GAMES: GameSpot | GameFAQs MUSIC: Last.fm | MP3.com MOVIES: Metacritic | Movietome TV: TV.com
Home | About Metacritic | About Metascores | What's New | Wireless Versions | Discussion Forums | Advertising Inquiries | Contact Us | RSS
Metacritic.com: We Deal With Criticism
     Help
> Switch to Advanced Search  
Film Video/DVD Music Games TV

DVD and Video

Upcoming Release Calendar
Awards & Bests By Year
All-Time High Scores
All-Time Low Scores
How Metascores Are Calculated
Discuss Film In Our Forums

 



 

Printer-Friendly Version Email This Page Discuss In Our Forums

Spirited Away
Walt Disney Pictures / Buena Vista Pictures

Spirited Away reviews
Critic Score
Metascore: 94 Metascore out of 100
User Score  
9.3 out of 10
based on 36 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
based on 601 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie

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

What The Critics Said

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.
Read Full Review
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.
Read Full Review
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.
Read Full Review
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.
Read Full Review
100
Philadelphia Inquirer Steven Rea
Wondrously strange and just plain wonderful.
Read Full Review
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.
Read Full Review
100
Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum
A triumph of psychological depth and artistic brilliance offered as the magical adventures of one skinny little girl.
Read Full Review
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.
Read Full Review
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.
Read Full Review
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.
Read Full Review
100
Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan
Prepare to be astonished by Spirited Away.
Read Full Review
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.
Read Full Review
100
New York Magazine Peter Rainer
The most deeply and mysteriously satisfying animated feature to come along in ages.
Read Full Review
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.
Read Full Review
100
Dallas Observer Luke Y. Thompson
It would be a masterpiece in any language.
Read Full Review
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.
Read Full Review
90
The New York Times A.O. Scott
The towering, lost dreaminess at the heart of the film is an unmistakable obsession of this director.
Read Full Review
90
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.
Read Full Review
90
Chicago Reader Ted Shen
Enchanting and impressively crafted.
Read Full Review
90
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.
Read Full Review
90
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.
Read Full Review
89
Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov
Fiercely original in every respect.
Read Full Review
88
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.
Read Full Review
88
Chicago Tribune Michael Wilmington
It's a movie full of bewitching images and timeless fun and beauty.
Read Full Review
88
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.
Read Full Review
88
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.
Read Full Review
80
Washington Post Jane Horwitz
Old myths and wonder tales spun afresh.
Read Full Review
80
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.
Read Full Review
80
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.
Read Full Review
75
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.
Read Full Review
75
San Francisco Chronicle C.W. Nevius
A lovely, evocative tour de force. So why does it seem we should be enjoying it more?
Read Full Review
75
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.
Read Full Review
75
Boston Globe Wesley Morris
Delivers chunks of ''Yellow Submarine'' and ''The Phantom Tollbooth'' -- a vividly timeless oddity suitable for many children and most stoners.
Read Full Review

What Our Users Said

Vote Now!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.

Read more user comments...

Discuss this movie in our forums

Return to top of page
Home | FILM | DVD/VIDEO | MUSIC | GAMES | TV | Forums | About Metacritic metacritic.com

Popular on CBS sites: iPhone 3G | Fantasy Football | Moneywatch | Antivirus Software | Recipes | E3 2009

About CBS Interactive | Jobs | Advertise

© 2009 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use