Rating: (4 of 4)

I guess I should preface this review by saying that I'm an enormous fan of Japanese director Hayao Miyazaki's films. From the epic battle of man versus nature that is Princess Mononoke to the simple children's fable, My Neighbor Totoro, Miyazaki's animated films are always delightful to watch. They're imaginative, funny, entertaining, original, and masterfully crafted. I earnestly recommend them all.

Seriously, don't let the fact that it's animation fool you. While, like most Americans, you may think of cartoons exclusively as a medium for infantile entertainment, the Japanese don't. Sure, they make their fair share of kiddie cartoons, but in Japan, animation is just another way to make a movie. So you also get great film occasionally—and with Hayao Miyazaki, you get it often.

Spirited Away could be called an Alice in Wonderland type of story, but the situations and characters you'll see in this film are a bit more twisted than anything you'll find through the looking glass. Some are a bit frightening, some are fanciful, some are just plain cute (yet not sickeningly so). It all amounts to a compelling adventure of a movie that any movie buff with a curious bone in his body should see.

At the time of this writing, this movie is currently in theaters, but only enjoying a limited release in the US. There's a list of theaters currently or soon-to-be showing Spirited Away here. If it's not playing near you and you're not willing to make the trip, try watching for this movie when/if it's ever given a general relase, or at the very least, rent it when it hits VHS/DVD, probably in a few months. But I drove with some friends two hours (each way) to see it, and it was worth it. It's the highest-grossing movie of all time in Japan and it's won some awards as well. So it's not just me saying this...

Another great movie from the brilliant Hayao Miyazaki, Spirited Away is one to look for. See it! And check out his other films while you're at it...

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