Character and Setting
The artists behind Spirited Away paid
close attention to the consistency of setting and character and
the relationship between them. Yubaba has a sense of richness about
her even when she’s just sitting in a towel with a simple white
turban wrapped around her head. Chihiro, even when she is Sen, always
appears plain and straightforward, from her ponytail to her humble
clothing. She works in the elaborately appointed bathhouse, but
the background always suggests simplicity and quiet. In spite of
the lushness of the bathhouse, Sen must clean the big tub that sits
alone in a nearly bare room. In that room she transforms a huge,
ungainly, polluted spirit into the essence of simplicity: First
he appears as a skeletal head, then as a sleek serpent. Even her
meals are simple affairs. She nibbles a dumpling on her balcony
far from the multi-course hubbub of the main house. The scenery,
which tends to be of secondary importance in animated films, is
as impressive as any exquisitely filmed landscape in a live-action
movie.
The minor characters are rendered just as flawlessly as
the setting, with expressions and movements that range from the
subtle to the garish. The different techniques the characters use
in trying to reach No-Face in the bathhouse make for a powerful
contrast. After No-Face becomes the rich, gold-making spirit, the
assistant manager uses exaggerated songs and dances, including a
fan dance, to ingratiate himself to No-Face. Later, after No-Face
has practically wrecked the bathhouse, Sen confronts him with a
still, silent dignity that is profoundly effective.
