(Fear not--no subtitles)

ED: The Japanese "Alice in Wonderland" from the creator of Totoro and Princess Mononoke, full of spirits and monsters and crazy anime characters. Fun, beautiful, and a great movie for anyone needing a break from the latest Blow-'em-up Movie of the week. Worth full price.

EM: Flat-out love goes out to Hayao Miyazaki, a man who does beautiful, wonderful things. I'm warning you now, this will be a biased review on the scale of the Baz Luhrman incident. My introduction to this genre was via My Neighbor Totoro, a fun Japanese cartoon that felt more like a film from Pixar if they had used watercolors instead of pixels. Like the subsequent movies, the themes reflect the need for humans and nature (spirits) to live in harmony intertwined with a young girl moving to the country with her family. There were moments of sheer hillarity, resulting in the need to watch and re-watch the same scene over and over--and there was no dialogue for this scene! After that, I found Kiki's Delivery Service (a young witch comes into her own) and Princess Mononoke (wild girl helps prince defeat Iron Town) to be both lyrically beautiful and slyly funny. Spirited Away follows these two by telling the story of a young girl who has to save her parents, and herself, from the evil witch running the bath house. The adventure isn't in the story, it's in the details. Seriously--what do you think the radish spirit looks like? You'll find out here. Wondering what happens when the wind whistles thru an abandoned village? It ain't just a plot device, mister. Now don't get me wrong. The movie starts with the little girl as being horribly stupid and annoying, but they all do that--and you know she'll become smart and mature and act closer to adult than anyone else except the wise old elder by the end--and she'll do it with anime grace and gamine charm.

So. I've told you about the auteur, Hayao Miyazaka, and now let's address his talented team that brings this magic to life. His art director, sound director, animation director, and editor have, between them, worked on a variety of films ranging from Sailor Moon to Ghost in the Shell. One has even been in WCW Nitro as Kaz Hayashi! No matter--he knows how to use a mixing board to its fullest potential. There's really little to say about the vocal talent, which includes the voices of Daveigh Chase, Lauren Holly, Suzanne Pleshette and John Ratzenberger. The joy of the movie is in the landscapes and the details. I have never laughed harder with anticipatory delight upon hearing the buzz of an insect since Evinrude in The Rescuers. It's a fly. Carrying a BABY. Hee! I'm still giggling.

Basic plot goes like this: Girl has to rescue her parents while thwarting the evil witch who steals names to own her slaves. Girl saves friends, parents, and the evil witch while learning about herself, human nature, and nature's importance. And, of course, in the end the adults don't remember anything but the girl does.

So there you have it, in a nutshell. I loved this movie, and have a sneaking suspicion that you might too. It's just good clean fun for you and yours, as well as being beautiful, sly, and full of wholesome goodness.

And sometimes you just need that.

Next up: Ballistic. ::shudder::