This is something to watch for in all of Miyazaki’s films, as his plots don’t follow “traditional” narratives, but instead flow from scene to scene in such a way that one can never quite predict whatever surprises lie around the corner.
Miyazaki’s Oscar-winning marvel was the first Ghibli film to gross more than $10 million in the U.S. and is therefore the one that established most Americans’ idea of the Japanese toon studio. Given the sheer ambition and scope of the film — a Japanese spin on such Western classics as “Alice and Wonderland” and “Peter Pan,” in which 10-year-old Chiro crosses the river to an enchanted bathhouse from which, if she’s not careful, she may never be able to return — it’s no wonder that those who started with “Spirited Away” have trouble working backwards through the Ghibli catalog. The film represents the apotheosis of Miyazaki’s imagination, full of iconic visuals and larger-than-life characters, unfolding according to the filmmaker’s dream-like logic. This is something to watch for in all of Miyazaki’s films, as his plots don’t follow “traditional” narratives, but instead flow from scene to scene in such a way that one can never quite predict whatever surprises lie around the corner. A boy might transform into a dragon, pursued through the sky by paper Shikigami, or a stink spirit could come in for a bath, disgorging all the debris humans have thrown into the river. And so we watch with eyes wide as the anime artist leads us on this marvelous ride.