Message from aarmas

[Anonymous]

"Spirited Away" is one of my favorite films because it appeals to students with its universal themes and distinctive storytelling style. Many of its passages are lyrical and subtle. Watching the film is a strong sensory experience. One is hypnotized by the sounds and visuals of a strange and magical story. At first, I was hesitant to show it to my students because I thought they would be bored by the slow pace of the film, but they identified with the plight of the heroine who must confront her own demons and a few special entities to free her parents from the magic spell.

This film is amusing, beautiful, very cinematic, and challenging. It moves slow, but it never bores anyone. It charms with its many delights and originality. It takes you to worlds one has never seen, and it successfully integrates reality and imaginary situations. It teaches its audience to look inside to understand how we are all connected. One of its wonderful scenes show how the river spirit must be cleansed with the use of magic tokens. It is an amazing piece of animation and philosophy. My students had no problem understanding how this was a thinly disguised appeal to save our environments. The biggest revelation for me was to see that my students were an audience that was willing to be challenged, and I had an opportunity to learn everytime a new batch of kids saw it.

When I use it in my class, I ask students to take notes and narrate the tale in their own words. It is exciting to see how many interpretations of the same scenes I get. A fascinating animated tale for the ages.