016 Spirited Away - This Ain't Your Typical Western Story

The Rotoscopers jump into the world of Japanese animation by reviewing their first ever anime: Studio Ghibli's fantasy-adventure film Spirited Away. Mason also introduces a new super duper anime trivia game and tries to stump Morgan and Chelsea. So join the Rotoscopers for all the news and laughs in the (Japanese) animated world! Highlights: ■ The Rotoscopers: The Band! ■ News: Epic trailer is epic, DreamWorks theme park, Penguins of Madagascar movie, Kung Fu Panda 3; get more news at our websiteand hypable.com ■ Mason discusses anime music and theme songs ■ New Game! 'Super Awesome Fun Time Anime Synopsis Game Deluxe Bean Burrito Game!' Mason reads a description of an anime and Morgan and Chelsea have to guess if it’s a real show or made up ■ Main discussion: Hayao Miyazaki’s Spirited Away ■ Animes are like awkward conversations: you just can’t jump into them ■ Spirited Away is awesome because it stands out visually from other traditional animes ■ Characteristics of animes that deter Western viewers ■ Thoughts on grotesque character design: Yubabba’s big head, Chihiro’s dull design ■ Chihiro: her transformation throughout the film, “what’s up with that guy?” ■ Shifts away from traditional Western story telling: lowest point at the beginning ■ Story: static characters help move the forward; characters don’t grow up, but discover inner strength inside of them; Chihiro can’t go back, just forward ■ Standout scenes: the beginning is very typical of a scary movie, abandoned amusement parks ■ Mason’s theory alert: Chihiro & her parents died on the car ride & are entering the afterlife ■ Unanswered question: were the parents under a spell when they were eating the food? ■ What’s with the roasted newt? ■ Similarities with Alice in Wonderland and Pinocchio; Crow Yubabba is similar to Maleficent’s crow Diabolo ■ Chihiro’s defining moment, slow character evolvution ■ Susan Egan as Lin; Jason Mardsen as Haku aka a 'voice acting hero' ■ Voice actor tangent: are some voices too recognizable and distracting? ■ No Face: unresolved character, Mason discusses fan theories about who No Face is ■ Morgan’s had a No Face in her life ■ Yubabba: great enjoyable character, stays nasty till the end, motivated by only money and her baby ■ Conundrum: how did Chihiro know that none of the pigs were her parents? ■ Themes: generosity vs. greed, love vs. infatuation ■ Rich with symbolism, lots of moments for reflection ■ Last lines of the film (added for English dub): “I think I can handle it.” ■ What both our listeners and The Rotoscopers rate it! ★★★★★ ■ A big ol’ mail in the mail bag! ■ Plug to listen to past episodes! Runtime: 1:19:53, 38.5 MB Where to Find Us: ■ Find us on the web: therotoscopers.com, twitter, facebook, YouTube, tumblr, hypable & Animated Views ■ Mason Smith: This Animated Life Blog, Twitter ■ Chelsea Robson: Facebook, Twitter ■ Morgan Stradling: Twitter, Instagram ■ Visit our sponsors: Netflix, Audible, Amazon ■ Questions, comments, suggestions? Send us an email at [email protected] ■ Send us a voicemail at therotoscopers.com/voicemail Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices