Things I didnt get about Spirited Away

Again, as with the parents, more like greed-motivations becoming a little...obvious to bystander Chihiro, while oblivious to their proponents

I think that was intentional. Sort of like 'things like that don't really happen, so it must have been a dream... or was it'. The whole thing did have a dream-like consistency, a true fantasy.

For the same reason long term amnesiacs don't remember their trauma. Or victims of brainwashing or programing have false memories.

No, that would have sent the wrong message. The whole point was to focus on Chihiro, her perseverance, her conscientiousness, and in particular the good that she did. Her reward was to get her parents back, as they were before, that was her prime motivator. Keeping them as pigs would have been a punishment on her, too, and that was not the goal.

Probably because she realized how much she cared for her parents, and was happy to be their daughter.

Considering how much control she lost in the short term, we shouldn't be surprised. Chihiro had a pretty big effect, as temporary as they may turn out for the denizens of the resort.

No surprise there. We can't expect to understand many of the nuances of a foreign culture. However, I don't think understanding what the spirits represents is nearly as important as see and understanding the actions of a worthy character. I found that many of Chihiro's actions and observations to be messages, ranging from reminders that children are our future, to the obvious ones about the environment. The sludge monster scene was jam packed with messages, for example, ranging from human kindness to the importance of observational skills. In some sense, Chihiro is a character for the viewer to aspire to.

I just read about the original script, and that one seems to make more sense. Nobody even knew that the dragon was Haku until Chihiro remembered that it was the Hokaku river spirit, then it also revealed itself to be Haku. If she could intuit that much, it made sense that she could also intuit which pigs were or weren't her parents. But by revealing the dragon to be Haku so early, the dubbed script gave Sen less of a chance to show off her intuition, so it felt fake that she could figure out the pigs as well. It also felt odd that nobody really cared that Haku was dying.

What I meant to say was, I felt she should have had to transform them back into humans by reminding them who they were, they way she did with Haku.

But she didn't act more confident around them. She seemed to revert to her old, dependent self. Or at least put up a facade of such.

Aspire, definitely. She understood what was going on long before I did.

I think you're reading into this way too much. Nevertheless, Sen's 'intuition' allowed her to figure out that the dragon is Haku, no matter if it happens earlier or later, so either way it still her so-called 'intuition' (it's just a matter of timing).

Laters. =)

Stan

But putting it where the dub does reduces the impact of the later scene, and makes no improvement anywhere, and is generally a pointless change.

Timing counts for a lot. In humour and in drama.

I dunno. Sen and the audience already knew that the dragon is Haku way before she knew he was the spirit of the Hokaku river. It wasn't that dramatic; in fact, many people consider that section of the film to be the weakest.

Laters. =)

Stan

Where did you find it? On nausicaa.net I see a summary of the film, and a story page of the film. But I don't see the original script there, or in a first blush googling.

The book _The Art of Miyazaki's Spirited Away_ purports to include the script. (I say 'purports' because I'm still waiting for ILL to deliver me a copy. Looks like good stuff.)

Peace,

I think the script in the back of _The Art of Miyazaki's Spirited Away_ is the *dub* script.

:>:> I just read about the original script, :> :>Where did you find it? On nausicaa.net I see a summary of the film, and a :>story page of the film. But I don't see the original script there, or :>in a first blush googling. : :The book _The Art of Miyazaki's Spirited Away_ purports to include the cript. (I say 'purports' because I'm still waiting for ILL to deliver me :a copy. Looks like good stuff.) :

If you search the net, you will come across an interview on nausicaa.net with the Viz people. Their claim is that the English edition they provide is based on both the dub script and a separate translation of the actual Japanese movie material ... which is different from what was in the Japanese. They mention at least one example where there was background dialog that was added during the creation of the movie which wasn't in some of the original Japanese material.

How do you figure that? There was absolutely nothing to suggest that the general public wasn't allowed on the grounds. No gates, fences, or signs, not even a rope across the tunnel entrance. Why *shouldn't* they think it's okay to look around?

As for the food, it was obviously an open-air buffet-style restaurant, and there was nothing to suggest they weren't allowed there. It appeared to be ready for customers, so they were sure the proprietor would be back soon. When the father said he had money & credit cards, he wasn't suggesting that he could buy his way out of trouble, he just meant he was sure he'd be able to pay the bill.

It's part of the magic. When Haku took Chihiro to see her parents, he said they had forgotten ever being human; so when they became human again, why wouldn't they then forget having been pigs? That sort of thing is not unheard-of in folktales.

Probably to put them at the edge of the spirit realm, to make sure they left as soon as possible without doing any more exploring, and to keep them from seeing all the spirits near the bath house.

No, because that would've been another test. Yubaba promised there would be just one final test, and Chihiro passed it.