I'm in agreement with most of your points, especially the narrative
pacing, which especially bugged me at the end . . . it could have used
a more satisfying conclusion, I think.

As a narrator, though, she's great, because she never takes herself
too seriously or is afraid to mix emotional honesty with critical
distance.

The animation was great! As you said, very fluid and convincing, which
gave the comic asides punch. I think it's pretty clear that they
especially enjoyed animating hair, and the way it moves and flows.
That makes for very interesting contrasts between when the women are
forced to wear veils and when they remove them - you can really feel
the liberating effect when their hair is no longer confined. (But
also, that hilarious moment with the under-arm hair . . . so perfect!)

BTW, I watched it at the AMC Shirlington in Arlington, and the
technical side was HORRID - the sound was warped by an entire half-
step during some parts (which ruined the "Eye of the Tiger" sequence)
and the picture was out of focus in the center of the screen. I should
have known that even with an AMC gift card, paying to see it at
Landmark would be better . . .

On Jan 27, 1:51 pm, amorvincitom...@gmail.com wrote:

Heh. The animators are very frank about hair, nasal discharge,
pencils under breasts, and flatulence. It makes the rats in
Ratatouille's kitchen seem quaint.

Ugh! It's probably too late to ask for a gift certificate. That's
unacceptable, even for a foreign language film :-)

Shame, since I saw Spirited Away subtitled in that very same theater.
Drove 40 miles to get there, too!