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Overview
Spirited Away, directed by Hayao Miyazaki, follows ten-year-old Chihiro, a sullen little girl whose family stumbles upon an abandoned amusement park on their way to move into a new home
. All is not as it seems, however: the tunnel they pass through into the park turns out to be a gateway to the supernatural world. When her parents are transformed into pigs by the witch Yubaba, Chihiro must find the courage to survive and navigate this strange and perilous realm. The film, which was released in 2001, explores the power of words and names, the shock of transitioning from childhood into adulthood, and the blurred lines between good and evil in the real world. It’s set against a backdrop of stunning hand-drawn animation and a beautiful, haunting score by Joe Hisaishi. Spirited Away was both a critical and commercial triumph and was Miyazaki’s first major success outside of Japan. It won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature in 2003 and became the highest-grossing film in Japanese history at the time. It remains one of the most celebrated animated films ever made.
