A young girl named Chihiro must find away to rescue herself and her parents after they are whisked a way to another world. A world where the spirits of Japan find solace and comfort in a traditional Japanese

Rating: Null/10 (5 July 2003)

I'm not a big fan of Japanese anime, however I found myself thoroughly enjoying this film. This movie has the ability to affect you on many different levels. At the lower level, it's a enjoyable adventure, that will appeal to audiences of all ages. Dig a little deeper however, and you will be confronted with such themes as gluttony, greed, courage, and kindness. Although these ideas have been played out in countless movies and books, what makes it special here, is when you see how western culture has invaded Japanese society, and how these problems are solved with traditional Japanese values. The voice acting is very good, one of the benchmarks that I use when judging voice acting is if I forget that the characters are animated then the film has succeeded, and this is certainly the case here. Suzanne Pleshette's performance as the evil Yubaba is particularly memorable, but of course you would be hard pressed to find a bad performance anywhere in this film. The DVD also comes loaded with special features. Of particular interest to me was a segment called behind the microphone, where the actors divulged their insights on the characters of this movie. This is definitely a movie that is worth watching, but I'll take it a step further and call it a movie worth owning.