Spirited Away (2001)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Daniel P

  
  Breath-taking, magical animation and a story with a big heart; and though I'm still not sure I understood the premise, exactly, this was a beautiful film to watch, brilliantly drawn and animated.

• Directors C

  
  [img]http://images.rottentomatoes.com/images/user/icons/icon14.gif[/img] I have no doubt that Spirited Away is the most imaginative movie I have ever seen in my life. It was the first Studio Ghibli film I ever saw and I couldn't have picked anything better quite… More
  [img]http://images.rottentomatoes.com/images/user/icons/icon14.gif[/img] I have no doubt that Spirited Away is the most imaginative movie I have ever seen in my life. It was the first Studio Ghibli film I ever saw and I couldn't have picked anything better quite frankly...well besides Princess Mononoke. Firstly, I love how it approaches both adults and children. Young viewers of Spirited Away will see themselves in the main character Chihiro and relatable characters are key in animation. From a technical viewpoint it looks outstandingly brilliant and the creatures are stuff beyond my imagination. It's an emotional rollercoaster that's severely intense and then laid back and then heartwarming. Then somehow from all this it maintains a consistent tone. It's a beautiful film that goes to show how powerful and wonderful animation is.

• Paulo G

  
  Spirited Away is beautifully animated and innocently portrayed. Its journey to Miyazaki's imagination gives a simple yet powerful story of a girl who ventures to save her parents. It emphasizes on the beauty of traditionally drawn animations which in our times right now are being… More
  Spirited Away is beautifully animated and innocently portrayed. Its journey to Miyazaki's imagination gives a simple yet powerful story of a girl who ventures to save her parents. It emphasizes on the beauty of traditionally drawn animations which in our times right now are being replaced by computer generated ones that lacks the colors, emotions, and depth of every line, texture, and detail that traditional drawing offers.

• danny d

  
  miyazaki is such a visionary. visually this film is stunning, and the story was so creative. the only thing slightly holding the film back is its lack of direction at points when it feels a bit aimless, but the romantic in me doesnt care as the film was so touching, and so… More
  miyazaki is such a visionary. visually this film is stunning, and the story was so creative. the only thing slightly holding the film back is its lack of direction at points when it feels a bit aimless, but the romantic in me doesnt care as the film was so touching, and so beautiful. one of the best animated film of all time.

• Jan Marc M

  
  Considered as a great masterpiece from Studio Ghilbi and Hayao Miyazaki, Spirited Away is of a spellbinding adventure of a young lady in a place ruled by an evil witch and native to mysterious Gods and spirits. An imaginative perfect composition of weight, beauty, and complexity,… More
  Considered as a great masterpiece from Studio Ghilbi and Hayao Miyazaki, Spirited Away is of a spellbinding adventure of a young lady in a place ruled by an evil witch and native to mysterious Gods and spirits. An imaginative perfect composition of weight, beauty, and complexity, Spirited Away is a genuine animation feature that revels in visual perfection and noble messages. Magnificent.

• paul o

  
  WHY IS THIS FILM SO GOOD?!?!??! I WAS HOOKED FROM THE FIRST SCENE AND I REALIZED...WOW MIYAZAKI JUST MADE ONE OF THE GREATEST ANIMATED FILMS IN HISTORY! EVEN JOHN LASESNTER (TOY STORY) SAID THIS MOVIE WAS AMAZING SO THATS ENOUGH PROOF!

• Alexander D

  
  SPIRITED AWAY is <i>the</i> gem of Japanese anime. A lot of anime is clearly made to impress the audience in a look-how-well-we-can-draw or a haha-we-can-draw-special-effects. This certainly does not. There are some scenes in which it seems the artists are simply trying… More
  SPIRITED AWAY is <i>the</i> gem of Japanese anime. A lot of anime is clearly made to impress the audience in a look-how-well-we-can-draw or a haha-we-can-draw-special-effects. This certainly does not. There are some scenes in which it seems the artists are simply trying to impress visually, but this has a fantastic, complex plot. Though it may seem strange, the story is about a young girl who gets lost on a trip with her parents. They go looking for directions, and they find what looks like an abandoned carnival. They find nobody there, but they do find food. The girl's parents decide to indulge the food, but after a while, they have turned into hogs. The girl must then go on a long, creepy quest to transform her parents back into humans before it is too late. This is really good. Two words: must-see.

• Marc L

  
  While I prefer Miyazaki's Princess Mononoke more, this movie is still, as another critic said "brilliant". It has a very creative plot, developed characters, fantastic animation. Just absolutley stunning. One thing I hate is when this movie gets compared to… More
  While I prefer Miyazaki's Princess Mononoke more, this movie is still, as another critic said "brilliant". It has a very creative plot, developed characters, fantastic animation. Just absolutley stunning. One thing I hate is when this movie gets compared to "Alice in Wonderland" I absolutley HATED Alice in Wonderland. It was stupid, pointless, plotless and had no conflict. Spirited Away, on the other hand, had a very emotional and suspensful plot, major conflict and is pretty much the farthest thing from stupid. The main thing that makes Spirited Away so amazing is the characters. Chihiro is a very brave despite being in situations that would probably make her own parents, and almost any adult, scream in fear. She also manages to maintain her bravery despite being very compassionate. My favorite character has got to be Haku, because he seems to be the most complex. He starts out as an outcast, Yubaba's henchman who cannot be trusted. However, by the end of the movie, he seems less like a villain, and more like a hero, or at least an antihero. The voice acting was also VERY good, especially Jason Marsden and Mari Natsuki. Deveigh Chase was VERY good, especially for a child actor. She obviously has a great career ahead of her. Add some stunning animation, a very creative ending, and you have one of the best animated movies ever. Miyazaki at his finest!

• Daniel M

  
  When I reviewed Mulholland Drive not so long ago, I commented that it was "one of a very rare breed of films which hold you in such a hypnotic state that your normal critical faculties become temporarily suspended." Films like Lynch's work contain so much of the magic… More
  When I reviewed Mulholland Drive not so long ago, I commented that it was "one of a very rare breed of films which hold you in such a hypnotic state that your normal critical faculties become temporarily suspended." Films like Lynch's work contain so much of the magic and mystery of cinema that the experience becomes everything, and no matter where it goes, we follow. But this was not the only film from 2001 to achieve such a powerful effect upon its audience. Spirited Away is the culmination of Hayao Miyazaki's extraordinary career, only just edging out over its predecessor, Princess Mononoke. It is a stunningly animated, beautifully told story which reinvents Alice in Wonderland for the 21st century while offering profound insight into Japanese culture and the psychology of growing up. While Princess Mononoke has more ambition in terms of its story, Spirited Away wins out through the sheer power of its emotional appeal. On its simplest level, Spirited Away sees Miyazaki returning to the story and themes of Alice of Wonderland, whose influence can be seen throughout the work of Studio Ghibli. But whereas something like The Cat Returns bore only fleeting similarities, the early sections of Spirited Away are like a direct retuning of Lewis Carroll. Instead of sitting on the river bank being bored at her lesson, Chihiro is sullen in the back of the car, cross with her parents for moving house and taking away all her friends. And instead of falling down a rabbit hole, she wanders through a long tunnel which, in a further fairy tale connection, is found in the middle of a deep, dark wood. As with Alice, Chihiro drifts into the company of many unusual characters, all of whom in some way misinterpret her purpose in this world (assuming of course that she has one). And many individual scenes or characters play out like Miyazaki's own wry take on Carroll's bizarre fantasy. The sequence of the baby being turned into a fat little mouse is like Alice shrinking after sipping the bottle marked 'Drink Me', while No-Face is a spookier version of The Cheshire Cat, and Yubaba and her twin sister Zeniba fill in for the red and white queens from Through The Looking-Glass. But there is so much more to Spirited Away than a join-the-dots parallel with Alice in Wonderland. For starters, Chihiro is not a conventional protagonist, either in her narrative arc or in the extent to which we empathise with her. Instead of immediately bonding with her, like we would with Nausicaa or Kiki, we initially find her an irritating brat; she is cowardly, prone to sulking and stamps her feet when she doesn't get her way. When her parents are turned into pigs by gorging themselves on the ghostly food, we bond with Chihiro since she is the only human character remaining in this ever-creepier world (at least, until Haku turns up some minutes later). Much like Pan's Labyrinth a few years later, we adopt the viewpoint of the central character so closely that when the fantasy elements are introduced we accept them with open arms and wide eyes. No matter how bizarre, surreal or downright strange Miyazaki's designs become over the next two hours, we remain totally absorbed in Chihiro as a character. Although her overall goal may be to save her parents, Chihiro's arc through Spirited Away is not to be a hero, but to survive. Lost in a world which she has no hope of understanding, she relies on her own judgment in choosing who to trust and when to trust them. She does not enter the world of the gods with the intention of destroying a great villain, with most of her major acts being accidental or having consequences which are unintentional. Sometimes this works out in her favour, in the case of the River God; other times, in the case of No-Face, it almost claims her life. Chihiro's search for her parents is both a literal and a metaphorical one, being bound up with the search for her own identity. When Yubaba allows her to work in the bathhouse, she steals Chihiro's name and begins calling her Sen; Haku warns Sen that unless she remembers her own name, she will be trapped here forever. Chihiro came into the ghost world at a crossroads of her own identity, having been forced to part from her old self with the move. The theft of her name represents the death of her childhood self; she must decide what must be erected in its place, and what role her parents must play in her life after she returns to reality. Just as in Princess Mononoke, the characters in Spirited Away walk a tightrope between good and evil in which our definitions of either do not carry much weight. This is a world in which loyalties are if not constantly shifting then very difficult to pin down; as before, we have to trust our heroine's judgment because her perspective is all we have to go on. The film tricks us beautifully into believing that the friendly can be threatening or vice versa, making something as simple as a paper man be really scary or an eight-armed, spidery mechanic be deeply endearing. This richness and ambiguity make Chihiro's process of self-realisation more compelling, as Miyazaki avoids the painting-by-numbers character development of recent Disney efforts. Her relationship with No-Face in particular is a learning curve in which she learns to adjust her impetuous naivety to something more mature, while retaining her belief in everyone's capacity to do good. Even when No-Face is chasing her while regurgitating black sludge, Sen is motivated less by out-and-out fear than a desire to help him overcome himself even at the cost of her own life. It is this form of sheer selflessness which endears her and which eventually saves her. Just as Mulholland Drive used its characters to examine the nature of filmmaking past and present, so the spirit world of Spirited Away reflects modern-day Japan, looking to its imperial past as it drifts ever more away from it. When Chihiro's parents find the town, they remark it must be an old theme park, saying that many were built before the economic downturn in the early-1990s. The gluttony of her parents reflects the consequences of this downturn and the difference between generations, while the scenes with the River God tap into issues of pollution previously explored in Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind. The design of Spirited Away is staggeringly beautiful, incorporating elements of both hand-drawn animation and CG techniques to reinterpret themes from Miyazaki's previous works. There is the same use of rapid background movement in frames, so that whole cities seem to rush by while Chihiro and Haku rush through the streets in perfect clarity. The film is deeply dreamlike in places, particularly the scenes which take place in or around water and which are complimented by the beautiful score by Joe Hasaishi. But Miyazaki is not just a genius where light is concerned; his darker tones are extraordinary too, from the thick sludge spewed forth by No-Face to the fire that spews from Yubaba's mouth. On top of everything else, Spirited Away is a proper children's film in its accessible and intelligent treatment of themes and characters. Its blend of darkness and light is note-perfect, so although there are many scenes which are creepy or strange, there is more than enough in the way of humour to compensate. In fact, it's surprisingly laugh-out-loud, with the bouncing heads, the balls of soot or the baby-turned-mouse being so adorable that they threaten to steal the show. Spirited Away is a truly astonishing animation which marks the high point in a career of already dizzying heights. Its thematic richness and subtle storytelling are matched only by its impeccable level of craft, with Miyazaki at the top of his game in every respect. Even after a dozen viewings it never fails to work its magic, bringing out the childlike spirit in even the most cold-hearted viewer. It is the Pan's Labyrinth of animation, and nothing more needs to be said.

• Brad W

  
  An animated masterpiece. Spirited Away was to good for words. The plot was dramatic and heartfelt. The animation was hard to believe it was hand drawn. If you need a movie thats as good as this one, it'll be hard.

• Thomas B

  
  One of the best animated movies ever. Profound, moving and texturally astounding, Miyazaki is a force of nature. Full review later.

• Conner R

  
  I remember having a similar experience to Princess Mononoke when I watched this a few years ago. I really don't care for this style and execution of animation at all. The concepts are too outlandish, in the worst way possible, and I just don't understand the complete and… More
  I remember having a similar experience to Princess Mononoke when I watched this a few years ago. I really don't care for this style and execution of animation at all. The concepts are too outlandish, in the worst way possible, and I just don't understand the complete and utter worship of everything Hayao Miyazaki has made. The animation itself is not impressive in the least, nor are the characters and story. This was another incredibly heavy handed, overly symbolic plot that distanced me far away from any sort of enjoyment.

• Pierluigi P

  
  Little girl wandering through hades is in most cases synonym of great cinema

• Jens S

  
  Another one of Miyazaki's animated adventures. While it is almost impossible to understand this collection of odd creatures and weird events, it's still hard not to like it. The sheer depth of this fantastic world and the sometimes silly sometimes beautiful looking… More
  Another one of Miyazaki's animated adventures. While it is almost impossible to understand this collection of odd creatures and weird events, it's still hard not to like it. The sheer depth of this fantastic world and the sometimes silly sometimes beautiful looking characters manage to entertain over the full two hours. The reasons behind all those things that are happening in this movie remain uncertain, answers are not given. But maybe that's even part of the trick. Absolutely fascinating and mesmerizing.

• Unknown H

  
  I cannot say that I am great fan of Anime/Manga or whatever this movie fits into but with the exception of "The Death Note" this movie really is one of my favorites of that general genre. To western eyes the story line seems odd, but then to most it would. We go with Chihero… More
  I cannot say that I am great fan of Anime/Manga or whatever this movie fits into but with the exception of "The Death Note" this movie really is one of my favorites of that general genre. To western eyes the story line seems odd, but then to most it would. We go with Chihero (apologies to die hard fans for spellings) on an adventure through a world where spirits rule and humans are not accepted kindly. This story centres around love, loyalty and above all the importance of not only remembering your name, but remembering where you are from. It is a charming film with the charisma of a thousand second rate attempts that I could not shake from my head for weeks after I saw it the first time. It now has a proud place in my favorite movies list and I am happy I found it and fell in love.

• Keiko A

  
  Studio Ghibli Project 2 Directed by Hayao Miyazaki and voices by Rumi Hiiragi, Miyu Irino, Mari Natsuki and Yumi Tamai Eirin rating PG-12 I must admit how powerful this movie that takes you right into the looking-glass similar to Alice in Wonderland but then again this movie… More
  Studio Ghibli Project 2 Directed by Hayao Miyazaki and voices by Rumi Hiiragi, Miyu Irino, Mari Natsuki and Yumi Tamai Eirin rating PG-12 I must admit how powerful this movie that takes you right into the looking-glass similar to Alice in Wonderland but then again this movie is so hard to like. To me this is extremely overrated I mean this animated feature is so wired and hard to follow, I was looking at my dvd collection while watching this and felt like viewing Deep Red instead. But I did like it but to me it's not 100% stuff I would have called it the best movie ever when I first saw it and that very same day I saw Battle Royale. The story begins as Chihiro and her parents take a wrong turn down a dirt path while traveling to their new home in the country side. They discover a tunnel at the bottom of the path which leads them into an old abandoned theme park. While Chihiro and her parents explore the place they come across a place full of restraunts filled with all different kinds of delicious foods. Chihiro's parents then start helping themselves to some food. As Chihiro leaves her parents and starts exploring the place herself she comes upon a bridge only to be found by a boy named Haku. The boy then tells Chihiro that she must leave before nightfall. She then runs off to find her parents only to find them as pigs. Chihiro gets scared and runs off to the river only to find it full of water. She then runs off and hides, Haku then comes looking for Chihiro promising her that he will help her save her parents but the only way was for Chihiro to get a job in the bathhouse for the Gods and spirits. I tried to watch the English dub once upon time couldn't sit throw it all just made the movie seem even worse. Watched the Italian dub made it seem like a whole new movie! But really the movie plot is so confusing it just jumps from scene to scene and not much ever makes sense on what is going on. You should see Lucio Fulci's films us teens dub him as the Italian Miyazaki, but he was better than Miyazaki ever was. 65% for story: Not Miyazaki best attempt on creating a whole story filled with our Mythology which just overloads the film. [IMG]http://i53.tinypic.com/s60pkz.jpg[/IMG] 70% for dubbing: Not great but some smart dialogue that's sometimes hard to follow. 90% for animation: It looks fantastic despite some flaws and some extremely creative designs. Still I like traditional over CGI and all that. 75% for characters: I don't know what the Big Hype on Chihiro or Haku is I mean I have seen better. Take Mike Logan for example from Cannibal Ferox I have a poster of him on my wall NOW THAT'S A CHARACTER! He sniffs cocaine and shoots innocent natives but still gets down with all the girls, lol. Back in the 80s every Japanese girl would have had a poster of Giovanni Lombardo Radice, as Mike Logan. [IMG]http://i56.tinypic.com/2d8gu8l.jpg[/IMG] 65% for everything, Wonderful music but still such a dull pace. Look of course people will disagree I welcome that but I just find this movie hard to watch that's all. Keiko's score 69-100

• Gordon A

  
  Effortlessly transports you to a magical realm with incredible animation and fantastical characters.

• Ariuza k

  
  Miyazaki has nothing short of an amazing imagination to create such a film with all the color and amazing designs of all characters and things in it. This has got to be the most flawless movie in history but wait??? I can't stick this as my favourite movie even though it goes… More
  Miyazaki has nothing short of an amazing imagination to create such a film with all the color and amazing designs of all characters and things in it. This has got to be the most flawless movie in history but wait??? I can't stick this as my favourite movie even though it goes there that easy and that's because it's to well known and millions call this there favourite movie. So I can't and anyway Cannibal Holocaust is my favourite movie now that's amazing exploitation with graphic violence and amazing scenes of death and blood that drips red. I think we all know the story of Ten-year-old Chihiro who is moving to a new town but they take a wrong turn and end up at some amusement park that's been deserted for god knows how long. But they don't realise they have stepped into the spirit world and not long after her parents become pigs and Chihiro is all alone but not long for when Haku a white river spirit saves her and gets her a job working there. Then its likely we know the rest, Simply the story is amazing I saw this when it was first out and I just thought the ending was so sad and happy at the same time. I think its wonderfully done and a better version of Alice in Wonderland. Insded we don't have some pot smoking caterpillar. I think the characters are to die for Chihiro, Haku, Lin, And just really everyone its just that incredible. They are designed so you can remember then forever and the all the art work done on the bathhouse is just incredible too Miyazaki has just put a load of creativity into it along with really everything else. By the way obversly this movie is based on Alice in Wonderland. You can see the similarities. I think the score and music is awesome and likely one of my top ten but I still think Cannibal Holocaust has the best score too it and it always will. I don't think I need to talk about anything else its just amazing let me just stick it at that. But I can't call it my favorite movie or my top 10 because so Meany already do. You will never forget this movie. Its still one massive work of art.

• Michael E

  
  being a fan of anime it should come as no surprise that i love this film, but this anime film blows away all other ones, Miyazaki truly has made some magic and fantastic movies but this one is the best, its dark, beautiful, magical, entertaining, and wonderful. The scene with the… More
  being a fan of anime it should come as no surprise that i love this film, but this anime film blows away all other ones, Miyazaki truly has made some magic and fantastic movies but this one is the best, its dark, beautiful, magical, entertaining, and wonderful. The scene with the dragon is spectacular to look at, along with the scene with the stink monster. The movie also had some intense scenes for a PG film like the scene with the mask creature chasing Sin through the tower with his mouth hanging out throwing up and the scene where the dragon is having trouble scarfing down the medicine. but this movie is truly one of the most fantastic films made in the anime genre

• Jennifer D

  
  A lovely and creative story. A beautiful story of strength and courage.

Read all 20 featured audience ratings