Look, I get it. Spirited Away is Miyazkai’s crowning achievement and quite possibly the greatest animated film of all time. But I really think a live-action Spirited Away could be this generation’s The Neverending Story, as it’s fantastical, pretty dark for a kid’s film, and has all the qualifications to be the kind of movie that really informs a generation on how to cope with growing up in a way that is both artistic and abstract at the same time. Sure, kids could just watch the animated version, and many have, but I get a real sense that kids would connect better with a live-action version, since a live-action version is “more grown up” than a “cartoon”. Even though it’s not, of course. But we know that since we’re adults. Kids don’t always think like that, though.
