Successful before a dual audience

Rating: 8/10 (6 January 2014)

For starters, and because the movie is originally Japanese, I have to speak of my admiration for the work of the voice acting department who did a great job in translating the movie for English audiences. I applaud in particular the work of Daveigh Chase who lends her voice to Sin, and performs very convincingly.
The animations in Spirited Away are probably the best I have ever seen. They are simple yet beautiful, and the creators have a real knack for detail. They succeed in making Sin feel very believable and lifelike in her actions as a teen girl.
The world Spirited Away presents is weird, and even after sitting through the whole movie, more questions will remain a mystery than answered. Although this can be seen as a deficiency, I see it as a pro. The world is so magically beautiful and unknown that, having answered no questions, it will stick in your head a long time after watching - keeping you wondering.
The story doesn't amount as much to the magnificence of this movie as the animations and fantastical world do, and is a mere classical child narrative. The protagonist heroine gets in trouble because of a mistake, is brought into a prickly situation by an evil character, but the resilience of the good-natured heroine - and some good-natured helpers - win out over evil. The story is not bad, considering Spirited Away has a child audience, and even add enough nuance in its characters to make them more interesting than black-and-white stereotypes.
The use of the theme of love and it's effect on the story is cliché here and will not surprise anyone in any way, but is not mellow and its subtle enough to be enjoyed by an older audience.
Spirited Away is a top-notch movie for children and can equally be enjoyed by an older audience. It successfully connects with a dual audience and should be applauded for that.