A story of a young girl being whisked away to another world of magic and mystery is fairly common in anime these days, but when the story comes to life by the hands of Hayao Miyazaki and Joe Hisaishi, it's bound to turn some heads. Miyazaki is renowned for his positive and thought-provoking stories (in fact, he is often referred to as the Walt Disney of Japanese animation), and Spirited Away lives up to this standard with ease.

The story revolves around a 10 year-old girl named Chihiro Ogino. She begins the story by sulking as her parents move her to a new home in a different town. Her father gets lost in looking for their new house, and they end up on a dirt road. Thinking it's a shortcut, her father stays on the road until they reach an obstacle that they can't drive around. Curious as to what this old place is, the family enters through a dark tunnel to find an abandoned amusement park. In wandering the park, they find a food stall with a bunch of newly prepared food! Chihiro's parents dig in, expecting to pay when a clerk arrives. Chihiro refuses to eat though, because she is wary of the whole place.

Chihiro then wanders to another part of the park, where she notices smoke coming out of a large building. As she approaches the building, she is stopped by a boy named Haku, who directs her to leave the park immediately, before the sun sets. Unfortunately, she's too late, and finds that her parents have been transformed into pigs! The amusement park she and her family had wandered into is actually a sort of haven for wayward spirits, a place to relax. It is run very much like a business, headed up by the witch Yu-Baaba. The rest of the story explores Chihiro's initial fear and confusion, and eventual boost in confidence and wisdom. It's interesting to watch her transform from a spoiled little girl into one with an uncommon grasp on what's important in life, all in the span of a few days. The chief strength in the story is (rightfully) Chihiro's character. She's incredibly cute, and her traits and experiences are believable. She's not the only reason to watch the film though. Spirited has a full cast of unique and interesting characters, both in appearance and manner.

Daddy, are we there yet? I have to go to the bathroom!	How many times do I have to tell you to CALL first!?

Spirited Away is intriguing on many levels, not just the surface. The spirits display human traits for the most part, as if they still live. There are businesses and customers, workers and guests. Greed plays a big part in this story, when a rich outsider comes to bathe. The film does an excellent job in showing the consequences of that greed and the virtues of honorable behavior. Another interesting facet of the film is its spin on the old "What's in a name?" adage. Yu-Baaba changes the names of all her workers to rob them of their individuality. One of Chihiro's struggles during her time in the spirit world is in remaining herself. The story did not disappoint even for a second, and has a lot to offer to just about any audience.

The animation for Spirited Away is well done in some places, and breathtaking in others. The level of fluidity and grace of motion seen in this film is a rarity in anime. The character designs are the standard fare for a Ghibli film, so those who like the looks of previous Miyazaki characters will most likely enjoy the designs for Spirited. Chihiro, Yu-Baaba, and a few others are fairly unique in design, even for Ghibli characters, but Haku and Rin almost appear to have come right out of Princess Mononoke.

Spirited's music is another area that can be judged by previous experience with Ghibli films. Those who enjoy Hisaishi's previous works will almost certainly enjoy the music in this movie. Hisaishi's music typically has blended rather well with Miyazaki's talents, and Spirited Away is no exception. You could call the two the dynamic duo of anime film-making.

Chihiro's enthralling story is the reason to watch Spirited Away. As an added bonus though, it packs a great cast which is expertly animated, and excellent music to boot. I can think of no reason to miss this movie.

Distributor: Disney
Creator: Studio Ghibli
Released: 2001

Plot: A+
Character Design: A-
Animation Quality: A
Music: A-
Overall: A