Streszczenie:
The aim of this dissertation is to investigate whether Hayao Miyazaki’s animated film
Spirited Away can be identified as a folk tale in accordance with Propp’s classification,
defined in “Morphology of the Folktale”. In my study I presented Vladimir Propp’s approach
to classify folk tales and described the elements he extracted. Then, I took a closer look at
Miyazaki’s life which gave me an insight into how it influenced the films he created. Finally,
I looked at the narrative of S pirited Away and analysed the film’s structure in accordance
with Propp’s method. As a result of this analysis, I identified common elements in the film’s
plot which Propp described in his study.
The outcome of my study, as well as the fact that S pirited Away is filled with Japanese
folklore, allows to recognize the film as an example of a folk tale. However, it needs to be
noted that the multilayered structure of the film that indicates many possible interpretations
makes Spirited Away much more than just a folk tale.
