ISSUE 29 AUSTRALIAN SCREEN EDUCATION 1 STUDY GUIDE VYVYAN STRANIERI AND CHRISTINE EVELY CHRISTINE AND STRANIERI VYVYAN A Film by Hayao Miyazaki Spirited Away his study guide to accompany the Japanese anime Spirited Away, has been written for stu- Spirited Away has a of viewers, their previous experiences, especially with anima and manga, and their beliefs and values. BEFORE VIEWING THE FILM ABOUT THE FILM Chihiro is a wilful, headstrong girl who thinks everyone should fi t in with her ideas and meet her needs. When her parents Akio and Yugo tell her they are moving house, Chihiro is furious. As they leave, she clings to the traces of her old life. Arriving at the end of a mysterious cul-de-sac, the family is confronted by a large red building with an endless gaping tunnel that looks very much like a gigantic mouth. Reluctantly Chihiro follows her parents into the tunnel. The family discover a ghostly town and come across a sumptuous banquet. Akio and Yugo begin eating more and more greedily. Before Chihiro’s eyes her parents are transformed into pigs! Unknowingly they have strayed into a world inhabited by ancient gods and magical beings, ruled over by Yubaba, a AUSTRALIAN SCREEN EDUCATION ISSUE 29 2 music posters books Film Title television trailers toys CONCEPT MAP demonic sorceress. Yubaba tells Chihiro map) showing how people came to that newcomers are turned into animals know about the fi lm. before being killed and eaten. Luckily • How did you fi nd out about Spirited for Chihiro she mets Haku who tells her Away? Make a list of things you had that she can escape this fate by mak- heard about Spirited Away before ing herself useful. Chihiro renounces you saw the fi lm? How did you fi nd her self-centredness and laziness and out these things? begins a journey of self-discovery. Fast food outlets sometimes promote Spirited Away is an adventure fi lm that a fi lm by offering collectable merchan- is full of action but without violence. dise. Clever advertising makes these Many of the problems encountered small toys or cups appealing and by characters in the fi lm are dealt with people feel like they should have the using resourcefulness and humour. The special collectable toy. Of course, while fi lm cleverly explores important ques- collecting the promotional item you are tions through fantasy, using a mix of also buying the food of the store. modern and traditional ideas. • Do you think this type of marketing BOX OFFICE DOLLARS works? Explain your ideas. • What are some other ways that you Spirited Away cost 19 million dollars would market Spirited Away? to create. This is about fi ve times less than a usual animated feature produc- ANIME AND MANGA tion budget, but it is a huge amount of money for a Japanese animated feature. In Japan, people of all ages go to see Even before it was released in the USA animes, even adults! It is a very popular and Europe, Hayao Miyazaki’s fi lm was form of entertainment in Japan, as are hailed as the fi rst non-American fi lm in mangas. Mangas are Japanese comics. history to have brought in 200 million But unlike our comics, they are more dollars at the box offi ce worldwide. • Calculate the difference in money required per minute of fi lm for Spir- ited Away and a usual American animated production. Why do you ISSUE 29 think fi lm-makers in the US are able to spend so much more money on AUSTRALIAN creating fi lms than Japanese fi lm- makers? SCREEN EDUCATION MARKETING A FILM There are many different ways fi lms can be brought to people’s attention so that as many people as possible will view it in a cinema. • Select a fi lm that has been released 3 recently and make a concept map like the one above (see concept Spirited Spirited , Hayao Miyazaki way The director of A like novels with pictures. Miyazaki has created a very beautiful manga called Nausicaa. This epic ran for over 12 years! Mangas are extremely popular in Japan and people everywhere of all res). As well as animes for TV there ages read them. There are many differ- are many animes in the cinema on a ent types of mangas, pitched at different regular basis. Many have never made audiences. it to Australia; although we have been watching animes on Australian TV since • How many Japanese animes have the 1970s. you seen? Perhaps you’ve seen Pokemon or Dragon Ball Z or Sailor • Ask your parents or carers if they Moon? Or even some of Miyazaki’s remember Astro Boy or Princess other animes like Princess Monon- Knight or Kimba the White Lion oke. Write your own defi nition of (which the Lion King is based on). ‘anime’. • Have you read any mangas or seen Osamu Tezuka created all of these any? Which ones? How different are animes. In Japan Tezuka is regarded as they to other comics? the ‘godfather’ of anime. Miyazaki is an admirer of Tezuka. Like Tezuka, Miya- Anime has many different types (gen- AUSTRALIAN SCREEN EDUCATION ISSUE 29 4 zaki also has produced many mangas. plot. The plot usually involves some sort When Tezuka’s work screened on TV, as of problem being resolved and along the now, the voices of the characters were way some important ideas, or themes dubbed into English rather than having being explored such as friendship, subtitles. As a consequence in the 70s, loyalty or trust. audiences tended to believe that such animations were American because the When we arrive at a cinema to view a characters had American accents. fi lm we usually have some expectations about the story, the main characters and • What are the advantages and disad- what will happen in the fi lm. vantages of having a fi lm subtitled and/or dubbed? • What expectations did you bring to Spirited Away? Make a list of the • Which do you prefer to watch? things you thought would happen in this fi lm, the sorts of problems or You would have noticed that Japanese confl icts you thought would happen anime looks different to Western ani- in the fi lm and how you thought the mation and often the storyline of these problems would be sorted out or are also different. Look at the eyes of resolved. characters, these particularly are often extremely expressive. In animation most The opening scenes of a fi lm set out of the emotions and ideas are carried by to create expectation about what will the expression of the character’s eyes). happen during the fi lm. At times some Often the eyes look less Japanese and viewers will have expectations that are more Western, although this is chang- not explored. ing. Once all Japanese animes had characters with Western eyes. • Did this happen for you in Spirited Away? Give some examples. • Why do you think the Japanese • Think about the opening scenes of decided to do this? Spirited Away. What action created expectations about what would AFTER VIEWING THE FILM happen in the fi lm? Draw a scene from the beginning of the fi lm and ELEMENTS OF THE FILM list expectations created for you. • Use a plot outline like the one in Several elements come together to help chart 2 to map out the story, or nar- a fi lm tell a story, for example, there rative, in Spirited Away. needs to be a setting, characters and a ISSUE 29 AUSTRALIAN SCREEN EDUCATION 5 In Japanese anime, characters face dif- Away as a classic like Alice in Won- any classic stories from countries fi cult journeys. Their decisions and how derland. other than Australia, England and they think and feel about their world is of- the US? What do you think are the ten complex. Because of this complexity, • Do you agree with this statement? characteristics of a classic story? the characters often display both good Why or why not? What are some and bad qualities. classic stories you have read or viewed as fi lms? Do you know of • Which characters in Spirited Away have both good and bad qualities? • What discoveries could you say Character What did the character discover during the fi lm? characters make about themselves Chihiro and about others as the plot unfolds? Use a chart like the one in chart 01 Haku 1 CHART to record some of your ideas. Yubaba Some people have described Spirited SPIRITED AWAY SETTING CHARACTERS PROBLEM/CONFLICT EVENTS RESOLUTION CHART 2 CHART FILMS Film Elements THE LION KING SPIRITED AWAY LI’L ELVIS Setting Jungle, desert Mystical world Rykon (hotel) Hero(es) Simba Chihiro Villain(s) Scar Yubaba AUSTRALIAN SCREEN EDUCATION Other main characters Nala, Mufasa Huku. Zeniba ISSUE 29 Plot The king dies. His son, Simba, runs Chihiro is trapped in a mystical world where her parents 6 away, but realizes he must face his have been turned into pigs. Chihiro must learn to be brave responsibilities and return. and selfess in order to save her parents and free them Themes Responsibility, friendship, circle of life Compassion, bravery, friendship, loyalty, personal growth CHART 3 CHART CLOSE ANALYSIS We call the beginning of any fi lm, starting with the credit sequence or as soon as the fi lm begins, the opening sequence or the opening credit sequence. During this time the fi lm aims to establish who the characters are and where the fi lm is set. As well, main locations, confl icts or problems, the story and plot are in- troduced.