Oscar night was a vindication for fans of Hayao Miyazaki, the reigning master of Japanese anime. Already the biggest-selling movie in Japanese history (take that, Titanic), his breathtaking Spirited Away snagged the Best Animated Feature trophy, and duly so, considering what a masterwork it is. An intelligent fairy tale graced by shades of Shintoism and marked by Miyazaki's thoughtful and humane moral vision, the film transcends barriers of age as well as culture. And it is, of course, a feast for the eyes.

Lickety-split, it's now out on a double DVD (the bonus material won't mean much to non-geeks, though). Cool thing is, the success of Spirited Away has egged Disney into finally releasing two other, older features from Miyazaki's Studio Ghibli that they've been sitting on for too long. The playful Kiki's Delivery Service, which follows an amiable teenaged witch, and the fantastical, retro-futuristic Castle in the Sky are also on the racks. Each shows a different side of Miyazaki, but his recurrent themes, such as flight, adolescence and the collision of nature and technology, shine through in each.

» Rupert Bottenberg