25 Things You Missed In Spirited Away

[Music] hey good news we found you another reason to go back and check out studio ghibli spirited away of course the only cost to you is finding out all those small details you missed in this stunning animated film look we get it you get so taken aback by the brilliant colors and awe-inspiring moments that you don't always notice the details that or you don't remember all the behind the scenes information it took to make this movie that's why screen rant is here to help you out and show you what you missed keep in mind this video will give you a considerable itch to watch all of hayao miyazaki's filmography speaking of this filmmaker's legendary status it's often forgotten that he was never at the academy awards ceremony when spirited away one in an interview years later he admitted that he didn't go as a quiet protest to the bombings happening in the middle east any fan of miyazaki knows that he doesn't take kindly to violence especially war based off evidence that was flimsy at best it's incredible to know that this director stood by his beliefs even when faced with one of the most outstanding achievements in his career it turns out this detail tends to occur in every studio ghibli film now we're painting things with a broad stroke brush but let's get more specific about spirited away in the pre-production process most of the story was formed by the storyboard only that is to say for the longest time the team was animating with no idea what the dialogue would be of course the general plot points were there but not the script itself what's impressive is the whole team understood the unified vision without words to detail the themes and emotions present for some reason this entry is obvious but we need to acknowledge that many people in this film's fan base don't speak japanese if you do know the language then this entry is insanely apparent so bear with us every name in the movie takes a literal meaning in japanese for instance chihiro means a thousand fathoms or searches which is incredibly fitting for the character especially since her worker's name sen means a thousand then of course there's you baba which translates to bath house witch in english we could go on and on but you should certainly check out some of these names when you get the chance even komaji means old boilerman which is just the perfect description shinto is a religion in japan that comes into view multiple times throughout this movie whether you realize it or not the themes of this humble and peaceful belief system litter spirited away miyazaki has stated that shinto is a considerable influence on this film and other pieces by this director but what exactly is shinto in a brief sense the shinto religion focuses on the connection between humans and the spirit world there's also a deep sense of nature and reverence for its rhythm in this religion when you say it out loud it starts to make a ton of sense huh the influence goes even further clear shinto symbols show up throughout the film to drive the point home do those american voices sound familiar there's a reason for that turns out they have stacks and stacks of accomplishments that many often forget about for instance jason marsden voices haku in the original english dubbing mars then also voiced zachary binks and hocus pocus and max goof in a goofy movie to give you an idea suzanne plechette the english voice for you baba was a phenomenal classic movie actress she later lent her voice to lion king 2 and speared it away of course the most famous of the american voice actors is devay chase who also voiced lilo in lilo and stitch oh yeah she's also samara morgan in the ring so let that nightmare commence no face aka the character that launched a thousand cosplays is one of the most famous creations from studio ghibli now he might look familiar upon first glance too even if you've never managed to see spirited away you know no face which if that's the case great to have you here hope you're enjoying this video anyway the minute you realized he's based on a silk worm you begin to see it the smooth edges and soft opacity begin to make sense that and his creepy worm-like metamorphosis when he begins to consume it all starts adding up so remember that next time you cosplay no face you're basically a silkworm in disguise it's a small detail that often gets lost in the shuffle the majority of these places you see come straight from the real landscapes of japan of course there have been edits made to the buildings but they're not far off sometimes if your eye is keen enough you can identify the exact location that inspired the structure every once in a while the edit is a near replication and fans will go out and photograph the same shot next time you watch a studio ghibli movie just consider how much detail goes into the setting around the characters back in 1997 hayao miyazaki was considering retirement he started studio ghibli with his partners 12 years before that and was nearing his 60s princess mononoke was a success and things appeared to be on the right track it made sense to call it right then and there you know that wasn't the case miyazaki was on vacation with a friend who brought along his 10 year old daughter the girl's penchant for adventure seeking and constant movement inspired him her personality molded the character chihiro and helped begin work for spirited away thank goodness he took that trip otherwise we'd never experience this masterpiece as a fully realized film it is fantastic that one child could inspire so much creativity for people to enjoy for years to come time and time again john lasseter chief creative at pixar has said that studio ghibli deserves all the praise for how it inspired him so remember this no studio ghibli would mean no pixar imagine a world where neither of these bright spots exists it would be a real travesty obviously the two studios know of each other together they essentially created the best animated film category at the oscars what you may not know is that miyazaki was also inspired by the work of pixar in one scene a small lamp dances around excitedly while we watch yep it's a subtle way the animators wanted to acknowledge pixar's work and how they changed the animation industry speaking of pixar we widely regard them as the most prominent innovators for 3d animation computer generated graphics wouldn't be the same without their tireless efforts fans tend to contrast their work with studio ghibli who is better known for their hand-drawn scenes and distinct drawings what you may not realize is there's occasional computer animation in spirited away they aren't familiar but they are present generally the animation is traditional but computer generated shading was used here and there to help perfect the animations this just goes to show that even studio ghibli acknowledged the future of animation they weren't going to ignore innovation for the sake of traditionalism we're lucky to see the perfect blend between the two mediums and the balance with computer graphics you always hear people swear by the original versions of studio ghibli movies the english dubs are never the same and that's simply a fact however that doesn't mean they aren't worth your time if you're new to foreign movies and japanese culture then the english dub is what you need to see first lasseter was the director for the american version of spirited away and wanted the dub to be super close to the original translation oh yes however there are cultural gaps lassiter knew he needed to fill hence the reason there are scenes where dialogue is added to explain things for american audiences it's helpful if you're unfamiliar with certain concepts but you don't even notice the additions until you see both versions there's a decisive moment where chihiro gives up part of her gift from the river guardian to help haku after he's badly hurt while he's still in dragon form she needs to force him to eat it yet haku refuses to open his mouth in a desperate moment chihiro pries his mouth open and shoves the food inside him to heal him the moment feels so visceral and you get absorbed by it to make those actions feel real the animators studied vets at work who need to get medicine to animals when they resist the whole scene was based on a dog forced to take a pill they replicated the jaw movement and even the teeth inside its mouth it helps explain what makes that scene so effective huh actually some of you may have noticed that the flowers chihiro holds on to from a dear friend come from rumi the friend isn't named after the actor but instead it's actually a persian poet who wrote in the 13th century they likely chose rumi as the child's name to reflect one of the themes in the movie roomie's works focus on personal growth and inclusion rumi sought direct paths to change and didn't want to offend on his way towards discovery it's a similar journey we see chihiro take in the movie at first glance you'd think this film is entirely perfect like every film on the planet it has a few mistakes here and there most of these errors were caught before the release but not every one of them was corrected hence the point of this entry sure we could have made a separate entry for each and every one of these but where's the fun in that most of these mistakes come down to tiny errors the blood on chihiro's hand switches from left to right once or twice her smudge mark isn't in the same place they forget to show a full tub after it's filled or a plate with cake at one point it's tiny little things that they mess up but just goes to show how even great films make mistakes so this one is just so odd that we can't help but bring it up to you guys see early in the first act chihiro's parents begin eating the spiritual food and consuming non-stop baba punishes them by turning them into pigs but not before chihito talks to them briefly oh it's delicious shahiro you have to taste this i don't want any while filming the scene both the american and japanese voice actors ate kfc to authenticate the performance why did both of them choose kfc well we don't have that answer but let us know what you think in the comments the stink spirit stinks its way into the bathhouse and the customers rush back to their rooms sen is tasked with cleaning him and she notices an odd object protruding from the side of the spirit yubaba has a sudden realization and the entire workforce tugs on the handle revealing a stuck bicycle as it comes out a flood of other debris pours out with it the spirit is actually the guardian of a great river and the scene was inspired by a real event miyazaki was helping a local organization clean a river there was a horrible smell due to all the litter and the whole team had to help pull the bicycle from the riverbed because the mud was keeping it clung to the bottom the beginning titles feature the letters s-e-n-t-o you can read that one of two ways and they both end up with different meanings honestly it's such a brilliant detail that we still can't believe it's real let's just run through it so you can see what we mean exactly so if you read it as two separate words sen and to you get the translation thousand and obviously the title implies a connection between our protagonist and all the characters she meets the one word translation sento translates into the bath house where most of the film takes place see both words work but in two completely different ways the ending of the film is so moving chihiro's deeds earned her a ticket out of the spirit world and the chance for her to reunite with her parents as they walk back through the station the car is covered in leaves and dust implying that it's been days since they've been here then they drive off in the other direction back on the road towards their new home those two final scenes probably look super familiar right well they are familiar the animators simply reversed the movement for both of those scenes it was a quick shortcut that still manages to make the desired impact it's not like you'd usually notice this anyway now before you say it we're refusing to buy it there is no way the animators happen to make an island that looks like kame house this isn't happenstance people the easter egg is just that an easter egg they're totally paying homage to the great dragon ball series that was and still is widely popular the house is wood paneled with a porch and a red roof it's kamehaus plain and simple the movie that captured the imagination of every viewer it reached nearly fell flat on its face remember there was no script when they started production the production was working way behind schedule and could slow the english crew waiting to dub it they needed a ton of significant scenes animated with only a few months to meet their deadline the studio hired 20 more animators and pushed their hours to above and beyond the standard it was an all-out animation fez to get the film done on time they often worked into the night every single day their diet was just ramen for weeks on end they finished on time and we received this fantastic work in return there's a video here on screen rant about adult actors who sound like children you can't leave yet you have what i need honestly we could have done the whole video with voice actors in hayao miyazaki's early work and called it a day he often used adults to play the children since they tend to respond to direction better or at least that's what the industry says generally rumi hiragi voicing chihiro was the first time a young voice actor voiced a child in one of his films well at least in a leading role for sure the decision was substantial and elevated the performance to a new level once again showing how the details in this movie matter so much spirited away made waves when it won the academy award for best animated feature the category was still relatively new and competition for the honor was fierce that year the movie defied the odds and partially won thanks to its english dubbing making it more accessible to american critics we like to think it would have won regardless as we're making this list it currently stands that spirited away is the only foreign film to win best animated feature more specifically it's the only hand-drawn non-english movie to capture an oscar in the animated feature category there's been plenty of tries since its release but no one's managed to repeat this feat here is some historical context first when spirited away came out titanic was king of the box office it was the highest grossing movie in the world it didn't matter where you were from you went to see titanic or you purchased it on vhs the movie made a crap ton of money even in japan it was the highest grossing film in its market to that point spirited away quickly took that crown from james cameron's blockbuster and proved how popular this movie was in its native country seriously we can't stress how incredible this is more people paid to see this film in japan than paid to see titanic in theaters there that is an insanely popular movie if you live in america you don't experience ma super often miyazaki defined ma as the use of negative space or the absence of movement essentially ma is a pause when creating a film miyazaki would often say that the film takes on a life of its own he simply writes down its plan if you take that at face value that means even a movie needs to breathe in western cinema editors are taught to keep the story moving slowing down is wasting space you often don't see mainstream movies take any time anymore to pause the train scene from spirited away is ma the characters don't move and this detail remains hidden until you understand what the director intended here when miyazaki worked on princess mononoke he'd often listen to the albums of japanese artist yumi kimara kimara's work inspired him and he was determined to feature some of her work in an upcoming film remember miyazaki was considering retirement after that film still he did attempt to get two personal projects off the ground before settling on spirited away he even commissioned kimara to work on the soundtrack for his movie rin and the chimney painter obviously the film wasn't going to see the light of day at the time and kimara's work was getting left behind as the studio shifted focus to spirited away it was a last second decision but miyazaki and the film's composer felt her work on always with me was the perfect ending well there you have it all the details you needed to know about spirited away is there a crucial detail we missed out on share it in the comments below and don't forget to like this video and subscribe to get up to date with all the latest videos from screen rant you

Channel: Screen Rant

Views: 204,918

Keywords: spirited away, studio ghibli, missing details, behind-the-scenes, screen rant, hayao miyazaki, chihiro, haku, pixar, oscars, academy awards, animated films, john lasseter, foreign films, japanese animation, screenrant, anime, anime facts

Id: Jec9UVjJAwU

Length: 16min 25sec (985 seconds)

Published: Fri Nov 06 2020