One of the best films. Period.

Rating: 10/10 (9 September 2014)

First off, I don't watch much anime (or at least I used too) but spirited away blew me away. It's the film that got me into anime movie (mainly Ghibli's).
(MINOR spoilers) A girl and her family (mom,dad) are moving to a new city, when they get lost trying to find their new house, they find what seems to (to the father at least) to be an abandoned carnival. The parents find food laying out in the open at one of the shops; they eat it vowing to pay later. It turns out the food is ghosts/spirits food and they get turned into pigs. The daughter, Chichiro, is casts into a new world filled with spirits, monsters, ghosts, witches and more! She must learn how to escape and save her parents.
The pacing of this film is very well done, it doesn't go fast nor slow but rather naturally progresses. The animation style seems sort of westernized, so it might be easier to watch if you're used to western animation. The two things that really stood out for me though where the soundtrack and the characters. The soundtrack sets the tone for each scene amazingly. The music for the scenes with no face really get you into it, the song Kaonashi ( or no face) has a sort of mystery and ambiance in it that fully engage you in the film. Second, all of the characters are so full of life and personality; from the simple soot balls to chichiro, even no face who can't even talk has a big personality! Overall I loved this film to death, No face, was an amazing character that intrigued me. Go watch spirited away if you haven't! even if you hate anime!