Quake1028

So, I am going to see City of God tomorrow. I have a chance to bookend that with Spirited Away. Now, I am getting the dvd on Tuesday. My questions is, is SA a movie that needs to be seen on the big screen? Or should I see House of 1000 Corpses instead?

theneobez

I wouldn't say Spirited Away is a must-see on the Big Screen, that's just me personally. I think animated films in general lose little in the transition from theatre to home, and since you're getting the DVD I would just wait for that. Get other opinions before you listen to me though. . .I may be wrong.

Seeker

SA does not NEED to be seen on the big screen.

However, I'm told 1000 corpses is such a waste of time that it makes me think you'd be better off seeing SA anyway instead.

Jackskeleton

I would watch spirited away over house of 1000 corpse any day.

eedoon

If I were you, I wouldn't ask whether I want to watch Spirited Away on the big screen or not. I will run to the theatre without even thinking.

monkeyboy

Frankly, I like to see everything on the big screen first. Spirited Away was ok, but I thought it was WAYYY overhyped, which ended up leaving me a bit disappointed.

Trigger

Look in the mirror - if you haven't showered in 5 days and you're wearing a black Danzig t-shirt, black pants, a trench coat and doc martens, then you should go see House of 1000 Corpses... otherwise, go see Spirited Away.

whotony

i just watched SA today and after all the hype, best animated pick oscar and all. i thought it wasnt as good as i hoped it would be.

it is a great animated movie but it just was missing something. it didnt have that magic i was excpecting.
princess mononoke was a ton better.
i also liked metropolis(animated) better too.
i just hated the soundtrack music on that, other wise it would have been one of my 2 or 3 fav animated movies overall.

ckolchak

its a shame the disc won't have a scene by scene commentary.
the story has a ton of little elements that are 'culture specific' ( the relevance of bath houses, the meaning of certain spirits, little bits of social etiquette that may be unfamiliar/unrelatable to western audiences, etc).
i saw the film in the theater last fall and it was very good, but much of it was frustrating because the events seemed to be without much rhyme or reason.
talking with a nipponophile afterwards, the film suddenly seemed much different, because now i understood the importance of certain elements, and actions that had appeared random and arbitrary to me before.

its a very good movie, and became better upon reflection (i love it when that happens, which isn't often), but going in cold, you may find it a little underwhelming.

Saxofonix

I'm glad to see that there are others who were completely under-whelmed by Spirited Away. After the hype and raving about the movie and the Oscar ... I went to see it with my daughter and her friend. We all three were greatly disappointed by it.

And I have NO idea why Spirited Away won an Oscar over Lilo & Stitch .. or even Treasure Planet (which was one of THE most enjoyable animated movies I have seen.)

Patman

My review of SA:

Good first 30 minutes, so-so/boring middle hour, decent last 30 minutes.