Chihiro (Daveigh Chase) is an apathetic, 10 year-old girl being forced to move to a new town with her parents. During the car ride to their new home, her father gets lost and they come across what looks to be an abandoned town. Chihiro is skeptical of the place, but her parents take advantage of some free food available at a restaurant, despite no one being around. Then things start to get weird. She is warned by a boy named Haku (Jason Marsden) to leave immediately, but her route back has turned into a river. She finds that her parents have turned into pigs and various types of spirits are now populating this mysterious town. It seems that she is now in a spirit world and must figure out how to get home. Spirited Away is probably the most well-known film to come from Studio Ghibli and the legendary anime director Hayao Miyazaki. It really stands out as an exemplary example of animated films. To start off with, the animation in this film is outstanding. There is a ton of detail in the background art that really helps to bring alive both the real world and the fantasy world that Chihiro spends most of the film in. The designs and animation of the characters themselves is well done and really helps make this film a memorable experience. This is especially notable with Chihiro herself who goes through many emotions and experiences throughout the film from her humorous reaction to meeting a stink spirit to a sad realization over her situation. The other characters are very memorable in their own right as well. Taking place in a fantasy setting really gave the creators of this film a lot of chances to come up with imaginative characters, such as the various spirits seen, and they used this opportunity well. This includes the witch-like Yubaba (Suzanne Pleshette) who runs the bathhouse along with the mysterious spirit No-Face (Bob Bergen) that follows Chihiro around. All other aspects of this film work as well. As I have already mentioned, the characters and story are well written and really help make this movie memorable. The music is top notch, composed by Ghibli regular Joe Hisaishi. In addition to this, I thought that Disney did a good job with their dub that stays faithful to the original story, for those that prefer dubs. This Blu-ray set comes with many bonus features. This includes a making-of movie, the original Japanese soundtrack, storyboards, and trailers. All in all, this is nothing short of an excellent animated film that is sure to be enjoyed by both kid and adult fans of animation. Read more
My kids love this movie. They always laugh at the funny parts. They don't ever get board of watch it. Read more
Love this movie. One of my favorites. Read more
Magnificent. Chihiro is transformed from a scaredy cat child to a confident, self-assured but kind and loving girl. Read more
I've been introducing my seven-year-old to several of Studio Ghibli offerings, such as Kiki's Delivery Service , Howl's Moving Castle , My Neighbor Totoro , Ponyo , and more recently Studio Ghibli: The Borrower Arrietty DVD (Licensed boxed version, Japanese audio version with Eng Sub) . I held off on showing her Spirited Away until today because I felt some elements such as the spirit world would be too scary for her until now. She watched it with me this afternoon and loved it! Before showing this to her, I explained some elements of Asian folklore (I am originally from Southeast Asia and could relate to some of the folklore underlying this story) so she could follow the story better, though this is not strictly necessary, especially for older viewers. Spirited Away follows the adventures of 10-year-old Chihiro who together with her parents is making a move from the city to the suburbs. Chihiro is not very happy about this move, and when her parents accidentally find themselves off the beaten path on their way to their new home, she discourages them from exploring. Chihiro has a strange sense of foreboding that this new place which her father presumes to be an abandoned theme park is much more than that and she is of course proven right. Her parents are turned into pigs after gorging on food they found at this place, which turns out to be inhabited by the spirit world. In Asian folklore, there is an emphasis on respecting old superstitions, which includes belief in the spirit world inhabited by the Gods and otherworldly creatures. When Chihiro's parents gorged on food meant for the spirits, they were being very disrespectful and so are punished accordingly. The rest of the story follows Chihiro's efforts, aided by the loyal Haku, to redeem her parents and make their escape from the malevolent witch Yubaba who rules over this world. The animation is simply amazing and conjures up a fantastical world of odd-looking creatures (that radish spirit was just out of this world!) in an alternate world that is vividly brought to life. The animation is superior but what makes this such a memorable film is the heartfelt story with its underlying theme of respect, loyalty,friendship, trust, and sacrifice. Chihiro's relentless efforts to save her parents credibly portrays the theme of filial piety and her courage and determination make her a true heroine, serving as a great role model for children. This is a film to be enjoyed by viewers of all ages, and I am so glad that I have the opportunity to share this remarkable film with my own child. P.S. Watch out for deals on Studio Ghibli films here on Amazon, as the prices tend to drop and I've been able to amass my very own Ghibli collection! Read more
One of the best movies I’ve ever watched to be honest I highly recommend it to anyone. That’s definitely not seen it and it’s definitely moving when I watch over and over again Read more
