2. Spirited Away
Studio Ghibli films have always been troubling for me; I am never not enchanted by their gorgeous visual imagery and barmy style, yet frequently find myself underwhelmed by the piecemeal plots. Again, there's the feeling that because it's foreign, it seems more cultured and "cool", so we give it a free ride when a Western equivalent would be quickly dismissed as "style over substance". After all, Spirited Away is a visually lavish, phantasmagorical film that serves up visuals like we've never seen before, but the plot really doesn't pass muster; it is about a girl who enters a magical land, and her greedy parents are turned into pigs, so she has to find a way to turn them back. Crazy visuals ensue, everything goes back to normal, the film ends, and goes on to win the Academy Award for Best Animated Film. Granted, that year was very weak, but still, why are people so willing to forgive a mediocre story simply for great visuals? It is a film one
wants to like exceedingly, but there's just nothing there behind the mind-boggling style.