Spirited Away Special Reveals Major Secrets Behind the Studio Ghibli Classic
Spirited Away is easily one of the biggest examples of how Studio Ghibli is able to weave a magical tale that has rich characters as well as wildly detailed environments, with this movie in particular often thought of as one of the greatest movies from the studio. With the movie recently being aired on Japanese airwaves, Ghibli took to the internet to celebrate the occurrence by revealing a number of new secrets about the film and the behind-the-scenes steps taken to make it a success.
So what did Ghibli reveal regarding Spirited Away? Well to start, the title of Spirited Away was originally set to be "Sen no Kamikakushi". The studio revealed that the amusement park that will be opening later this year will see the trademark tunnel of Spirited Away recreated in real life. On top of these facts, Ghibli also revealed that several locations in the film were plucked from Hayao Miyazaki's memory, with the animator currently hard at work on the next film for the studio, "How Do You Live?" The animation house also revealed that a number of the magical creatures inhabiting the bathhouse were based on spirits from folklore as well as deities from the past of mankind, with the location itself being modeled off "Giyofu" buildings from Japan's Meiji Era.
Studio Ghibli got the ball rolling on their Official Twitter Account, eventually answering countless questions regarding the creation of Spirited Away as well as the story of this movie that sees a young girl venturing into a mysterious, magical world to save the lives of her parents who have been transformed into pigs:
今回も😉
— アンク＠金曜ロードショー公式 (@kinro_ntv) December 26, 2021
✨#スタジオジブリ 公式❌#金曜ロードショー 公式 コラボ企画✨
「千と千尋の神隠し」に関する質問 受付中👍
この投稿に返信し「#千と千尋の質問」を付けて質問を書き込んでください❗️
年明け1月7日の「千と千尋の神隠し」放送中、ジブリ公式アカウントから皆さんの質問にお答えします😊 pic.twitter.com/ykWQhuLRoX
On top of these many secrets revealed, Ghibli also went into detail regarding the origin of "No Face", explaining that both this large, disturbing figure and the main heroine of the story were meant to represent good and bad aspects of humanity itself. The production studio even went so far as to share the fact that the movie wasn't made for an "overseas audience," though it certainly has found an audience abroad from Japan. Finally, aside from several other tidbits, the studio also revealed that they thought Chihiro was stuck in the magical setting for around three days total as she attempted to rescue her parents.
What's your favorite creation from the world of Studio Ghibli? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly on Twitter @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, and the world of Spirited Away.