‘Spirited Away’: Miyazaki’s masterpiece … again

Critics tend to love Japanese animation. And that’s especially true when the animation is done by Studio Ghibli’s master filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki.

Miyazaki’s 2001 film “Spirited Away” won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature, making it – according to Wikipedia – “the first, and to date only, hand-drawn and non-English-language animated film to win the award.”

Scoring a 97 percent Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, the film attracted comments reserved for only the best films.

Richard Corliss of Time magazine wrote, “Artful but not arty, ‘Spirited Away’ is a handcrafted cartoon, as personal as an Utamaro painting, yet its breadth and heart give it an appeal that should touch American viewers of all ages.”

The Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw was even more complimentary. “Magical is a word used casually about films like this, films about fantasy and childhood,” he wrote. “Yet this one really does deserve it.”

And Eleanor Ringel Cater of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution added to the fan-club clamor. “Miyazaki's nonstop images are so stunning, and his imagination so vivid,” she wrote, “that the only possible complaint you could have about ‘Spirited Away’ is that there is no rest period, no timeout.”

So, what is all the fuss about? You’ll be able to see for yourself because "Spirited Away" is going to screen locally for four days beginning Sunday. The whole schedule is as follows:

Sunday: 3 p.m., dubbed version at AMC River Park Square, Regal Cinemas NorthTown, Regal Cinemas Spokane Valley.

Monday: 7 p.m., subtitled/subbed version at Regal Cinemas NorthTown.

Tuesday: 7 p.m., subtitled version at AMC River Park Square, Regal Cinemas NorthTown, Regal Cinemas Spokane Valley.

Wednesday: 7 p.m., dubbed version at AMC River Park Square, Regal Cinemas NorthTown, Regal Cinemas Spokane Valley.

If you go, tell them Hayao sent you.