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Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.

Spirited Away
Walt Disney Pictures / Buena Vista Pictures


9.3

based on 36 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 601 votes
Read user comments
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FILM:

MPAA RATING: PG for some scary moments

Starring Daveigh Chase, Michael Chiklis, Susan Egan, Lauren Holly, Jason Marsden, John Ratzenberger, and Suzanne Pleshette

From the legendary director Hayao Miyazaki ("Princess Mononoke"), this film follows the fanciful adventures of a ten-year-old girl named Chihiro, who discovers a secret world when she and her family get lost and venture through a hillside tunnel. (Walt Disney Studios)

GENRE(S):	Fantasy
WRITTEN BY:	Hayao Miyazaki
DIRECTED BY:	Hayao Miyazaki
RELEASE DATE:	DVD: April 15, 2003 Video: April 15, 2003 Theatrical: September 20, 2002
RUNNING TIME:	124 minutes, Color
ORIGIN:	Japan
LANGUAGE(S):	Japanese (dubbed in English)

Original title "Sen to Chihiro no kamikakushi"; Winner, Best Animated Feature, 75th Annual Academy Awards; Best Film (tie), 2002 Berlin International Film Festival; Best Asian Film, 2002 Hong Kong Film Awards; All-time highest grossing-film in Japan

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100

Baltimore Sun Michael Sragow

A visual masterpiece about a scared little girl's breathtaking journey of self-discovery. All of the fun is getting there.

100

Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman

Yet its visual surrealism, identity-bending and strong social/ecological message make it as much an allegory as a fable.

100

New York Daily News Jack Mathews

Turns everything we know about the contemporary world on its head, and substitutes it with one in which spirits, monsters, magicians and animals mix it up in a carnival of energy, good humor and freewheeling illusion.

100

New Times (L.A.) Luke Y. Thompson

Probably like nothing you've ever seen before. In a cool world, it would be guaranteed not only the Best Animated Feature Oscar, but Best Picture as well.

100

TV Guide Frank Lovece

Serenely stunning.

100

Philadelphia Inquirer Steven Rea

Wondrously strange and just plain wonderful.

100

New York Post Lou Lumenick

A Japanese cross between "Alice in Wonderland" and "The Wizard of Oz" -- is such a landmark in animation that labeling it a masterpiece almost seems inadequate.

100

Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum

A triumph of psychological depth and artistic brilliance offered as the magical adventures of one skinny little girl.

100

LA Weekly David Chute

Does full honor to Miyazaki’s teeming and often unsettling landscape, and to the conflicted complexity of his characters: Not a single frame was cut, and the voice casting and performances are uniformly excellent.

100

Time Richard Corliss

Artful but not arty, Spirited Away is a handcrafted cartoon, as personal as an Utamaro painting, yet its breadth and heart give it an appeal that should touch American viewers of all ages.

100

Portland Oregonian Shawn Levy

Miyazaki is a genius, and this film is a masterpiece; go see it.

100

Variety Derek Elley

An out-and-out charmer. It's almost impossible to do justice in words either to the visual richness of the movie, which melanges traditional Japanese clothes and architecture with both Victorian and modern-day artifacts, or to the character-filled storyline, with human figures, harpies and grotesque creatures.

100

Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan

Prepare to be astonished by Spirited Away.

100

Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern

It is plainly, though not simply, a masterpiece from an acknowledged master of contemporary animation, and a wonderfully welcoming work of art that's as funny and entertaining as it is brilliant, beautiful and deep.

100

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

It's enchanting and delightful in its own way, and has a good heart. It is the best animated film of recent years, the latest work by Hayao Miyazaki, the Japanese master who is a god to the Disney animators.

100

New York Magazine Peter Rainer

The most deeply and mysteriously satisfying animated feature to come along in ages.

100

Empire Patrick Peters

The fact that Miyazaki and his team hand-draw the images before they're digitally coloured and animated gives them an artistry that has been woefully lacking from so many recent American features.

100

Dallas Observer Luke Y. Thompson

It would be a masterpiece in any language.

100

USA Today Claudia Puig

Director Hayao Miyazaki treats his audience as imaginative and intelligent human beings, rather than catering to kids with rote displays of silliness, stunts and scares.

The New York Times A.O. Scott

The towering, lost dreaminess at the heart of the film is an unmistakable obsession of this director.

The Hollywood Reporter David Hunter

Spirited dazzles and entertains like no other movie this year. It also comes to a satisfying conclusion and never once seems to take shortcuts. Miyazaki is one of world cinema's most wondrously gifted artists and storytellers.

Chicago Reader Ted Shen

Enchanting and impressively crafted.

The Onion (A.V. Club) Tasha Robinson

A wonderful encore, marked by the painstaking attention to detail and artful balance between terror and joy that make Miyazak's work unique.

Village Voice J. Hoberman

A very nutty fruitcake, Spirited Away is characterized by wonderfully detailed animation, packed with incident and populated by all manner of comic creatures.

Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov

Fiercely original in every respect.

ReelViews James Berardinelli

Overall, while Spirited Away may not be as complex and imaginative as "Princess Mononoke" in some areas, it is as beautifully rendered and no less sophisticated in its outlook. 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.

Chicago Tribune Michael Wilmington

It's a movie full of bewitching images and timeless fun and beauty.

Miami Herald Rene Rodriguez

Offers a ride worth taking -- an excursion through a fantastical pop universe that is pure, enchanting magic. Try it; you'll like it.

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Don Irvine

The most successful film ever released in Japan, and co-winner of the top prize at this year's Berlin film festival, Spirited Away is a complete reversal of the Hollywood way with animation.

Washington Post Jane Horwitz

Old myths and wonder tales spun afresh.

Salon.com Andrew O'Hehir

It will disturb you as much as thrill you, make you wonder whether the boundaries between life and death, reality and fantasy, imagination and insanity are ever what they appear to be.

Washington Post Desson Thomson

This movie -- which is equally appealing to children (those of adventurous, non-freak-outable spirit), Japanese animation (anime) fans, and any surviving acquaintances of Timothy Leary -- is so full of invention, you might want to take a breather now and then.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold

Has the power to transport us to a different place. The spark of special anime magic here is unmistakable and hard to resist.

San Francisco Chronicle C.W. Nevius

A lovely, evocative tour de force. So why does it seem we should be enjoying it more?

Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt

Too intense for the youngest viewers, but teenagers will enjoy it -- an ill-smelling "stink-god" character is almost worthy of a Kevin Smith gross-out movie -- and grown-ups should find it diverting, if not exactly deep.

Boston Globe Wesley Morris

Delivers chunks of ''Yellow Submarine'' and ''The Phantom Tollbooth'' -- a vividly timeless oddity suitable for many children and most stoners.

The average user rating for this movie is 9.3 (out of 10) based on 601 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Christos M gave it a10:
Hayao Miyazaki is a genius!The diversity of the enchanted world he creates is astonishing!It's a fine example of virtuous,untamed fantasy and powerful stoty -telling,a genre defining masterpiece.Breath taking!

Logan R gave it a10:
This is the greatest movie ever! From a great plot, to excellent animation, to originality, to the awesome music, this movie is the perfect movie that everybody much watch! Another great from Hayao Miyazaki!

Grant R. gave it a10:
This film is amazing. Definately my favourite. I do not understand how people can write reviews here that say it has terrible animation because quite frankly this is the best written and animated Japanese film out there. It has stunning locations which insite wonder and fasination and has amazing and fantastical characters and creatures which amuse and entertain the audience. The English voice acting is superbly done and matches the Japanese-made animation incredibly well. The story can be slightly confusing at first but what you have to remember is that this film was made by Japanese for a Japanese audience so us obnoxious Westeners are just going to have to accept that it is a different culture with different myths and the story is built around those. This film is bloody amazing and should not be missed by anyone. Studio Ghibli's best film ever.

Oliver W. gave it a4:
Unlike just about everybody else, I do believe that films are supposed to make sense. For example, the characters must have reasons for their actions. And the very presence of a character must be necessary to the story. Don't get me wrong -- I have no problem with metaphor and fantasy worlds, I only ask that the storyteller lay the ground rules and follow them. Unfortunately, there is no rhyme or reason to this story. It's as if Miyazaki dropped acid one day and wrote everything down. The only reason I gave it a 4 is because his world, though disturbing and nonsensical, is so compellingly original. But watching it was a bit like chewing tinfoil.

Meghan P. gave it a10:
It was an amazing movie that was completely creative and interesting!

Erich C gave it a10:
The personal growth and transformation of Chihiro, (and also Haku and No-face) are central to the film. It is not a 'Disney film' in any sense of the phrase; it's a Studio Ghibli (Japan) film, and it garnered immense world-wide acclaim before Disney contracted to dub and distribute it in the US. Beautiful artwork, complex and engaging characters, and significance in the details. Those closed to the experience of traditional Japanese mythology/spiritualism may be uncomfortable, but the effort is well worth it.

Oren L. gave it a9:
Great movie with great animation. If i was younger when i first saw this is would be one of if not my favorite movies of all time.

Spirited Away Walt Disney Pictures / Buena Vista Pictures

Spirited Away
Walt Disney Pictures / Buena Vista Pictures