Grate. Now I'm Crying

So, I finally worked up the courage to watch Spirited Away.  It took awhile to talk myself into it, because when a friend whose judgment you trust says it's a movie he hated because he knew that nothing else would ever be as good, it makes you worry.  Will you ever be able to watch another movie ever again?  Will your hopes be dashed because this movie isn't your cup of tea, and can you stand to face your friend afterward and admit that, really, you didn't think it was all that awesome?  Silly thoughts, I know, but I had 'em.

So, first, an admission: I didn't like it quite as much as Howl's Moving Castle.  Howl's hooked me the instant it began and kept me hooked throughout.  I remained enthralled the whole time.  Spirited Away took quite some time to get off the ground.  But once it took off, once the characters got their hooks into me and started tugging, I could see what my friend meant.  I didn't want it to end either.  And I wanted her to look back.

I could say profound things about the hero's journey and archetypes and the similarities and divergence between Japanese and Western mythology, but I don't want to deconstruct this movie.  I just want to say that if I can write a novel half as good as Hayao Miyazaki's movies, I'll be very happy indeed.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go sniffle a bit more and see if I can write anything half as good.  Oh, and budget for every single Miyazaki movie ever released in the US.