responsiveness, sincerity, and courage are revealed (Runyon). At the same time, No-Face becomes gentle and kind to her. Such multifaceted images of characters favorably distinguish Spirited Away from a typical children’s animated cartoon, where the division into good and evil is indicated clearly. The particularly striking example of a change in character in this anime relates to No-Face, who takes over and mirrors the features of those with whom he talks (Runyon). Next to Chihiro, he is shy and kind and offers her gold. With the other workers of the bathhouse, he behaves like a greedy monster, because they are greedy.
In addition to the impressive spatial dimension, the phenomenon of time in the sequence should be noted as well. Putting thoughts into a metaphorical form, one can say that time here is associated with those of our world by the so-called twin connection to some extent (Razak). Having access to time management within his animation creation, Miyazaki manages our time indirectly, or rather the perception of this time by a viewer. For the most part, the passage of time inside the work of the screen art remains for a viewer unnoticed and imperceptible. Time in this case is only a category of the duration of actions and certain conventionality, existing for the logical and habitual ordering of plot events. In this sequence, the time has a special meaning as it exists on a par with the beauty of drawings and the nobility of the actions of the main characters (Razak). The phenomenon of time and also its flow within the anime cause a sense of beauty and aesthetic pleasure. The phenomenon of time in the picture is inextricably linked with its rhythm. The cartoon in its internal structure is similar to a classical musical composition that is sometimes diluted by the sound of modern instruments, in particular, such as a bass guitar.
In conclusion, it should be emphasized that Spirited Away takes a special place not only in the world of Japanese anime but also in the world in general. The scene with the train shows a new Chihiro, who had to grow up quickly, and opened her abilities up that were unclaimed and forgotten under the supervision of parents. The fabulous adventure radically changed the character of Chihiro, namely, childish whims gave way to courage, compassion, and independence. The mentioned meaning is revealed through music, images, specific effects, and symbols.
Works Cited
Ebert, Roger. “Spirited Away.” Roger Ebert. 2017. Web.
Ewens, Hannah. “Why ‘Spirited Away’ Is the Best Animated Film of All Time.” Vice, 2017. Web.
Peters, Patrick. “Spirited Away Review.” Empire Movies. 2017. Web.
Razak, Matthew. “Deep Analysis: Spirited Away.” Flixist. 2017. Web.
Runyon, Christopher. “The Studio Ghibli Retrospective: ‘Spirited Away’.” Movie Mezzanine. 2017. Web.
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