Stunning (Minor spoilers)

Rating: 10/10 (14 July 2004)

"Spirited Away" is the story on a young girl, her parents, and their magical journey into a world inhabited by spirits from the living world. The parents, who have ignorantly taken food from the spirits, have been warped into pigs as punishment. Chihiro is left alone in a world that is foreign to her. Help arrives from Haku, who helps Chihiro find a safe place in the spirit world. Together, they try and find a way home for Chihiro and her parents. I had high expectations for this movie, seeing it in the top 50 of the Top 250 list on this site. But I had no idea that this movie would blow me away like it did. I hear some people complaining that this is a nightmarish movie that doesn't present a compelling story and is too scary for children. I think that they just need to open up to this movie and realize that this is competely different that what America is used to. The Japanese (even with such abominations as Pokemon, Power Rangers, Digimon, etc.) have such a broad imagination and such a unique way of story telling, something that is not often seen here in the U.S. In order to enjoy this movie, the viewer must open their mind and accept the world in which Chihiro travels to. The animation is nothing short of perfection. And the story is one of the best not only in the world of animation, but all of cinema. Chihiro begins as a sort of whiny little girl who complains about the major changes she is going through (She is moving to a new city). But the adventures she must endure in the spirit world change her. She begins to grow up and mature, while coming to understand the importance of selflessness. When Haku is attacked near the end of the film, she decides to put off everything else, even her parents, to try to save him. This is a must for any movie collection. The Japanese have given us very good things and very bad things. This, however, is truly their gem.

"Sen to Chihiro no kamikakushi" Spirited Away: ****