Film industry
Spirited Away is frequently regarded as one of the best films of the 21st century as well as one of the greatest animated films ever made.[122][123][124] Comic Book Resources wrote that the film "set the bar extremely high for all anime movies that followed it – including Studio Ghibli's" and further explained that "It's a movie many people re-watch due to its comfort and nostalgia, and since Netflix brought the Ghibli movies to North America last year, it's become even more accessible".[125] Swapnil Dhruv Bose from Far Out Magazine declared the film to be "the greatest animated film of all time" and explained that it "resonated with audiences all over the world despite the existence of cultural barriers is because of its brilliantly devised universality" and has the ability to "generate fascinating multiplicities which morph according to the age of the viewer". In another article detailing Hayao Miyazaki's wide impact to the film industry, he wrote "The influence of Spirited Away can be easily observed in Disney productions like Brave and Frozen, thanks to John Lasseter's (the Chief Creative Officer of Pixar) efforts to introduce it to Western audiences".[126][127] Vice also declared Spirited Away to be the all-time best animated film and wrote that the film "showed how breathtaking, heartfelt, and serious animation can be" that "Pixar, Disney, and other mainstream animators have still failed to genuinely realize 15 years later".[128]
Film director Steven Spielberg said that Spirited Away might be "better than any Disney films" he has ever seen.[129] Rayna Denison, professor of film, television, and media studies, told Time that "This is a film made by a master animator at the height of his powers and it is one where the quality of the animation really does set it apart from everything else around it. Nobody else was making films that looked like this or that were as inventive as this was at this time".[130] The film has been cited as influence for various Disney and Pixar animated films. Production designer Harley Jessup said that he initially looked at Spirited Away and was inspired by the spiritual feelings elements to utilize them in Coco.[131] Co-writers Ken and Ryan Firpo cited the film as one of the influences that helps them explore "ideas of morality and humanity" in Eternals.[132] Turning Red's director Domee Shi named Spirited Away as one of her favorite animated films and one of the influences for her film.[133]
Commercial and cultural significance
According to Time, Spirited Away "arrived at a time when animation was widely perceived as a genre solely for children, and when cultural differences often became barriers to the global distribution of animated works" but it "shattered preconceived notions about the art form and also proved that, as a film created in Japanese with elements of Japanese folklore central to its core, it could resonate deeply with audiences around the world". Denison emphasized that John Lasseter and Disney "boosted Spirited Away's visibility in America by heavily campaigning for the film to be considered for the Academy Awards", and cited it as one of the reasons why it won Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.[134] Writer Jonathan Clements, whose published works revolve around East Asian culture, anime, and Japanese television dramas, emphasized that the film's Oscar win was "a wake-up call for a lot of people in the film business who had been disregarding Japanese animation for years".[135] Susan Napier, professor of Japanese studies at Tufts University, called Spirited Away's wins at major Western award shows "a very big shot in the arm to the Japanese animation industry". She further explained that cartoons in the West have often been seen as "childish, vulgar, things that you didn't take seriously" but after the film took home the Academy Award, people were starting to see animation as "a real art form".[136]
Stage adaptation
A stage adaptation of Spirited Away was announced in February 2021 with a world premiere planned in Tokyo on 28 February 2022. It is written and directed by John Caird, with Toho as the production company, with Studio Ghibli's blessing. The role of Chihiro is played by both Kanna Hashimoto and Mone Kamishiraishi.[137][138] In August 2023, it was announced that the production would have its European premiere at the London Coliseum from April 2024,[139] with most of the cast reprising their roles.[140]
| Main Cast | ||
|---|---|---|
| Character name | Actor (Double Cast) | |
| Chihiro (千尋) | Kanna Hashimoto | Mone Kamishiraishi |
| Haku (ハク) | Kotarou Daigo | Hiroki Miura |
| Kaonashi (顔無し) | Koharu Sugawara | Tomohiko Tsujimoto |
| Rin (リン) | Miyu Sakihi | Fuu Hinami |
| Kamajī (釜爺) | Tomorowo Taguchi | Satoshi Hashimoto |
| Yubāba (湯婆婆) / Zenība (銭婆) | Mari Natsuki | Romi Park |
Limited time re-release
On a limited time release from 11 November to 18 December in 2022,[141][142] the Imperial Theater performance of the play was available for rental in Japan in several streaming services such as Abema, Amazon Prime Video Japan, Docomo Anime Store, FOD, Hulu Japan and U-Next.[143]
There were 2 versions of the play available for rental:
- Stage "Spirited Away" (Chihiro role: Kanna Hashimoto) ≪Imperial Theater performance version≫ (First distribution). Japanese: 舞台「千と千尋の神隠し」(千尋役：橋本環奈)≪帝国劇場公演版≫（初配信）[144][145][141][142][146][147]
- Stage "Spirited Away" (Chihiro role: Mone Kamishiraishi) ≪Imperial Theater Performance Version≫ (Re-edited Version). Japanese: 舞台「千と千尋の神隠し」(千尋役：上白石萌音)≪帝国劇場公演版≫（再編集版）[148][149][150][151][146][152]
