One of the most amazing films ever made!

Rating: 10/10 (11 October 2008)

A 10 year old girl Chihiro and her parents are moving to a new town, when they get lost on the way. They arrive to what seems to be an empty amusement park in where they find tables filled with delicious food, even when there seems to be not a soul around. Greed possesses both mom and dad and they start to eat from the tables. Sadly, it turns out that the amusement park is actually a gateway to another dimension, and the food was meant for many Gods and spirits who dwell there. A powerful witch Yubaba transforms Chihiro's parents to pigs. To save herself and her parents, Chihiro starts to work in Yubaba's bathhouse. There she meets a young dragon-boy Haku, a big sister like Lin and a strange spirit called No-Face who starts to stalk Chihiro.
After the success of his masterpiece "Princess Mononoke", Hayao Miyazaki planned to retire from animation business. Thank God, some quality time with family persuaded Miyazaki to return to Studio Ghibli and make this, his second masterpiece, and in my opinion his best film. "Spirited Away" (Sen to Chihiro no kamikakushi, 2001) is the most visually amazing, imaginative and heart warming animation I have ever seen (and should definitely have a place in Top 10 Best Fantasy films ever- list). Not only is this, again in my opinion, best Miyazaki film, it is also best Ghibli film and, if not the best, one of the best animations ever made. This film shows more imaginative story telling and detailed characters than all the Star Wars films together. Miyazaki's regular composer, Joe Hisaishi, also deserves special mentioning. Although his music has always been perfect for Miyazaki's earlier films, I really think that he too reached completely new levels here. From the simplest piano notes to the full orchestra symphony, Hisaishi creates some of the most beautiful music I have ever heard inwell, anywhere really.
Not only visually fantastic, the movie also manages to keep a very clear plot together and create actually characters viewer truly cares about. Chihiro, despite her rather fantastic surroundings, appears as a very realistic little girl. She is incredibly clumsy at times (I am amazed she didn't break any of her bones during the film) and at times can't take anymore of her new situation and just wants to curl up and cry. Despite that she does finds the energy and determination to strive forward. You just can't help but love her. Also her first-love romance with Haku is really touching.
"Spirited Away" is Hayao Miyazaki's own kind of version of "Alice in Wonderland" and also the most fantastic movie he has made. The film deserved to be awarded with the best animation Oscar in 2001. If Miyazaki ever creates a movie that can surpass this one, as both visually and emotionally fantastic, then he is not a man but a God. One of the most amazing films ever to come across.