Chihiro Ogino

Spirited Away is a 2001 animated fantasy film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki at Studio Ghibli. It opened in Japan on July 20, 2001. It became the highest-earning film in Japanese history and kept that record for 19 years, until Demon Slayer: Mugen Train passed it in 2020. It shared the Golden Bear, the top prize at the Berlin International Film Festival, in 2002. It also won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, and it was the first hand-drawn film not in English to win that award. The music is by Joe Hisaishi, who wrote the scores for many Miyazaki films. The hero is Chihiro Ogino, a ten-year-old girl. At the start she is sulky and scared, because her family is moving to a new town and she misses her old home and friends. On the drive, her father takes a wrong turn and they reach a strange old tunnel. On the other side they find what looks like an empty, forgotten amusement park. Her parents find a food stall with no one working there and start to eat as much as they want. Chihiro does not want to touch anything. As the sun goes down, the place fills with spirits, and her parents are changed into pigs as punishment. Alone and frightened, Chihiro is now trapped in a world of spirits and gods. A calm boy named Haku helps her. He tells her that to survive she must get a job at the great bathhouse, a huge building where spirits come to bathe and rest. The bathhouse is run by Yubaba, a greedy and powerful witch with a big head and a sharp temper. Yubaba takes away part of Chihiro's name and calls her "Sen." In this world, losing your name means slowly forgetting who you are. Chihiro meets many unusual characters. Kamaji is an old man with six long arms who runs the boiler room, and tiny soot sprites help him carry coal. Lin is a tough young worker who becomes like a big sister. No-Face is a quiet, masked spirit who follows Chihiro and becomes dangerous inside the greedy bathhouse. Zeniba, Yubaba's twin sister, also plays a part. Chihiro must clean huge tubs, serve strange guests, and find courage she did not know she had, all while trying to save her parents and get home. The film draws on Japanese folk beliefs from Shinto and Buddhism, where spirits live in rivers, trees, and many parts of nature. Writers often say it is about growing up, about keeping your identity, and about greed. Some also see a message about pollution and about how Japan changed in modern times. Even so, the film never feels like a lesson. It is full of wonder, small kind moments, beautiful food, and quiet scenes, such as a long train ride across water. Spirited Away is often called one of the greatest animated films ever made. It is a good first Ghibli film for new viewers of any age, though some scenes may be a little scary for very young children.