Sen to Chihiro no kamikakushi (2001)

User Rating:

8.5/10   

Director:

Hayao Miyazaki

Writer:

Hayao Miyazaki (written by)

Release Date:

27 July 2001 (Japan)

Genre:

Animation | Adventure | Fantasy

Tagline:

(The tunnel led Chihiro to a mysterious town,,,)

Plot:

In the middle of her family's move to the suburbs, a sullen 10-year-old girl wanders into a world ruled by gods, witches, and monsters; where humans are changed into animals; and a bathhouse for these creatures.

Plot Keywords:

God | Bathhouse | Spirit | Pig | Car

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 35 wins & 19 nominations

Cast

Rumi Hîragi	...	Chihiro / Sen (voice: Japanese version)
Miyu Irino	...	Haku (voice: Japanese version)
Mari Natsuki	...	Yubaba / Zeniba (voice: Japanese version)
Takashi Naitô	...	Chihiro no otôsan (voice: Japanese version)
Yasuko Sawaguchi	...	Chihiro no okâsan (voice: Japanese version)
Tatsuya Gashuin	...	Aogaeru, Assistant Manager (voice: Japanese version)
Ryûnosuke Kamiki	...	Bô (voice: Japanese version)
Yumi Tamai	...	Rin (voice: Japanese version)
Yo Oizumi	...	Bandai-gaeru (voice: Japanese version)
Koba Hayashi	...	Kawa no Kami (voice: Japanese version)
Tsunehiko Kamijô	...	Chichiyaku (voice: Japanese version)
Takehiko Ono	...	Aniyaku (voice: Japanese version)
Bunta Sugawara	...	Kamajî (voice: Japanese version)
Noriko Kitou	...	Additional Voices (voice: Japanese version)
Shiro Saito	...	Additional Voices (voice: Japanese version)

Also Known As:

Miyazaki's Spirited Away (International: English title) (USA) (poster title)
Spirited Away (UK) (USA)
Sen (Japan) (informal short title)
Sen and the Mysterious Disappearance of Chihiro
The Spiriting Away of Sen and Chihiro (informal literal English title)

MPAA:

Rated PG for some scary moments.

Runtime:

125 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.00 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS-ES | Dolby Digital EX | Dolby (English-language version) | Dolby Digital (English-language version)

Certification:

Netherlands:6 | Argentina:Atp | Australia:PG | Austria:0 | Brazil:Livre | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Chile:TE | Denmark:7 | Finland:K-7 | France:U | Germany:o.Al. | Hong Kong:I | New Zealand:PG | Norway:7 | Portugal:M/6 | Singapore:PG | South Korea:All | Spain:T | Sweden:7 | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | UK:PG | USA:PG

Company:

Studio Ghibli

Trivia:

First Studio Ghibli film in Dolby Digital EX 6.1 and DTS-ES 6.1 sound.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Yubaba flies back to the Aburaya with the bag, she clearly flies above the side of the deck. However, in the next shot, the bag hits the side of the deck.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Chihiro: [reading a card] I'll miss you, Chihiro. Your best friend, Rumi.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Matrix Revolutions (2003)

Soundtrack:

Itsumo Nando-demo

A stunning, intoxicating, magical masterpiece.

There is simply no denying that Miyazaki is the Godfather of Japanese Animation, time and time again delivering unto the public works of such incredible beauty, such stunning visual and sensory delights, such mastery of storytelling, that one can only be left speechless. Overwhelmed. Intoxicated with wonder. Such is the magic of Spirited Away.

Much like Miyazaki's previous feature Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away is an epic fairytale fantasy that deserves no better medium than the stunning animation work of Studio Ghibli. This multiple award-winning masterpiece has grown to become the largest grossing film in Japanese history, and rightly so. From the moment our child heroine Chihiro enters the bath houses we are literally bombarded with an overwhelming sense of detail and rich, lavish colours rarely - if ever - seen in western animation. Scenes such as Chihiro running through the field of flowers, the marvellous landscapes seen from the train, Haku and Chihiro soaring the skies above, and Chihiro running across the pipe to climb the walls of the bath house are nothing short of breathtaking, and undoubtably some of the most lavish animation ever to hit the screen.

The world of Spirited Away is simply bustling with life; unique, quirky, instantly lovable creatures jostling about their daily activities and tasks in the bath houses, dancing across the screen like leaves caught in a playful summer breeze. The inventiveness of Miyazaki's character designs, much like in Mononoke, is wonderful to behold, in fact not since classic tales like Lewis Carroll's Alice In Wonderland and The Neverending Story have we been able to fall hopelessly in love with such original, quirky, magical, even fantastical characters. The viewer is plunged headfirst into another world for nearly two hours and one cannot help but be completely and utterly captivated.

The music and original score is stunningly beautiful, the original Japanese language track of such high quality that one wonders why someone could insult the work by producing a dub track at all. With a plot differing in its complexity on so many levels, from the basic storyline, to the omnipresent universal themes, to the riddling of Japanese history and fable throughout, children and adults alike will be mesmerised from start to end. A magical, awe-inspiring, tearful, laughter-filled, heartfelt journey through a land of sweeping fantasy and dreams.

Prepare to be Spirited Away........................