Up & Away

I have chosen  Pete Docter's Up to be compared to Hayao Miyazaki's Spirited Away by. This is because both animations have very similar Hero Journey's outline. Apart from that, I chose Up because it is my all time favourite animation. It has a combination of both tearjerker and comedy. Up has a wonderful plot with an immense meaning behind the story. It's an animation about eternal love, friendship and adventure. Not to mention, I absolutely adore Russell, the stumpy lead character in Up. Sir, if you have not seen Up, please watch it. You won't regret.

Firstly, The Ordinary World stage is very similar. Both the lead characters, Chihiro and Russell are brought up in urbanized area. At the beginning of the movie, we can see that Chihiro is surrounded by materials like Adidas and dad's Audi. Similarly, at the beginning of Up, we know that Russell is a city boy because his first appearance is during the construction at Carl's place, which means that the setting sets at the city.

Secondly, both animations have the stage known as Crossing the Threshold. In Spirited Away, Chihiro crosses the threshold to a mysterious and deserted land . In comparison to Up, Russell crosses the threshold when he becomes an accidental passenger when Carl detaches his house from the land using helium balloons.

At the Approach stage, there is an obvious shift from the intended mission to a much more important mission. Initially, Chihiro's mission is to rescue her parents and to get out from the mysterious land. However, her mission changes when she decided to help Haku by paying a visit to Zeniba to return the golden seal. Likewise, Russell's mission is to earn his 'assisting the elderly' badge. However, Russell's mission shifts when Kevin, his new giant pet bird is kidnapped by Muntz. Russell gathers his courage and insists on saving Kevin even Carl refused to do so.

Both movies have very similar leading characters, Chihiro from Spirited Away and Russell from Up. Firstly, we can see that both the characters are in similar age range, Chihiro at 10 and Russell at 8. Also, both of them are brought up in cities. Besides that, both the characters are similar in terms of personality. Both Chihiro and Russell are rather oblivious and immature. In addition, both characters gained something meaningful  and valuable at the end of the story. Chihiro gains courage and an unforgettable experience from the mysterious land. Similarly, Russell becomes the real wilderness explorer, not to mention he earns himself a father figure, which is Carl.




The mentors in both animations are very similar too. Haku, from Spirited Away is always there to look after and protect Chihiro. For example, he looks for Chihiro as soon as he gains consciousness because he is afraid that Chihiro might encounter danger dealing with Zeniba. In Up, Carl is protective against Russell. When Russell left Carl to rescue Kevin, Carl follows Russell because he knows that he will be in danger. Together, they save Kevin from the evil Muntz.


Both animations portray the transformation of the characters from childhood to adulthood at the end of the story. Initially, Chihiro was a pampered and dependent girl. However, at the end of the story, she transformed into a confident and independent girl. We could see from her reluctantness to enrol in her new school at the beginning. However, after her journey, the fact that she is enrolling to a new school does not bother her any more. Similarly to Up, Russell was a young wilderness explorer scout but, a not so capable one. However, Russell became a courageous and capable wilderness explorer the end of the story. This can be seen when he is able to climb the dangling pipe in the air because he is motivated to save Carl. Meanwhile, at the beginning story, he is unable to climb the dangling pipe.

Work Cited

"Hero's Journey." Hero's Journey. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Dec. 2012. <http://thewritersjourney.com/hero's_journey.htm>.