Spirited Away

                 Spirited Away

Welcome to a magical world that’ll make you a part of it. In this animated feature film Japanese director Hayao Miyazaki, 10-year-old Chihiro and her parents stumble upon a seemingly abandoned amusement park. After her mother and father turned into giant pigs for violating rule, Chihiro meets the mysterious Haku, who explains that the park is a resort for supernatural beings who need a break from their time spent in the earthly realm, and that she must work there to free herself and her parents.

(Source: Studio Ghibli)

The story of "Spirited Away" has been populated with limitless creativity, this film contained more different kinds of beings that we have never seen anywhere before. His story involves a 10-year-old girl named Chihiro, who isn't one of those cheerful little automatons that populate many animated films. She is described by many critics as "sullen." Her father loses the way in a dark forest, and the road seems to end at the entrance to a tunnel. Investigating it, they find it leads to an abandoned amusement park. But at dusk, some of the shops seem to reopen, especially a food shop whose fragrances steam into the cool air. Her parents fall eagerly upon the counter jammed with food, and stuff their mouths. Chihiro is stubborn and says she isn't hungry. Her parents eat so much they double or triple in size. They eat like pigs, and thus they become pigs.

(Source: Studio Ghibli)

The amusement park leads to a gigantic floating bathhouse, whose turrets and windows and ledges and ornamentation pile endlessly upon themselves. A friendly boy(Haku) warns her to return, but she is too late and the bathhouse casts off from the shore. Chihiro ventures inside, and finds a world of infinite variety. She cannot find her way out again. The boy says everyone must have a job, and sends her to Kamaji, an old bearded man with eight elongated limbs, who runs the boiler room. He and a young girl advise her to apply to Yubaba, who owns the bathhouse. This is a fearsome old witch who exhales plumes of smoke and a cackling laugh.

(Source: Studio Ghibli)

This is the beginning of an extraordinary adventure. Chihiro will meet no more humans in the bathhouse. She will be placed under a spell by Yubaba, who steals her name and gives her a new one, Sen. 

Sen makes her way through this world, befriended by some, shunned by others, threatened by Yubaba, learning as she goes.

Mr. Miyazaki's imagination never rests. There is a scene where the heroine and her companion “No-face” get off a train in the middle of a swamp. In the distant forest they see a light approaching. This turns out to be an old-fashioned light pole that is hopping along on one foot. It bows to them, turns, and lights the way on the path they must take. When they arrive at a cottage, it dutifully hangs itself above the gate. The living light pole is not necessary. It is a gift from Miyazaki. Watching the film is an wonderful experience.

(Source: Studio Ghibli)

The transformation of Chihiro from a sulky and fearful little girl into a resourceful, loving, sensitive, and respectful person is a marvel to behold. Her most magical moment comes when she embraces Haku's dark side which manifests as a dragon. Instead of turning against him, she reaches out to help him in his mission to discover his true identity. That's what is so remarkable about Spirited Away, it acknowledges the shadow elements in everyone and works with these warps as part of the process of soul-making.

(Source: Studio Ghibli)

Spirited Away, the most successful film ever to play in Japan, won the coveted Golden Bear Award at the 2002 Berlin Film Festival and  the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature Film(2003).

This remarkable film - finally released in Europe and America, two years after it was made - first entranced European audiences at the Berlin film festival. It is available in two versions: the Japanese original with subtitles, or, if you really want, dubbed with American voices. Spirited Away is fast and funny and wonderful.

A(Source: Studio Ghibli)