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Movies / Upcoming / Spirited Away
Spirited Away

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Spirited Away (2002)

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Reviews Counted:30

Fresh:30

Rotten:0

Average Rating:8.7/10

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 - 11 (sorted by date; 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
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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
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Despite a dip midway through, this is a captivating fantasy that sets a new benchmark for animation.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
12/30/06
Patrick Peters
Patrick Peters
Empire Magazine
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A cultural wildcard experience: wacky, different, unusual, even nutty.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
09/20/02
Desson Thomson
Desson Thomson
Washington Post
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Like old myths and wonder tales spun afresh.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
09/20/02
Jane Horwitz
Jane Horwitz
Washington Post
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Even though Disney released this film, Spirited Away points up just how by-the-numbers the studio's fare can be.

Full Review Source: USA Today | comment Comment
09/20/02
Claudia Puig
Claudia Puig
USA Today
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This is one of the year's best films.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
09/20/02
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
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The magic (and original running time) of ace Japanimator Hayao Miyazaki's Spirited Away survives intact in BV's re-voiced version.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
09/19/02
Derek Elley
Derek Elley
Variety
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A marriage between the power of Mononoke and the lively pop-pop-pop of his film My Friend Totoro.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
09/19/02
Elvis Mitchell
Elvis Mitchell
New York Times
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If you're dispirited by look-alike, sound-alike, think-alike movies, disturbed by an art form that seems not only to tolerate, but also to reward a paucity of imagination, you're not going to believe your luck.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment Comment
09/19/02
Kenneth Turan
Kenneth Turan
Los Angeles Times
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An amazing piece of work.

Full Review Source: Ebert & Roeper | comment Comment
09/16/02
Richard Roeper
Richard Roeper
Ebert & Roeper
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1 - 11 (sorted by date; 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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