Movie Review: Spirited Away

Spirited Away is an animated movie by Hayao Miyazaki, dubbed by English voice actors to tell a fantasy of a girl getting lost in the spirit world. This movie is a full-length animated film that sets you into a mystical spirit world, that’s settled by witches, spirits, or just plan creepy creatures, such as No Face.

Chihiro, a young girl whom is drawn to life by Miyazaki, is moving to a new city, but misses her friends dearly. While attempting to take a shortcut, her dad drives into a dead end that seem to leads into an abandoned temple. After passing through the cave, they find themselves on a grassy hill that a Chinatown-like development sits atop. The area seems abandoned but the scent of food fills the air. While Chihiro’s parents gorge themselves, she wonders around the town. When she finds her parents again, they both had turned into pigs.

Chihiro finds that she’s stuck in this spiritual world, and cannot get back for the once grassy fields turned into a large mass of water. To get her parents back to normal, Chihiro gets a job at the local bathhouse for the spirits, suggested by the mysterious Haku, ran by the witch Yubaba. She meets new people, and befriends them while trying to save her parents. Chihiro finds that saving her parents are far on the trail of adventures she faced. From helping a powerful spirit, to saving her new love, Spirited Away is a beautifully animated tale that whisks you away to the mind of Hayao Miyazaki.