The Spirit of the Environment: Spirited Away's Intimate Environmentalism Anonymous College

Miyazaki’s film Spirited Away is a dense film with many important aspects, ranging from character development to Japanese folk symbols to economic commentary. However, one of the most salient aspects of the film is its connection to and depiction of the environment. This essay discusses several key sequences and ways the film is connected to the environment, as well as how scholars and critics have analyzed this connection. Many believe that “Spirited Away has themes of environmental concerns that resonate with global audiences” (Lim, 2013, p. 158), but is this true? The paper argues that it is almost impossible to divorce the film from the concerns about the environment so prevalent within it. The thematic importance of the environment is further solidified by the rich environmental depictions within the film.

The film’s plot concerns a young girl, Chihiro, who is none too pleased to have to move to a new town. However, her parents take a quick detour and overeat at a mysterious free buffet, where they then turn into pigs. This sets Chihiro onto a hero’s quest, in which she must ultimately aid the spirit of the dried, polluted river before she can free her parents. From a standpoint that examines only the plot of the movie, it...