Spirited Away

Name: Spirited Away
Genre: Adventure, Fantasy, Animation, Family
Released: September 20, 2002
Duration: 125 min
Rating: 96
Cast: Miyu Irino

2002

METASCORE

Universal acclaim based on 41 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Universal acclaim based on 1982 Ratings

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8.9

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8.9	User Score Universal acclaim based on 1982 Ratings

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Spirited Away

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Movie Details & Credits

Walt Disney Studios | Release Date: September 20, 2002 | PG

Starring: Miyu Irino

Summary: A young girl, Chihiro, becomes trapped in a strange new world of spirits. When her parents undergo a mysterious transformation, she must call upon the courage she never knew she had to free herself and return her family to the outside world. [Walt Disney Studios]

Director: Hayao Miyazaki

Genre(s): Adventure, Fantasy, Animation, Family

Rating: PG

Runtime: 125 min

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

100

Peter Travers

Miyazaki is the Pied Piper -- see Spirited Away and you'll follow him anywhere. Read full review

100

The Guardian Peter Bradshaw

Spirited Away is fast and funny; it's weird and wonderful. Mostly wonderful. Read full review

100

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

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

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

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

C.W. Nevius

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

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User Reviews

NatalieK.

Feb 16, 2008

Great film! I am very moved after watching.

0 of 0 users found this helpful

SuperKurzacz

Dec 13, 2011

This is the best movie of Hayao Miyazaki . I have seen it over 7 times and I think it deserves a 10/10. All I can say is a epic movie it is great .

38 of 42 users found this helpful384

ILHM

Feb 1, 2013

Prepare yourself for a magical journey in SPIRITED AWAY, the acclaimed Japanese animation by renown director Hayao Miyazaki. Chihiro finds herself lost in the spirit world after her parents are transformed into pigs by a malevolent witch, and she must gather her strength and courage if shePrepare yourself for a magical journey in SPIRITED AWAY, the acclaimed Japanese animation by renown director Hayao Miyazaki. Chihiro finds herself lost in the spirit world after her parents are transformed into pigs by a malevolent witch, and she must gather her strength and courage if she hopes to save them! SPIRITED AWAY transports us to a fantasy world that is filled with strange and magnificent creatures who are brought to life through Miyazaki's captivating animated style. Chihiro's journey is a timeless story of self-discovery and the coming of age, where a young girl first discovers love and compassion by acting outside herself. Miyazaki uses traditional storytelling techniques to paint a unique new fairy tale that children of all ages can relate to, while keeping with its Japanese origins. The sometimes horrifying creatures that Chihiro encounters each represent a stage of childhood that she must overcome, and bring with them valuable lessons that she will use in her budding adolescence. SPIRITED AWAY provides childlike wonder for kids and adults alike, and is a masterpiece of modern animation. -Carl Manes
I Like Horror Movies… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Henrique2

Aug 30, 2021

perfect script, magnificent animation and extremely important messages. this is without a doubt my favorite movie of all time.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

21DaHoagie12

Feb 4, 2013

I try not to give all the films I "like" a 10/10 because two films I like, per se, might not be on the same level; not all films I like are 10/10 movies.. Therefore I try to give films an honest rating, there are only a few of my favorite movies that are 10/10 movies, those being, forI try not to give all the films I "like" a 10/10 because two films I like, per se, might not be on the same level; not all films I like are 10/10 movies.. Therefore I try to give films an honest rating, there are only a few of my favorite movies that are 10/10 movies, those being, for example, the lord of the rings films, the green mile, and a few others, Spirited Away is one of them as well. I think I was maybe 10 or 11 years old when Spirited Away popped up on cartoon network, I caught maybe the second half of it but I was enthralled so (get this, so old fashioned) I grabbed the newspaper and looked through the TV schedule to find the next viewing. I ended up watching it every time it was on TV until they stopped showing after like two weeks, my dad thought it was unhealthy for me and encouraged me to go outside anyway. I ended up forgetting about the movie for a long time, and I mean a long time. As a grew up I kinda picked up bird watching as a hobby and am actually now turning it into a profession, but I remember doing some research on barn owls and watching a video where the top rated comment was "barn owls always remind me of no-face from spirited away" holy crap, I've heard of that movie, yeah, it was that one on TV years ago, gosh I need to watch that again. I got my hands on the movie and as I sat down to watch it, for the first time in like 9 years, I thought to myself, "hmmmm... I hope this movie still appeals to me now that I'm almost 20" two hours later, there's me wiping tears from my eyes, grabbing my computer and looking up every other ghibli film out there. It was like I was immediately addicted, I needed my fix of ghibli films so I, eventually, over a year or so, got my hands on all of them; honesty, most of them are quite fantastic as well, especially mononoke and totoro. But back to this movie; as someone who watched dragon ball z and digimon and pokemon and anime like that and eventually grew out of it, I was completely astounded at how 'real' this film felt. No, obviously, the things that happened in the film took place in a fantasy world that was expertly crafted and just stretched the imagination beyond belief, but the characters felt real, they were tangible and believable, I connected with them and I cared about them because their emotions were earnest and connected with me so vividly. The character development was fantastic and that was one of the things that made it such a joy to watch. And some people might say that the story is haphazard and confusing; I didn't think so, I think the things that were unexplained in the films or ambiguous were meant to be that way, it adds to the mystery of it, and that's another that I loved so much; being able to make those decisions for yourself as to what you believe the writers implied. Not only that, but the animation itself was absolutely fantastic! The most visually breathtaking drawings and scenes I've ever seen are from this movie. And, as a musician and student of music, I'd like to say that Joe Hisaishi absolutely perfected this film with his impeccable score! Since I first re-watched it almost a year ago, I've probably watched it 5 or 6 times since and I just cant get enough of it. I listen to the soundtrack all the time and it's just beyond beautiful, as I mentioned before. This film is an absolute gem of a film, many people write off animated films before they give them a chance, but this is a film that could easily be translated into a live action film with real actors and it would work just as well; the medium with which a film is presented doesn't always dictate the quality or style of the film. I never thought that an anime film would be one of my favorite films of all time but indeed it is, I will watch Spirited Away a hundred more times, and when I have kids, I'll make sure it's one of the first films they watch as well.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

Denvers

Jan 15, 2022

Spirited Away is not perfect, - in fact, it is far from it - yet the movie is spectacularly imaginative and wonderful all throughout. I have always heard pleasant things about this particular film from everybody who has seen it. I have not heard of a single person who did not enjoy SpiritedSpirited Away is not perfect, - in fact, it is far from it - yet the movie is spectacularly imaginative and wonderful all throughout. I have always heard pleasant things about this particular film from everybody who has seen it. I have not heard of a single person who did not enjoy Spirited Away. Until 2020, Spirited Away was so popular that it was the highest grossing anime movie of all time. As I began to watch the movie, I was unfortunately disappointed. I did not understand the hype at all. I will not deny that this movie is spectacularly animated with some of the most gorgeous scenes in animated history, but that, to me at least, did not make up for the slow and unspectacular plot. The movie follows a girl named Chihiro, who is often referred to as Sen, as she enters the spirit world. Her patents have been turned into pigs, and to save them, she must get a job at a spirit bath house. Sen is a wonderfully brave girl who has so much love and kindness in her heart that she displays throughout the movie, particularly towards the end, that the viewer cannot help but to smile. I really liked a lot about this movie, but in particular, I loved the unique and imaginative characters and world. Studio Ghibli is known for creating iconic and lovable characters, and this is undoubtably true in this movie.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Broyax

Dec 25, 2019

J'espère qu'on ne fait pas voir ce genre de truc à nos chères têtes blondes parce que c'est crade et dégueulasse... mais est-ce vraiment destiné aux enfants ? j'ai comme un doute, car c'est putain de malsain. Et quand ça ne l'est pas, c'est tout simplement de mauvais goût.

Les grossesJ'espère qu'on ne fait pas voir ce genre de truc à nos chères têtes blondes parce que c'est crade et dégueulasse... mais est-ce vraiment destiné aux enfants ? j'ai comme un doute, car c'est putain de malsain. Et quand ça ne l'est pas, c'est tout simplement de mauvais goût.

Les grosses métaphores sont juste énormes de maladresse, dénonçant grossièrement quelques uns des sept péchés capitaux (arrête de te goinfrer comme un goret, tu vois bien que c'est pas bien...) mais ici mélangés ou plutôt arrangés à la sauce shintoïste des esprits multiples pervertis par les bas penchants typiquement humains. On doit ajouter également les préoccupations écolos du film, bien balourdes elles aussi (la pollution, les allusions au pétrole, tout ça... et gnagnagni et gnagnagna). Sans oublier la glorification du stakhanovisme de l'usine-prison (on est chez Mao là ou quoi ?!). Mouais bref, cause toujours, tu m'intéresses.

Tout ce merdier est long comme un jour sans pain, la musique est japoniaise jusqu'à l'indigestion et l'ensemble est très décousu ainsi que souvent aberrant... L'animation reste ce qu'elle est dans ce genre de dessin animé nippon en 2D, c'est-à-dire assez pénible à voir ; seuls les décors sont peu près corrects... Un voyage à éviter en tout cas !… Expand

0 of 13 users found this helpful013

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1	#1 Best Movie of 2002
3	#3 Most Discussed Movie of 2002
6	#6 Most Shared Movie of 2002