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Movies / Upcoming / Spirited Away
Spirited Away

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Spirited Away (2002)

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Reviews Counted:154

Fresh:150

Rotten:4

Average Rating:8.5/10

Consensus: Hayao Miyazaki's dazzling, enchanting Spirited Away takes viewers, young and old alike, through the looking glass.

Runtime: 2 hrs 12 mins

Genre: Childrens

US Box Office: $9,855,615

Synopsis: Directed by animation legend Hayao Miyazaki, SPIRITED AWAY is the tale of Chihiro (voiced by Daveigh Chase), a young girl who is taken down an unusual road by her parents while moving to a new home... Directed by animation legend Hayao Miyazaki, SPIRITED AWAY is the tale of Chihiro (voiced by Daveigh Chase), a young girl who is taken down an unusual road by her parents while moving to a new home in an unfamiliar town. The curiosity of Chihiro's mother (Lauren Holly) and father (Michael Chiklis) leads the reluctant child into what appears to be an abandoned amusement park. Soon her parents are greedily feasting on various delights from an enticing food stand and are literally turned into pigs. The frightened and bewildered girl then encounters a young man named Haku (Jason Marsden), who explains what she must do to navigate this strange and magical realm. Finding employment in a bathhouse for spirits and other odd characters--including kimono-wearing frogs, lumbering tentacled monsters, and a mysterious apparition named No Face--Chihiro attempts to figure out how she can free her parents from the clutches of the resort's owner, a powerful witch named Yubaba (Suzanne Pleshette). In the process, she makes some very eccentric friends--and has to deal with some notoriously stinky customers. A surreal adventure reminiscent of Lewis Carroll's ALICE IN WONDERLAND, SPIRITED AWAY continues Miyazaki's streak of groundbreaking animated films that also includes PRINCESS MONONOKE and MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO. Succeeding MONONOKE as the most successful film in Japanese cinema history, this charming movie follows its own bizarre yet engaging logic as it reveals a cast of fascinating characters and jaw-dropping settings through stunningly beautiful hand-crafted animation. A movie experience like no other, SPIRITED AWAY is sure to enchant audiences of all ages, leaving viewers grinning with a giddy sense of wonderment. [More]

Starring: Daveigh Chase, Jason Marsden, Michael Chiklis, Susan Egan

Starring: Daveigh Chase, Jason Marsden, Michael Chiklis, Susan Egan, Lauren Holly, Suzanne Pleshette, David Ogden Stiers, John Ratzenberger

Director: Hayao Miyazaki

Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Screenwriter: Hayao Miyazaki
Composer: Joe Hisaishi
Studio: Buena Vista Pictures

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Reviews for Spirited Away

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1 - 20 (sorted by comments; Australian critics are listed first)
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The most enchanting thing about Miyazaki's work is his desire to do just that -- enchant.

Full Review Source: Sydney Morning Herald | comment Comment
03/07/03
Sandra Hall
Sandra Hall
Sydney Morning Herald
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A rich and fantastic world awaits us in this extraordinary film from Hayao Miyazaki (and a crew of thousands), through which our little heroine has to progress and learn responsibility amidst great dangers and fearsome spirits.

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
12/08/02
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Yes, Spirited Away is a triumph of imagination, but it’s also a failure of storytelling.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment 16 Comments
04/11/03
David Cornelius
David Cornelius
eFilmCritic.com

Something akin to a Japanese Alice Through the Looking Glass, except that it seems to take itself far more seriously.

Full Review Source: SPLICEDWire | comment 11 Comments
09/25/02
Rob Blackwelder
Rob Blackwelder
SPLICEDWire

Sorry, y'all -- I give up.

Full Review Source: Film Snobs | comment 10 Comments
11/03/02
Stephen Himes
Stephen Himes
Film Snobs

'Alice's adventure through the looking glass and into zombie-land' is filled with strange and wonderful creatures.

Full Review Source: TheMovieChicks.com | comment 6 Comments
10/04/02
Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone
Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone
TheMovieChicks.com

Think you're too hip for Japanese anime about a lost ten-year-old girl whose parents turn into snorting pigs? Get over it.

Full Review Source: Rolling Stone | comment 3 Comments
08/14/07
Peter Travers
Peter Travers
Rolling Stone

I struggled to find the source of imperfection in this film

Full Review Source: Draxblog Movie Reviews | comment 1 Comment
09/20/05
Dragan Antulov
Dragan Antulov
Draxblog Movie Reviews

The best animated feature to hit theaters since Beauty and the Beast 11 years ago.

Full Review Source: Creative Loafing | comment 1 Comment
11/20/02
Matt Brunson
Matt Brunson
Creative Loafing

When animators go to animator heaven, they will probably view drawings of the caliber of those in Sprited Away.

Full Review Source: Internet Reviews | comment 1 Comment
09/17/02
Steve Rhodes
Steve Rhodes
Internet Reviews

This animated adventure from genre superstar Hayao Miyazaki has spirit to spare.

Full Review Source: E! Online | comment Comment
09/20/02
E! Online
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch | comment Comment
10/11/02
St. Louis Post-Dispatch

It almost goes without saying that the animation is jaw dropping.

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
09/20/02
Aaron Lazenby
Aaron Lazenby
Filmcritic.com

La cinta animada más hermosa que he visto jamás.

Full Review Source: Cinenganos | comment Comment
10/22/02
Alex Ramirez
Alex Ramirez
Cinenganos

Spirited Away is a trip, in the literal, metaphorical and indeed lysergic senses of that word.

Full Review Source: Salon.com | comment Comment
09/26/02
Andrew O'Hehir
Andrew O'Hehir
Salon.com

Even if CG cartoons come to dominate Japan as they do much of the world, there's a corner of the animation field that will be forever Miyazaki.

Full Review Source: Sight and Sound | comment Comment
09/03/03
Andrew Osmond
Andrew Osmond
Sight and Sound

'Alice in Wonderland meets the East...taking full advantage of the complex powers of anime and its freedom to go wherever the mind can imagine.'

Full Review Source: Metro Times (Detroit, MI) | comment Comment
10/12/02
Anita Schmaltz
Anita Schmaltz
Metro Times (Detroit, MI)

It races along with the speed of a bullet train, visiting weird, enchanted places the likes of which have never been seen before.

Full Review Source: Movie Gazette | comment Comment
10/28/03
Anton Bitel
Anton Bitel
Movie Gazette

It's the sort of film that gives rise to the awed question, 'How did he do that?'

Full Review Source: culturevulture.net | comment Comment
01/05/03
Arthur Lazere
Arthur Lazere
culturevulture.net

Not as visually awesome as 'Princess Mononoke,' but more appealing to youngsters. A wonderful combination of simplicity and spectacle.

Full Review Source: ReelTalk Movie Reviews | comment Comment
09/19/02
Betty Jo Tucker
Betty Jo Tucker
ReelTalk Movie Reviews
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by comments; Australian critics are listed first)
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Latest News for Spirited Away

September 24, 2008: Get Drawn to RT's Best Animated Films!
Animated films: they ain't just cartoons anymore. Nor have they been for quite some time. RT celebrates the imaginative, dazzling world of animation with out countdown of the... More...

August 21, 2008: Japanese Audiences Flocking to Miyazaki's Latest Opens in new window
He delighted audiences with Spirited Away and Howl's Moving Castle -- and now director Hayao Miyazaki is doing it all over again with his latest film, Ponyo on the Cliff by the... More...

March 20, 2007: Will Miyazaki's Next Film Be His Last?
It's been speculated that legendary animator Hayao Miyazaki will retire after the release of his next film, "Ponyo on a Cliff," but now it looks like we'll have at... More...

October 03, 2006: Miyazaki Prepares Next Animation Classic
Let's face it: When the director of "Spirited Away," "Princess Mononoke," and a whole bunch of other brilliant pieces of animation announces that he's about... More...

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