Catherine QabarEMF 100

Spirited Away

• 2003, Hayao Miyazaki– Adventure/fantasy – Won Academy

Award for Best Animated Feature

Persepolis

• 2007, Marjane Satrapi– Dark comedy,

autobiographical– Nominated for

Academy Award for Best Animated Feature

• Based on autobiographical graphic novels of the same name

Critical Reception

• Spirited Away– 97% approval on

Rotten Tomatoes– #12 on IGN’s Best

Animated Films 2005

– #10 on Empire Magazine’s The 100 Best Films of World Cinema 2010

• Persepolis– 97% approval on

Rotten Tomatoes– #6 on Time

Magazine’s Top 10 Movies of 2007

– #58 on Empire Magazine’s The 100 Best Films of World Cinema 2010

Themes: Spirited Away• Coming of

Age/Rite of Passage

• Identity– Both individual

and collective/cultural

Themes: Persepolis• Identity

– Again, both individual and cultural

• Culture Clash• Politics (Iranian

Revolution)

Common Theme: Identity• Spirited Away

– Themes of identity and coming-of-age are closely tied• Chihiro must

overcome the loss of her identity as a child and forge a new one as an adult

• Persepolis– Cultural identity

• in a time of revolution/change

• in a foreign country

Common Theme: Guiding Figures

• Spirited Away– Haku– Kamajii

• Persepolis– Marjane’s

grandmother– Uncle Anoosh– God and Karl

Marx

Animation: Spirited Away

Animation: Persepolis

Which film works better?

• Equal, but different– Both are well-respected, well-made

films– Spirited Away: more metaphorical,

light-hearted, for children and adults alike, rich animation in the typical Miyazaki-style

– Persepolis: unique animation, first of its’ kind, dark, somewhat mature subject matter

Film-Stills courtesy of:

• Spirited Away. Dir. Hayao Miyazaki. Studio Ghibli, 2001. DVD.

• Persepolis. Dir. Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnoud. 2.4.7. Films, 2007. DVD.