SPIRITED AWAY – The Blu Review

“Once you do something, you never forget. Even if you can’t remember.“

A beloved film from the brilliant Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki delivers truly amazing video and audio in this exceptional Blu-ray release.

People call Hiyao Miyazaki the Japanese Disney and SPIRITED AWAY from 2001 is considered one of his very best, if not his masterpiece. The film starts like a fairly typical take on Alice in Wonderland or Narnia. A girl is bought into a fantasy world and has to find her way back. But Miyazaki takes it even further. His heroine, ten year old Chihiro is a typically modern girl, upset about moving into a new home and afraid of new changes in her life. But after her parents take a detour into a strange tunnel she finds herself trapped and worst of all, her parents have been turned into pigs.

Miyazaki’s fantasy vision is quite simply jaw dropping. Strange creatures, some drawn from Japanese mythology, others just from Miyazaki’s mind, populate this world (and the bathhouse where Chihiro has to work.) There are images that stay in your mind long after the end credits have rolled: an endless landscape of water, the cherry blossom fields, a massive stink monster and an ocean-skimming ghost train.

SPIRITED AWAY is now available on Blu-ray from Disney and We Are Movie Geeks has had a sneak peak.

Disney honors the integrity of Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli’s animated films with the Blu-ray release of SPIRITED AWAY. Not only is its 1080p/AVC-encoded video presentation utterly faithful to the original animation, colors haven’t been artificially heightened, contrast hasn’t been boosted, and grain hasn’t been wiped away. Primary colors remain strong and vibrant, of course. Every last frame, scene and dazzling sequence has been treated with the utmost care. Black levels are deep and satisfying, and saturation is dialed in beautifully. Fans will not be disappointed.

SPIRITED AWAY’s English and Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 presentations are clear, intelligible and nicely prioritized, and what little difference there is between the English and Japanese tracks is inherent to each mix’s source.

The extras are generous:

• Introduction – a one-minute introduction to the film from John Lasseter.
• Original Japanese Storyboards The entire film is presented in the form of these original storyboards from the artists at Ghibli. Only the Japanese audio is available (with optional English, English SDH and French subtitles) for this but it’s an offbeat and beautiful way to watch the film.
• Nippon Television Special This is a 42-minute Japanese TV special on Studio Ghibli and that was made during the production of SPIRITED AWAY. There is an interview with Miyazaki and other members of the Japanese cast and animation team, as well as candid behind the scenes footage that focuses on production meetings, and more.
• The Art of Spirited Away is a 15-minute featurette hosted by Jason Marsden (Haku) who discusses Disney distribution, the art of Miyazaki’s world, the design of his characters, the animation, and the casting challenges for the for the English version.
• Behind the Microphone a six-minute featurette about the English dub featuring Marsden, Daveigh Chase (Chihiro), Suzanne Pleshette (Yubaba), Susan Egan (Lin), David Ogden Stiers (Kamajii) and John Ratzenberger (Aniyaku) who all discuss their roles and what an honor it was to work with Miyazaki
• Original Japanese Trailers and TV Spots – several running a total of 22 minutes