About Growing Up: Spirited Away (2001)

What makes a childish kid becomes a mature adult? Their age? Body changes? Education? What is the measure? This movie will try to answer that question.

Chihiro (Rumi Hiiragi) along with her parents, Akio Ogino (Takashi Naito) and Yuko (Yasuko Sawaguchi), move to their new house. Along the way, they get lost and stranded in an empty, peculiar town. They find an open restaurant, and being hungry, the parents eat all the food there. Bored and grumpy Chihiro doesn't want to join them and instead decides to wander around. She finds a huge, strange building and notices that there is a train running near it. Suddenly she's surprised by a boy who tells her to get away as soon as possible. Confused, she runs back to her parents and shocked to find out that they have become pigs. What happens in that town? Can she change her parents back into humans again? Can they get out from that place?

Directed by legendary director, Hayao Miyazaki, from legendary studio, Studio Ghibli, this beautiful, animated movie tells a story of a little girl's journey in the spirit realm to save herself and her parents, and take them back to human world. In this realm, she encounters many kinds of spirits, some are benign, some are malevolent. She must also overcome many obstacles for them to get out from there.

What makes this movie unique is its rich description of spirit realm that filled with many creatures that are inspired by Japanese folklore and mythology. But the story and messages in it are so universal that you can enjoy the movie without feeling confused. Good animation, adorable characters, beautiful music, and alluring story can take you immerse deeply in the movie, it's as if you're wandering the spirit realm yourselves along with Chihiro.

Chihiro's journey is a metaphor of a kid growing up to become an adult. First time realizing that she's in the spirit realm, Chihiro's reaction is confused and frightened, just like any kid who faces the real world for the first time. There's an early scene where the paved road ends and there's a gate beside it, it symbolizes that in this spot, human world ends and spirit realm begins, her childhood ends and adulthood begins.

In this realm, Chihiro realizes that herself begins to vanish. It's a metaphor that in adulthood, the "me" is becoming less and less until it completely vanishes. Being a grown up means that everything doesn't revolve around you, instead it's about what you can give to society. Your own self becomes less important and society's needs become more significant. You're no longer a selfish kid whose all their needs must be fulfilled.

Haku (Miyu Irino), the boy who's met by Chihiro in the beginning, acts as a guardian for her in this realm. He works for Yubaba (Mari Natsuki), an evil and powerful sorceress who owns an onsen (Japanese public bath) for the spirits. He teaches Chihiro that she must work in order to survive and save her parents in this realm. This teaches work ethics for children, that growing up, you can no longer be spoiled and get what you want, you must work to earn your living. No wonder Japanese people are discipline since they're little, even the cartoon teaches them about work ethics.

This work ethics is a focal point in this movie. Besides Haku, there is Kamaji (Bunta Sugawara), another worker of Yubaba, who teaches Chihiro about work ethics. He's the one who tells her to "Finish what you start" and "You can't just take someone's work" when she easily helps one of Kamaji's workers with its job and it results in chaos. Even after Chihiro gets a job in this realm, she must maintain a high standard of work, as Haku said, "If she (Chihiro) doesn't measure up, do with her as you will."

Just like in real life, the heavier the job, the bigger the reward. After succeed serving the Stink Spirit and gets praise from all the staffs and visitors in the onsen, including Yubaba herself, Chihiro gets self confidence that helps her in future tasks.

Along the journey, Chihiro grows up from a lazy, spoiled crybaby who's angry because her family must move to a new town and gets upset over a bouquet of flowers, into a reliable kid who takes responsibility for herself and her parents' problem by willing to work hard in the onsen. From a scared kid into a bravery who's dare to protect and stand up for Haku, her friend. From a shy kid who hesitates to ask for a job, into an assertive who's unafraid to state her wants and opinions. From an egotistic brat into a kid who cares for strangers that she just met.

Let's compare Chihiro with other characters. There's Bo (Ryunosuke Kamiki), Yubaba's son who's portrayed as a big baby, is a metaphor for a kid who keeps getting spoiled and overprotected. He always cries for what he wants and he's never going outside because Yubaba tells him that there are bad germs outside that will make him sick. The boy doesn't even know how to stand on his own. There's a scene where Yubaba doesn't recognize Bo, his own son, when he's changed into a rat. It's a symbol that someone who's being spoiled never has a chance to show their real characters and true selves.

Another character is No-Face, he's a symbol for someone who's being unemployed. He can only get in to the onsen by using the rain to sneak in, and he gets what he wants by stealing and cheating. He absorbs other spirits because he is empty inside, and he's clinging to Chihiro because he is lonely. Without job, he has no purpose. Without purpose, he is empty and lonely. No-Face finally gets settled by being Zeniba's (Mari Natsuki), Yubaba's twin, helper.

Being an adult is a process that we must do all by ourselves. It can't be done by our parents, relatives, friends, or teachers. They can help, but in the end, we're the one who must do it. All that experiences is what shape our characters. As Zeniba said, "Everything that happens stays inside you." Experiences that we get from the journey is far more important than the destination itself. If Chihiro never gets spirited away, maybe she will be growing up as a spoiled, selfish kid, never has a chance of being mature, and find love and friendship along the way.