Korean Animated Film Angers the Internet For Allegedly Copying ‘Spirited Away’

Fans of the hugely popular Studio Ghibli film “Spirited Away” have been accusing a South Korean animation studio of copying too many elements from the Hayao Miyazaki classic.

An upcoming Korean animated film called “dal-bich-goong-gwol”, or “Moonlight Palace,” is already generating tons of negative feedback for allegedly bearing too much resemblance to “Spirited Away”, reported RocketNews24.

While the new film has not been officially released yet, people have been pointing out that there are a number of scenes that have very similar imagery and characters that look the same as the ones in the beloved film.

In response to the criticisms, the movie’s director, Kim Hyun-Ju-I, expressed his surprise that people were quick to judge by looking at just the trailer. He remains adamant that audiences will change their minds upon viewing the film in its entirety.

Set to release on September 7, the Korean film is about a young girl who gets herself whisked off to a magical adventure in a fantasy world reminiscent of Chihiro’s tale.

The film’s synopsis states that the story revolves around the adventures of humans and gods in Changdeok Palace where they have been asleep for the last six hundred years.

While most of the visuals from the trailer look good, many have simply dismissed the Korean production as a “Spirited Away” clone. The character design of the female protagonist and the young man companion looked very similar to those of Miyazaki’s iconic film.

Early critics even mocked the promotional poster which featured the young protagonist riding a dragon that looked eerily similar to a climactic scene in “Spirited Away” where Chichiro/Sen were riding her friend who had transformed into a dragon.

“Spirited Away”, which received widespread critical acclaim when it was released in 2001, was recently voted the #4 best film of the 21st century as picked by 177 film critics from around the world.