Fantasy is at its best when it touches the real world.

Rating: 7/10 (7 October 2003)

When the heroines parents turn into pigs as punishment for their greed, leaving a young girl to solve the problems of the fantasy world she has entered, the viewer is immediately sucked in too.
This animated feature is both vivid and entertaining, and while there is no attempt to be in original in the overall plot, the fantasy world depicted is certainly novel. The story is told in detail, from beginning to end, with charm and wit. While there is no doubt that this is Japanese, the film is on the whole Westerner friendly - the myths and fears pervading the story are ones most people are familiar with.
This is a very good time for animation - with the array of styles available to producers (the Animatrix displays many of these) writers can get on with their job and let the animators do their job. The result is films like Spirited Away. I think a lot more writers who previously would not have considered animation must now be taking a second look.