Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Writer: Hayao Miyazaki
Stars: Daveigh Chase, Suzanne Pleshette, Miyu Irino
Storyline
Chihiro and her parents are moving to a small Japanese town in the
countryside, much to Chihiro's dismay. On the way to their new home,
Chihiro's father makes a wrong turn and drives down a lonely one-lane
road which dead-ends in front of a tunnel. Her parents decide to stop
the car and explore the area. They go through the tunnel and find an
abandoned amusement park on the other side, with its own little town.
When her parents see a restaurant with great-smelling food but no staff,
they decide to eat and pay later. However, Chihiro refuses to eat and
decides to explore the theme park a bit more. She meets a boy named Haku
who tells her that Chihiro and her parents are in danger, and they must
leave immediately She runs to the restaurant and finds that her parents
have turned into pigs. In addition, the theme park turns out to be a
town inhabited by demons, spirits, and evil gods. At the center of the
town is a bathhouse where these creatures go to relax. The owner of the
bathhouse is... Written by
Zachary Harper
User Reviews
Better in the Original Japanese Soundtrack
The art work alone is
worthy of the engulfment one experiences when watching the big screen,
making me wish I had seen it on the big screen. That is, unless the
major release in the US was the English language version.
We ended up renting the DVD and watching it in English. The sound, the voice of Chihiro in particular, grated our ears like nails on a chalk board. After watching it, we played around with the DVD and found the original Japanese soundtrack with English subtitles. Far more subtle and simply put, an AMAZING difference.
So, I would suggest watching it in both languages. English so that you can concentrate on the scenery (with the sound turned down low. Really, the screeching and shouting in English is annoying). Then watch it in Japanese for the color and mood the dialog provides.
We ended up renting the DVD and watching it in English. The sound, the voice of Chihiro in particular, grated our ears like nails on a chalk board. After watching it, we played around with the DVD and found the original Japanese soundtrack with English subtitles. Far more subtle and simply put, an AMAZING difference.
So, I would suggest watching it in both languages. English so that you can concentrate on the scenery (with the sound turned down low. Really, the screeching and shouting in English is annoying). Then watch it in Japanese for the color and mood the dialog provides.
