There are always several efforts by directors and filmmakers to make films effective and worth watching. This essay is based on the similarities in style and narrative between the films Pan's Labyrinth directed by Guillermo Del Toro in 2006 and Spirited Away directed by Hayao Miyazaki in 2001. Both films are the creation of the immense imaginations of the directors. We can see the journey of two girls in different films. The main characters, Ophelia in Pan's Labyrinth and Chihiro in Spirited Away, are traveling to new destinations, but both are not interested in moving to new places. Both girls enter the magical world at the beginning of the story and their lives are full of challenges and problems. This essay will examine the use of classic Hollywood narrative, in both films which include a main character who must face a series of challenges and meet a series of deadlines. Furthermore, both films use the same style of filmmaking, such as framing and staging the role of the human and non-human figure in the films. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay In both films, a classic Hollywood narrative is the primary form. The narrative focuses on girls as main characters in both films. In both films, right from the beginning the audience can notice a chain of events related to causes and effects that is similar in both films (Bordwell and Thompson 28). There is a lot of suspense in both films because the main characters are girls trapped in a magical world; automatically draws the audience's attention to the danger surrounding the girls. First, in Pan's Labyrinth, Ofelia has to move with her pregnant mother to her stepfather's house, which is an old mill. She doesn't like her new stepfather and doesn't accept him as a father. She only likes fairy tales and has her own imaginary world. Her obstacles begin when she moves to the new place where she feels abandoned because her mother is pregnant. Her mother is unable to walk and her stepfather doesn't really care about Ophelia. Ophelia begins to experience magical fairies in her life and discovers that she is a princess from an underground world. At the same time he meets a faun who doesn't look human but is a humble character in the film. He makes her believe she is a princess from another world by giving her proof of the birthmark of the moon on her shoulder. Also, we can see that Ophelia is very brave and is not afraid of the dark face or any non-human face. Kermode illustrates "Ophelia chooses to enter this new world, despite the fact that her guide is unreliable and unattractive" she is a very fearless girl and discovers a dark and magical world of Fauns and Ferries at an early age who doesn't care about the little attractive Faun looks instead she trusted him. His actions indicate that he is rebellious in his nature who only follows his will to believe someone. In contrast, 10-year-old Chihiro in Spirited Away is fearful and is a bit reluctant to not touch everything or trust anyone. He is intelligent and tries to prevent his parents from eating unattended food in the abandoned park. Therefore they are turned into pigs because they did not listen to their daughter. At this point Chihiro's hard journey begins. The situation also reveals the excessive interest of the parents in the greed of eating food which turned them into pigs (Jaich 6). In this way, Chihiro aims to save her parents and get out of that lively world where everyone forgets their identity and self. On the other hand, Ophelia must complete the tasks assigned to herreturn to her underground world as a princess. Both have goals with deadlines to achieve. In both films the directors use natural locations and local traditional houses as settings. In Spirited Away, the abandoned park and a polluted river are used as the setting. In this film the issue of Japanese is highlighted, the cultural identity trapped between indigenous tradition and modern influences. It also shows the change between environmental security and modernism. Also, let's take a look at Japanese culture as there are many Japanese symbols to note in the film. Furthermore, the public can notice the way of greeting and thanking people by bowing as a sign of respect. Chihiro is tasked with finding work to stay safe in that city and meets the mysterious Haku who wants to help her, and he guides her on how to stay safe in that lively place. He gives her instructions on how to find work and stay safe. In Pan's Labyrinth, the story is set in Spain in 1944, in the midst of political turmoil and World War II. The military camp can be seen in the film and the rebels fight against the Captain (Orme 226). The style is the same in both films, which highlights the local issues of that period in both countries. In both films, the main characters are little girls, which indicates that both directors prefer feminism, they are inspired to take girls as the main characters, which makes the films special and attracts the attention of the audience. Furthermore, the girls' journey is not shown very simple like in other fairy tales, which is the uniqueness of the films. These films are not made like Disney, where there are only the prince and princess and their luxurious life is filmed, on the contrary, these films are more about ordinary girls and their ordinary life full of challenges at an early age. Therefore, both films represent their countries and cultural glimpses. . In Spirited Away we can see the Japanese way of greeting and we can know the history of Japan and that abandoned park. It also tells us about the belief in Shinto spirits. Zipes writes of Del Toro that he is very creative and imaginative: "Employing a variety of camera angles, zooming in and out of scenes, blending black and white with a spectrum of colors," he tells the audience about the director's finesse in making a film . Both films indicate the range of emotions in the plot that shows the audience that we are not perfect. In both films, a non-human figure is used, i.e. Faun resembles a goat and a strange face and standing position are highlighted. The monster is also seen in Pan's Labyrinth with loose skin and disturbing eyes set in its hands. In Spirited Away the spirits and negative characters are shown with dark makeup and long, loose shapes in black to highlight them differently. The tricks and techniques used create the difference and these characters look scary and different from human figures. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay Simply put, the films are almost the same in narrative and style. It grabs the audience's attention in a unique way because the stories of both films are unique. It gives us the message that innocence has the strongest power that evil cannot imagine. The sad thing about Pan's Labyrinth is that we see Ophelia dead but she returns to her true world as a princess. Chihiro succeeds in achieving her goals and this film shows the mix of good and bad people who become instrumental in Chihiro's escape. Both films have left a huge impression on audiences for years thanks to the concept and imagination behind the creation of the films.. 219-234.. 2019.