I finally get around to watching this classic animated film, and boy, whatta time it was.
Bro. What was this movie? But also... what is this movie? Those are the real questions, and unfortunately I never watched this movie until one week ago when my friend who grew up watching the film suggested it.
Let me just tell you: I thought the animated films I watched when I was a kid like Flushed Away were surreal, but this makes Flushed Away seem extremely realistic and relatable. This movie is an actual trip, but I've got to say, that's what makes it so magical.
It really starts off with perhaps the most nightmare-fuelling scene I've ever experienced, especially when you think of the fact it's in a kid's movie. My friend warned me about this scene, telling me it traumatized her as a kid, but I was like, "Nothing scares me." I mean, Midsommar didn't scare me, Hereditary only half scared me, Paranormal Activity only one-fourth scared me. So what was this going to do?
But let me tell you: you don't see hell until you imagine seeing your parents slowly turn into pigs, and this is exactly what this movie forces you to do. The movie is animated in a graphic sort of way, that makes you feel truly immersed in some of the nightmarish activity that is taking place.
But overall, this film is breathtakingly beautiful. Think of it as an artsy indie film, except it's animated and it's directed at children. The music is iconic, the art is stunning, the cinematography is wondrous.
The story is completely original and unlike anything I have ever experienced before. Because let me tell you, this movie is an entire EXPERIENCE. You sit there and you ARE the child watching her parents transform into farm animals. You sit there and you ARE the girl scrubbing a "stink spirit".
It's such a weird film, but it oddly works. The pure mystery of this film is what kept my eyes glued to the screen and my entire body absorbed into the magic. I was completely involved in what was happening to Chihiro, and of course the incredible Master Haku himself. Somehow the movie was really moving, while at the same time making you question reality itself.
Overall quite an amazing experience, one that I will cherish forever.
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