RUNNING TIME - 125 minutes STARRING - Daveigh Chase, Jason Marsden, Suzanne Pleshette CERTIFICATE - PG

Rating: 8/10 (1 January 2005)

Chihiro and her parents are driving to their new house. She's upset to leave her old friends and school. When her father gets them lost in the woods, they stumble across what appears to be an abandoned amusement park. Chihiro wanders off and is sucked into a bath-house in a new world, a world of spirits. Chihiro is guided by Haku, henchman of the witch who controls the bath-house. The two of them work hard together to help Chihiro escape and rescue her parents. The youngster proves herself to be as independent as any spirit and fights through many distractions and inconveniences to return to her own world. Even though she's scared and upset, she makes some close friends among the eccentric characters she meets.
I've loved Miyazaki's work as long as I have known it but nothing compares to the experience of Spirited Away. I had not heard of the movie and had seen no trailers, so the unexpected animation was almost perfect. The characters were quite unique and no sane viewer would refuse the offer to follow the child in her enchanting adventure.
For years, I've always thought that one of the most important factors of a good movie is the way the title is presented at the beginning and there is no better example to prove my point than in this film. The music is completely overwhelming, especially the attractive sequence displayed at the beginning and repeated throughout.
There is very little criticism available, only that it's possible that the unique imagination of Hayou Miyazaki is not appreciated to the extent it should be by the viewers.
I've read other reviews and think it's unfair to compare the work with Disney's as the last thing I would call this feature is a 'children's' movie. The two styles are aiming at different audiences and both succeed.