ok, so spirited away was really really bizarre in a cult-favorite kind of way- i can see people starting to dress uplike the really big baby, or the radish, or the swamp-river blob or the twin witches, or the many-armed boiler-guy or the the faceless spirit- i don't get much of the symbolism- but then i am not japanese- there was a lot of water- both at the bath house, and with the rain and the flooded raillines- there were images of greed and gluttony (the same thing?) and a plea to save the earth- of sorts- i can honestly say that at no point int he film did i suspect what was about to happen- there was no formula.......i didn't even see the pig-thing coming........we saw a throng of people congregated down the street- in front of a new building- no idea why they were there in the dark on a sunday night- no protest signs- it was curious. the graeter's ice cream was a treat..........