Cinema Study: Spirited Away

I can’t believe its taken me this long to finally watch this but I’m so glad that I finally did. This is the best animated film I’ve seen yet. I loved everything about it- from the plot to the well composed scenes. Spirited Away is a coming of age adventure film about a little girl getting trapped in a spirit world while she tries to rescue her parents. As she has to overcome her fears, she learns to adapt and trust in herself as she navigates through a new world. The thing that impressed me most was the beautifully illustrated shots. Each scene held so much intention throughout, no detail was left out.

Below, I break down some of my favorite scenes and identify why they work.

Good use of framing, layering and setting the scene.

Motion and filling the frame

Great layering, sets the scene, filling the frame

unique perspective, sets the scene

leading lines, filling the frame

Leading lines, filling the frame

unique perspective, leading lines

Balance, using negative space to fill the frame, unique perspective, good use of color

divided frame, great detail and perspective, love how the lamp frames Chihiro’s head

Layers, framing, leading and intersecting lines, using people’s gaze as a visual cue

curved leading lines, setting a scene, unique perpective

great use of color, layering of bushes to act as a frame

setting, divided frame, perspective

layering, and filling the frame

symmetry

colors, setting

setting, amazing landscape scene, great use of colors, dream-like