Watch the Japanese Version with Subtitles

Rating: 10/10 (30 July 2006)

At my friend's 12th birthday party we watched this movie, her absolute favorite movie of all time. I was extremely hesitant, especially when she insisted in watching it in Japanese with subtitles. However, being a polite guest I sat down to watch it with everybody else. After the first three minutes I was hooked. My friend had seen the movie multiple times and had visited every fan site known to human. She was an expert. The plot is complicated, but with my friend pausing to explain it here and there, it made it a lot more enjoyable. Several other users have commented on the art, (which is fantastic), but nobody has given the music the credit it deserves. Without any music the movie is excellent., ten stars. But with the music it is absolutely INCREDIBLE, a twenty on a scale of 1-10. Even one of the guests who isn't at all very musical was begging for a copy of the CD.
Anyway, at first I was very hesitant to sit and watch it. But I did, and now I am almost as big of a fan as the birthday girl herself. I have Yubaba as my computer's background and screen saver. I own the movie, the CD, the works. On the movie however, I watched the English version out of curiosity. It is TERRIBLE. Chihiro sounds like a spoiled brat throughout the movie. Also, it being a Japanese film, it sounds so much more beautiful with the Japanese version.
Thanks for taking the time to read this review. Rent Spirited Away and watch it in Japanese with subtitles. You won't regret it.