The use of Animals/Creatures in "Spirited Away".
Spirited away is about a Young naive girl named Chihiro. She is an unwilling hero. She does not want to go on this adventure to save her parents but through the power of love she is willing to do anything. I am going to take a look at the creatures in Spirited Away and the significance to the plot of the story.
One of the most powerful animal in Chinese culture is the Dragon. The dragon shows warlike qualities and is aggressive. The Dragon is the king of water and weather. In Spirited away the dragon was a Boy names Haku who helped Chihiro find her parents. He was also the river dragon who saved her when she was younger. Haku was also Yubaba's henchman, which also identifies with the dragon personality.
Another creature used in Spirited Away was the Bird . The evil Yubaba was a crow. She was the head of the bath house. She took the workers names so they would forget who they were and never leave. There are a few bird references in the Chinese culture. The crow in Japanese or Chinese culture represent the sun which is probably why Yubaba flew towards it every morning after work. However, The crow in Asian culture represents goodness and in Spirited away Yubaba is the total opposite. Yubaba's twin sister Zeniba was more like the crow but she was represented by a paper crane. The crane in Asian culture is considered the bird of happiness or the heavenly crane. it symbolises good. "The wings of a crane were said to be able to lift souls up into heaven. Zeniba is a good example of the crane. she was very kind and forgiving and wanted chihiro to call her granny. She also gave her a hair tie that was like a talisman. Zeniba said it would keep her safe. I Believe it also gave her courage.
Another animal is the Pig. The pig has a lot of qualities. They are known to be kind and in the Chinese culture they are known to bring good luck. they can also symbolise naive and self indulgence. In spirited away Chihiro's parents are turned into pigs by Yubaba because they ate all the food that was meant for the guests of the bath house. The pig in this case show greed and selfishness. If Chihiro does not save them in time, they will be slaughtered and sacrificed to feed the guests
I think the creator of spirited away did an awesome job depicting the characters in the movie to Asian culture. he infused not only Chinese culture but also Japanese culture. He showed that animals have a significant meaning in everyday life.
photo credit-*cool story*
