Spirited Away's release in the United States hasn't gone very well at all.

Blame Disney. They had the best reviewed film of the year, and they still couldn't get anyone to see it. Why? Because they didn't believe that it had the potential to reach, or entertain, a broad audience, particularly kids. They opened it with little fanfare, no marketing to speak of, no big banners or trailers or TV commercials. After all, it's foreign "art", and not something the average American could possibly be expected to digest...right?

So now Japan's biggest-grossing movie ever has become another lost opportunity in the US.

Disney's good at a lot of things. They're good at making animated movies, they're good at marketing them, and they're good at understanding and catering to a broad audience -- both kids and adults, domestically and internationally. So why go screw up such an important film? Why not put their considerable weight behind something as original and beautiful as Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi?

To their credit, they did make some kind of effort. They put John Lasseter in charge of "converting" the film to the American market, including dubbing the voices (usually a no-no, I agree, but young kids can't read subtitles; it's an understandable and necessary concession for a wide release of an animated movie, and as long as adults still have ready access to the Japanese version, I don't have a big problem with it), and clarifying some plot-points that may be apparent to a Japanese audience, but not to an American one. They made sure that the film was reviewed by the press well in advance of release, and that it was sold in to the media and to the audience as the year's singular masterpiece.

But they didn't follow up on it. They opted for a platform release, opening on few screens and expanding (in theory) to more as time went on. But, as of today, Spirited Away is only showing on 150 screens -- a paltry number. It's as if Disney, having come half-way, just gave up and dumped it. Shame on them.

What can you do about? Go see it, if you haven't already done so. Tell your friends, your family, and your colleagues to see it, too. I already have the movie on DVD, but tomorrow it's showing on Oslo's largest screen, and I'm taking a few people to see it again. Tellingly, the screening -- a one-off -- has barely sold twenty-five tickets (when I purchased my tickets about thirty minutes ago); that's for a theatre with almost 1,000 seats. If Disney doesn't make it a hit in America, they're decreasing the chances of the film becoming a hit in Europe, because the distributors and theatre-owners look at the US numbers when they make their bookings.

At the very least, get the DVD when it's made available (you can get the Japanese version now, if you're willing to pay a premium or order it from Japan -- try Amazon.co.jp, for example). You won't regret it, but hopefully Disney will regret their oversight, and put more effort into what's arguably the year's best film.  ¶ 11:18