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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 critic A-Z; 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

Initially seems like a Through the Looking-Glass fantasy, but rapidly picks up a resonance, weight and complexity that make it all but Shakespearean.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
06/24/06
Derek Adams
Derek Adams
Time Out

Miyazaki understands the magic Disney intended, and he elevates it to a higher realm of dreamy, worldly mysticism that is appealing to children of all ages and temperaments.

Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix | comment Comment
09/21/02
Peg Aloi
Peg Aloi
Boston Phoenix

Miyazaki has created such a vibrant, colorful world, it's almost impossible not to be swept away by the sheer beauty of his images.

Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment Comment
09/26/02
Ethan Alter
Ethan Alter
Film Journal International

An animation landmark as monumental as Disney's 1937 breakthrough Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
09/20/02
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

It's a beautiful experience, nearly perfect with a fragile flowing fluid score.

Full Review Source: Hollywood Report Card | comment Comment
09/19/02
Ross Anthony
Ross Anthony
Hollywood Report Card

I struggled to find the source of imperfection in this film

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

The spark of special anime magic here is unmistakable and hard to resist.

Full Review Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer | comment Comment
09/19/02
William Arnold
William Arnold
Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Kudos to the most enchanting film of the year.

Full Review Source: Palo Alto Weekly | comment Comment
09/17/02
Jeanne Aufmuth
Jeanne Aufmuth
Palo Alto Weekly

'Mostrando un profundo respeto por el mundo espiritual, Miyazaki logra una verdadera joya de la animación que a veces raya en lo poético'

Full Review Source: Moviola | comment Comment
01/09/04
Jorge Avila Andrade
Jorge Avila Andrade
Moviola

Steeped in lore and unabashedly surreal, the film is just charming enough for children and just bizarre enough for adults -- a perfect balance.

comment Comment
09/25/02
Joe Baltake
Joe Baltake
Sacramento Bee

Miyazaki has provided another triumph, and, in the midst of the quality fall-off of Disney's in-house animated projects, a reason for animation-lovers to rejoice.

Full Review Source: ReelViews | comment Comment
09/22/02
James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli
ReelViews

This gorgeous epic is guaranteed to lift the spirits of the whole family.

Full Review Source: South Florida Sun-Sentinel | comment Comment
10/17/02
Peter Bernard
Peter Bernard
South Florida Sun-Sentinel

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

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

Visually imaginative, thematically instructive and thoroughly delightful, it takes us on a roller-coaster ride from innocence to experience without even a hint of that typical kiddie-flick sentimentality.

Full Review Source: Orlando Sentinel | comment Comment
10/10/02
Jay Boyar
Jay Boyar
Orlando Sentinel

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

Nothing short of wonderful with its ten-year-old female protagonist and its steadfast refusal to set up a dualistic battle between good and evil.

Full Review Source: Spirituality and Practice | comment Comment
09/19/02
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Spirituality and Practice

Miyazaki confía en la inteligencia del público y en su capacidad de asombro, y ambas cosas las pone a prueba constantemente en este viaje extraordinario donde todo, cualquier cosa, puede pasar en cualquier momento.

Full Review Source: Uruguay Total | comment Comment
09/23/03
Enrique Buchichio
Enrique Buchichio
Uruguay Total
 
 
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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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