Spirited Away is the only animated movie from a foreign language to have won the Academy Award for the best animated feature. And amongst the many scenes that makes Spirited Away so special, there's one that could be defined as an oscar moment. And in this video I wanna talk about what that 'Oscar moment' from Spirited Away looks like...

Chapters

0:00 Setting the scene
0:45 Why did Miyazaki make Spirited Away?
2:19 Leading into the scene
3:03 A background score that's dreamlike
4:10 Attention to detail
7:00 The train journey
9:10 A moment where nothing happens...

From all the Ghibli scenes that I've watched, there's one scene that is mysterious and magical, and yet, beautiful and moving at the same time. And it has to be 'The train journey' from Spirited Away. There's something mersmerizing about this scene that is hard to explain. So, in this video essay, I wanna try to explore some of the things that makes the 'the perfect scene'.

The 'train journey' is kind of a dreamlike scene in many ways, where it sort of extends from the main plot of the movie. You can see a lot of artistic choices in this scene that are so abstract and philosophical. And you don't normally get that in animated movies. But Hayao Miyazaki somehow finds a way to include a 4 minute scene, that not only makes Chihiro's journey relatable, but delves into the core concept of the japanese philosophy of 'Ma' or emptiness. This is a recurring theme he uses in Studio Ghibli movies, but I think the best usage of this philosophy is in this scene from Spirited Away.

And it makes for a great emotional moment for us to take a deep breath and catch up to the story. It is a beautiful way of storytelling, connecting the viewer to the character without much exposition. A classic example of show not tell. And I think that's why this scene deserves the prasise, and that's why in my eyes, 'The train ride' from Spirited Away is an oscar moment!