#410: Spirited Away

I'm back... again. And I'm now up to 410. So 90 left to halfway.

Directed by: HAYAO MIYAZAKI
2001, TSPDT Rank #439

I wonder why, out of the good modern films that there are, this one gets such a spectacular amount of attention. The animated visuals are very impressive, to be sure, but beyond that, I don't think Spirited Away is very substantial or enjoyable. It's definitely too long, for one thing. What it reminds me of, truthfully, is a Japanese version of Alice in Wonderland, without the humor. It is pretty surreal, but even with all the unusual imagery, I never thought it was engaging - and felt quite bored a fair amount of the time. I think that as an example of creative, vivid modern animation - and aspiring animation artists - might look at this with a lot of interest, but I don't really have much to say about it. It's overlong, overrated, but generally okay.

(Rating: 6/10)