The moment Studio Ghibli was available on Netflix, I made sure to watch ‘Spirited Away’ because I had heard so much about it. And the film really captivated me.
The storytelling, the animation, the art, the characters…everything came together in a weird but wonderful way.
Over the weekend, my YouTube algorithm started whirring into life again and stopped recommending me K-pop and Korean variety clips long enough to surface a couple of interesting documentaries and videos. It was kind of broken for a long time, stuck in an endless loop of New Jeans, G-Idle, Running Man, football edits and Twice (not exactly complaining but same clips, different fan edits get boring). But finally, my YouTube discovery machine is back. I hope.
Anyway, I clicked on this documentary covering the creative inspiration behind Studio Ghibli’s ‘Spirited Away’ and I feel it was a well-produced piece of research that enriches the film experience.
It’s interesting to see how a lot of Japanese historical relics (both mythological and physical) are woven into an animation that touches on the relationship between man and the past.
‘Uncovering Spirited Away: A Documentary Across Japan’ by Midnight Kotatsu is literally that and offers an interesting peek into Hayao Miyazaki’s inspiration sources behind this popular animation. It was also cute that in the docu itself, apparently, Miyazaki-san peeped at the crew from his window while they were filming around Studio Ghibli’s office. Check out the full clip!
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