From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Spirited Away
Spirited Away film poster
Directed by	Hayao Miyazaki
Produced by	Toshio Suzuki
Written by	Hayao Miyazaki
Starring	(Japan) Rumi Hiiragi Miyu Irino Mari Natsuki Takashi Naitō Yasuko Sawaguchi (USA) Daveigh Chase Jason Marsden Michael Chiklis Lauren Holly Suzanne Pleshette David Ogden Stiers Susan Egan Bob Bergen Tara Strong
Music by	Joe Hisaishi
Cinematography	Atsushi Okui
Editing by	Takeshi Seyama
Distributed by	Studio Ghibli (Japan) Walt Disney Pictures (USA)
Release date(s)	July 27, 2001 September 20, 2002 November 6, 2002 December 12, 2002 September 12, 2003
Running time	125 minutes
Language	Japanese English
Budget	¥1,900,000,000 (est.)
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

Spirited Away (千と千尋の神隠し, Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi^?, literally "Sen and Chihiro's Spiriting Away") is an Academy Award winning 2001 film by the Japanese anime studio Studio Ghibli, written and directed by famed animator Hayao Miyazaki.

The film received many awards, including the second Oscar ever awarded for Best Animated Feature, the first anime film to win an Academy Award, and the only winner of that award to win among five nominees (in every other year there were three nominees). The film also won the Golden Bear at the 2002 Berlin International Film Festival (tied with Bloody Sunday)

Contents 1 Summary 2 Characters 2.1 Principal characters 2.2 Minor characters 3 Themes 4 Production 5 Japanese culture in the film 6 Distribution and box office gross 6.1 Theatrical 6.2 DVD 6.3 Television 7 Differences between Japanese and English versions 8 Acclaim 9 Original soundtrack 9.1 Original sound track listing 10 Image album track listing 11 Cast 12 Reception 13 See also 14 References 15 External links

The plot summary in this section is too long compared to the rest of the article. Please edit the article to focus on discussing the work rather than merely reiterating the plot.

This section may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please improve this article if you can (September 2007).

Note: This sypnosis is written based on the English version, which has a few notable differences from the original Japanese version. For more information, see "Differences between Japanese and English versions" below.

The film opens with Chihiro, a ten-year-old girl, traveling to her new home in Tochinoki, Japan, with her parents. They become lost when her father takes a "short cut". The family pulls up outside a large, mysterious building. Ignoring Chihiro's objections, the mother and father decide to explore. Chihiro reluctantly follows them through a tunnel to a strange landscape of grassy hills and old-fashioned buildings. Chihiro's father says it must be an abandoned theme park.

The parents are curious and decide to explore. They soon smell food cooking, and follow their noses to a deserted stall full of different kinds of meat. Chihiro refuses to eat anything, but her parents help themselves and soon begin gorging on the food.

Chihiro wanders off and finds an enormous bathhouse, the heart of the complex. She encounters a boy on a bridge who warns her to leave before dark. She runs back to the food stall, only to find that her parents have turned into pigs.

As night falls, shadowy spirits fill the park. Chihiro is frightened, but the boy appears again and promises to help her. The boy, who introduces himself as "Haku", helps Chihiro sneak to the bathhouse and instructs her to go to the boiler room and ask for work. He warns her that the owner of the bathhouse, Yubaba, could kill Chihiro for trespassing. If Chihiro can get a job, she'll be able to stay at the bathhouse safely while she figures out a way to help her parents.

The boiler operator, Kamaji, seems gruff and unwelcoming but eventually warms to Chihiro. He instructs a bath attendant named Lin to take Chihiro to upstairs to ask Yubaba for work. With Lin's help, Chihiro navigates the halls and elevators of the bathhouse. Chihiro realizes that the place is a resort for spirits of all kinds, many intolerant of humans.

Yubaba, a giant, bejeweled old hag, initially refuses to hire Chihiro. She threatens her, but Chihiro's persistence pays off. Yubaba finally gives in and offers Chihiro an employment contract, but in exchange Chihiro must give up her own name. Yubaba magically removes most of Chihiro's name, leaving only the characters indicating the syllable "Sen".

Under her new name Sen, she begins work as a bath attendant with Lin. Sen encounters a number of strange customers, such as a masked spirit called "No Face" and a filthy "stink spirit". The latter proves to be a wealthy but polluted river spirit, who rewards Sen's efforts in cleaning him with the gift of a magic herb cake.

Sen soon learns that all is not as it seems at the spirit bathhouse. Sen's coworker Lin warns her that Haku is Yubaba's henchman and that she should not trust him, which upsets Sen. Sen also discovers that Haku can change into the form of a flying white dragon. Meanwhile, the spirit No Face becomes obsessed with gaining Sen’s attention and attempts to become the bathhouse's most important customer.

One morning Sen sees the white dragon, Haku, being attacked by paper birds outside the bathhouse. She opens a door to let him inside. Bleeding badly, he flies up to Yubaba's room. Sen runs to find Haku, worried that he may be dying. No Face sees her and offers her gold. Sen refuses it and continues on her way. No Face feels dejected and becomes enraged, swallowing two of the bathhouse workers.

Sen arriving in Yubaba’s quarters and encounters Yubaba's overgrown baby son, Boh. Yubaba's twin sister, Zeniba, also appears and says she has been chasing Haku because he stole her golden monogram seal. Zeniba transforms Boh into a mouse, annoyed by his spoilt behaviour, and Boh quickly joins Sen.

Sen, Haku and Boh escape from Zeniba and fall into the boiler room with Kamaji. He tells Sen that Haku is bleeding from the inside. Sen gives Haku part of the herbal cake she received river spirit gave her. This causes Haku to vomit up Zeniba's gold seal, with a strange black slug sitting on it, which Sen squishes. Sen decides to go to Zeniba to return the seal and apologize on Haku's behalf. Kamaji gives Sen train tickets so she can travel to Zeniba's home.

Before going to the train station, Sen confronts No Face. She gives him the remainder of the herbal cake, hoping this will end his madness. No Face begins to vomit up everything he has eaten. This includes the bathhouse employees he swallowed, who appear unharmed by their ordeal. As he disgorges everything he has eaten, No Face gradually returns to his original slender shape and docile demeanor.

Meanwhile, Haku recovers and resumes his humanoid form. He finds Yubaba and points out that her son is missing. He promises to return Boh to her if Yubaba will turn Sen's parents back into humans and send them and Sen back to their world.

Sen, Boh, and No Face take the train to Zeniba’s house. Sen finds that Zeniba is really a kind woman and not greedy and wicked like her sister. Zeniba is happy to have her seal back and forgives Haku. She assures Sen that Haku has already been cured of its curse by the power of Sen's love, and that the black slug that Sen squashed was actually something Yubaba used on Haku to control him. Haku himself soon arrives in dragon form to take Sen and Boh back to the bathhouse.

En route to the bathhouse, Sen remembers falling in a river when she was a little girl. She had been afraid she would drown, but the river's waters carried her to safety. Sen realizes that Haku is the spirit of this river and tells him his true name is Kohaku River. Upon hearing his true name, Haku regains his memories of the past, freeing him of Yubaba's control.

Haku, Sen, and Boh arrive at the bathhouse to find that Yubaba has prepared a final challenge for Sen. She must decide which of a group of pigs are her parents. Sen examines the pigs and declares, correctly, that none of them are her parents. Yubaba releases her from her employment contract, and Sen regains her true name, Chihiro.

Chihiro says goodbye to Haku and travels with her parents back to the human world. Chihiro's parents remember nothing of what has happened, and are surprised to find their car dusty and the area around it overgrown with weeds. Chihiro, with memories of her adventures in the spirit world fresh in her mind, seems more positive and mature than before and more willing to face going to a new school.

Chihiro Ogino/Sen (荻野 千尋, Ogino Chihiro^?) 

Chihiro is the 10-year old protagonist of the movie. Chihiro is in the process of moving to a new town when her family stumbles upon the entrance to the spirit world. During her adventure she matures from a whiny, self-centered, and pessimistic child to a hard-working, responsible, optimistic young girl who learns to care for others. She is renamed "Sen" (千, sen^?, lit. "a thousand") by the proprietor of the bathhouse, Yubaba. In Japanese orthography, "Sen" is an alternative pronunciation of "Chi", the first kanji in her name, "Chihiro", which roughly translates as "thousand searching", which could be a reference to Chihiro's search to free her parents.

Voiced by: Rumi Hiiragi (Japanese), Daveigh Chase (English)

Haku/Nigihayami Kohaku Nushi (ハク/ニギハヤミコハクヌシ, Haku/Nigihayami Kohaku Nushi^?) 

A young boy who helps Chihiro after her parents have transformed into pigs. He helps protect her from danger and gives her advice. Haku works as Yubaba's direct subordinate, often running errands and performing missions for her. He has the ability to fly and to transform into a dragon. Toward the end of the story Chihiro recalls falling into the Kohaku (コハク, Kohaku^?) river, of which Haku is the spirit; she thus frees him from Yubaba's service by helping him remember his real name and past, which he had forgotten due to the industrial development that has destroyed his river. While he seems often cold-hearted, and is not popular with the bathhouse staff, Haku is unfailingly kind to Chihiro, perhaps because of his experience of her in the past, which he partly remembers. When Yubaba is listening, Haku is as sharp-voiced to Chihiro as to anyone else, so as to avoid the revelation of his growing fondness for her. Yubaba sees him merely as a tool.

Voiced by: Miyu Irino (Japanese), Jason Marsden (English)

Yubaba (湯婆婆, Yubaaba^?, lit. "bath crone") 

An old witch with an inhumanly large head and nose, who supervises the bathhouse. She reluctantly signs Chihiro into a contract, taking her name and re-naming her "Sen" in order to hold power over her for the duration of the contract. Yubaba has an over-bearing and authoritarian personality, but she does show a soft side toward her giant baby, Boh. In contrast to her simple and hospitable sister Zeniba, Yubaba lives in opulent quarters and is only interested in taking care of guests for money. Though she is very intuitive and perceptive, she does not notice that her own baby is gone. When Haku prompts her by telling her that something she values is missing, her first reaction is to scrutinize the gold. Her name is similar to that of another legendary witch, Baba Yaga. Her appearance somewhat resembles that of The Duchess from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, in possessing an oversized head and a child which is not treated properly whom she does not notice is missing until it is pointed out. She treats Chihiro much like the Duchess did Alice.

Voiced by: Mari Natsuki (Japanese), Suzanne Pleshette (English)

Kamajii (釜爺, lit. "boiler old man"^?) 

An old man with six arms, who runs the boiler room of the bathhouse. A number of Susuwatari (ススワタリ, Susuwatari^?) (Soot balls) work for him, by carrying coal into his furnace. He has a large cabinet where he keeps all the herbs that are used in the baths. After some persuasion, he allows Chihiro to work at the bathhouse and even pretends to be her grandfather to protect her, though this ruse does not stand for long. He later takes an injured Haku into his boiler room and cares for him while Chihiro, given train tickets by Kamajii, journeys to Zeniba's cottage. At first he seems cold and uncaring, but by the end of the movie he seems to have grown a soft spot for Chihiro and for anyone whom she calls her friend. His appearance resembles a large humanoid spider, with several arms which seem to be extendable. His brown moustache and dark glasses additionally give him a resemblance to the Tiger Moth's engineer, who is featured in Laputa: Castle in the Sky, He also bears resemblance to Doctor Eggman.

Voiced by: Bunta Sugawara (Japanese), David Ogden Stiers (English)

No Face (カオナシ, Kaonashi^?, lit. 'No Face') 

No Face is an odd spirit that takes an interest in Chihiro. Chihiro lets No Face into the bathhouse through a side door. At first, he is a strange, cloaked, masked wraith that merely breathes and smiles. No Face is a lonely being who seems to sustain itself on the emotions of those he encounters, particularly their emotional reception to his gifts. He is helpful to Chihiro because she helped him, whereas after observing the bathhouse staff's reaction to gold and his own attempts to win them over with more gold, he reacts to their greed by becoming a grotesque monster which eats lots of food and some of the staff. He calms down and reverts to his former state after he leaves the bathhouse's influence. At the end, he stays with Zeniba as a helper. No Face's mask, movement, and name share many similarities with the Japanese Noh theater. He also assumes the voice(s) and personality of those he "eats".

Voiced by: Tatsuya Gashuin (Japanese), Bob Bergen (English)

Lin (リン, Rin^?) 

A worker at the bathhouse who becomes Chihiro's caretaker. Although cold at first, she warms up to Chihiro and grows a strong bond with her. She warns No Face, who had previously gone on a rampage, not to harm Chihiro or there would be trouble. At the end, she is very happy for Chihiro when she finally manages to find her way home. In the english dub, Lin states that she wishes to leave the bathouse, "Somne day I'm gonna get on that train." and is very surprised when Kamajii gives Chihiro train tickets.

Voiced by: Yumi Tamai (Japanese), Susan Egan (English)

Boh (坊, Bō^?) 

Boh is Yubaba's son. Although he has the appearance of a young baby, he has twice Yubaba's size. Yubaba spoils him and goes out of her way to give him whatever he wants. He believes that going outside will make him ill. When Sen is trapped in his room, she tells Boh that staying in his room during all the time will sicken him. Later, Zeniba turns him into a mouse. He becomes good friends with Chihiro while in his mouse form and eventually stands up to Yubaba to protect Chihiro. Boh tells Yubaba he had a good time when he was with Chihiro. His little adventure may be seen as an analogy to Chihiro's adventures and growing up. This idea suggests that Boh is so overgrown because he has never really matured under Yubaba's doting care.

Voiced by: Ryūnosuke Kamiki (Japanese), Tara Strong (English)

Note: Elements of Ryūnosuke Kamiki's voice can be heard in the English language version (e.g. when Boh cries during the scene where Chihiro/Sen gets her contract).

Akio Ogino (荻野 明夫, Ogino Akio^?) 

Chihiro's father. Akio's impulsive behaviour catalyzes the unfolding of events in the beginning of the movie, climaxing in his transformation into a pig. He is hinted at being relatively wealthy, as when he eats the spirit's offering, he says to Chihiro, "Don't worry, you've got daddy here. He's got credit cards and cash."

Voiced by: Takashi Naito (Japanese), Michael Chiklis (English)

Yuuko Ogino (荻野 悠子, Ogino Yūko^?) 

Chihiro's mother who, along with Chihiro's father, is turned into a pig at the start of the movie. She and her husband are never named during the film, and only referred to as Chihiro's parents.

Voiced by: Yasuko Sawaguchi (Japanese), Lauren Holly (English)

Kashira (カシラ, Kashira^?) 

A trio of green, disembodied, wall-eyed heads living in Yubaba's office that move around by bouncing. They do not speak except in small grunts when they bounce about. They are later changed into an illusion of Boh by Zeniba in order to trick Yubaba.

River Spirit (川の神, kawa no kami^?) 

A customer of the bathhouse originally thought to be a "stink spirit" who is assigned to Chihiro and Lin. Yubaba suspects that he may be something more than a stink spirit; when Chihiro helps him by pulling trash that had been dumped into his river out of his side(Miyazaki has a strong interest in the world, and shows here that pollution is destroying our rivers, and the rest of the world.), her suspicions are proven correct. He is in fact a famous and wealthy river god. As a reward, he gives Chihiro a ball of plant material which, we are told by Kamajii in the English-subtitled version, is a "healing cake." In the English dubbed version, Kamajii simply states that it is medicine from the river god. The "healing cake" is later used to heal an injured Haku through ingestion and to cause No Face to vomit the people and vast amounts of food he ate during his rampage. It is implied that the taste of it is extremely bitter, as demonstrated when Chihiro tries a bite and reacts violently.

Zeniba (銭婆, Zeniba^?, zeni can refer to both money and public baths, making her name a play on Yubaba's) 

Zeniba is Yubaba's twin sister and rival. Although identical in appearance, their personalities are almost polar opposites. At first she appears no kinder than Yubaba when she becomes enraged at Haku for stealing her magic seal and threatens to take it back, regardless of what happens to Haku. Hoping to gain Zeniba's forgiveness, Chihiro journeys to Zeniba's cottage to return it and apologize. It is then that Zeniba reveals her true character as being a kind, grandmotherly figure not at all like Yubaba. She even tells Chihiro to call her "Granny" in the English version, makes dessert and tea for her and No Face, and does her best to help Chihiro while realizing that there are limits to what she can do. She forgives Haku for stealing her seal (in the Japanese version she states that she no longer blames him, prompting some fans to speculate that when Chihiro told her about the control-slug that Yubaba put in him, she realized that Yubaba was more guilty than Haku ever was) and tells him to look after Chihiro, and sees everyone off, assuring Chihiro that she will be just fine. She also takes No Face in as a helper, giving him a place to call home at last.

Note: Zeniba is voiced by the same actors as Yubaba in both the English and Japanese versions.

Note: In Zeniba's house, there is a chair with an oddly thin back, earlier seen in the house in the woods in Kiki's Delivery Service

• Yubaba's unnamed harpy lieutenant has no speaking part but is transformed into a hummingbird and accompanies Sen and the similarly transformed Boh on their trip to Zeniba's, helping to make Sen's friendship hair-tie.
• The bathhouse manager is referred to as the "foreman", and he is shown to have a very high rank, in that he reports directly to Yubaba.
• The female workers in the bathhouse are referred to as Yuna (ユナ, Yuna^? "bath women"); in the Japanese version No Face is said to have eaten two frogs and a snail — snail presumably referring to the female worker.
• The management of the bathhouse are Chichi-yaku (父役, Chichi-yaku^? "role of father") or Ani-yaku (兄役, Ani-yaku^? "role of older brother").
• The male workers in the bathhouse are either Ao-gaeru (青蛙, Ao-gaeru^? "blue frog") or Bandai-gaeru (番台蛙, Bandai-gaeru^? "green frog").
• Chihiro shares an uncomfortable elevator journey with a gentle, elephantine Radish Spirit (大根神, Daikon Kami^?, also known as Oshira-sama).
• The bathing bird gods are known as Ōtori-sama (おおとりさま, Ōtori-sama^? "bird lord"); the ones with red cloaks and masks are Kasuga-sama (かすがさま, Kasuga-sama^?); the gods who exit the elevator wearing the Aburaya (油や, Aburaya^? "bath house") bathrobes are Ushioni (牛鬼, Ushioni^? "cattle demon"); and the gods with horns, orange faces, and green bodies are the Onama-sama (おなまさま, Onama-sama^?).

Miyazaki characters have negative and positive traits in different situations.

Some suggest that the film is an allegory on the progression from childhood to maturity, and the risk of losing one's nature in the process. The theme of a character being lost inside a (fictional/different) world if he/she forgets his/her real name is reminiscent of Michael Ende's The Neverending Story, although true names frequently have magic power in folk tales (see Rumplestiltskin); an idea central to the magic featured in Ursula K. Le Guin's Earthsea Cycle and Derek Landy's Skulduggery Pleasant. Similarly, Chihiro and Haku stay under Yubaba's control forever if they forget their real names and consequently their real identities.

The main character could also be seen as a sullen, spoiled, and very modern Japanese ten-year-old being forced to grow up when faced with more traditional Japanese culture and manners. Miyazaki himself has said that there is an element of nostalgia for an older Japan in the film.^[1]

Another interpretation holds that the film advocates the prevention of greed: those swallowed by No Face were attempting to receive the gold he made. Similarly, in a monomyth format, Yubaba's rich accommodations and interest in gold dominate the "road of trials" portions of the film, while Zeniba's rustic home and grandmotherly demeanor arguably mark Chihiro's gain of the "boon" in her quest. Also, Chihiro's parents' grotesque transformation after consuming too much food not meant for them is another representation of human greed.^[1]

Another theme in the movie is that of environmental awareness.^[2] The most obvious examples of this are the river spirit's dramatic and beautiful transformation once he has been freed from the material dumped in him by humans, and Haku's discovery that the reason he cannot go home is that the River Kohaku, whose spirit he was, had been filled in by apartment buildings.

Hayao Miyazaki came out of retirement to make this film after meeting the daughter of a friend, on whom the main character is based. Chihiro's father, Akio, was based on the real-life father of the girl Chihiro is based on. Miyazaki said the real-life father is similar to Akio in the habits of always getting lost while driving and eating too fast. Chihiro's mother (Yuuko) is based on a friend of Miyazaki's; an idiosyncratic hand-gesture of Miyazaki's friend is copied when Yuuko is eating in Spirited Away. Chihiro's best friend's name is Rumi (the one who gave her the flowers), which is the name of Chihiro's voice actor.

In the scene during which Chihiro squashes with her foot the small black slug that inhabited Haku (a spell laid by Yubaba), Kamajii tells Chihiro to "Cut the line!" "Cutting the line" is a Japanese good-luck charm performed by making a chopping gesture through another person's connected index fingers; in a behind-the-scenes featurette included on the Disney DVD, Cindy Davis Hewitt (the English version's co-writer) likened the gesture to the children's game of giving someone a "cootie shot" when something bad happened. This is done whenever someone is affected by some impurity, such as having stepped in dog feces. During footage of the dubbing process in the Spirited Away Nippon-TV Special, Rumi Hiiragi, the young Japanese voice actor playing Chihiro was not aware of this concept and had it explained to her by Miyazaki himself in between takes of the scene in question. One of the sound engineers commented saying "The young don't know it these days".

The kompeitō that Lin feeds to the soot sprites is called confetti in the English version of the anime.

Ratings
Australia:	PG
United Kingdom:	PG

Spirited Away was released in Japan in July 2001, drawing an audience of around 23 million and revenues of ¥30 billion (approx. US$250 million), to become the highest-grossing film in Japanese history (surpassing the 1997 American film Titanic for overall highest grossing and 1997's Princess Mononoke for highest grossing animated motion pictures). It was the first movie to have earned $200 million at the worldwide box office before opening in the United States.^[3] By 2002, a sixth of the Japanese population had seen it.

The film was dubbed into English by Walt Disney Pictures, under the supervision of Pixar's John Lasseter. It was subsequently released in the United States in September 20, 2002 and had made slightly over $10 million by September 2003.^[4]

The film was released in North America by Disney's Buena Vista Distribution arm on DVD format on April 15, 2003 where the attention brought by the Oscar win made the title a strong seller.^[5] Spirited Away is often marketed, sold and associated with other Miyazaki movies such as Castle in the Sky, Kiki's Delivery Service and, most recently, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (due in part to the latter's recent US release).

The North American English-dubbed version was released on DVD in the UK on March 29, 2004. In 2005 it was re released by Optimum Releasing with a more accurate subtitle track and additional bonus features. The Optimum release had a higher age rating (Not for under 12 years old) than the original release due to strong language used in behind the scenes bonus footage.

The back of the Region 1 DVD from Disney and the Region 4 DVD from Madman states that the aspect ratio is the original ratio of 2.00:1. This is incorrect; the ratio is actually 1.85:1 but has been windowboxed to 2.00:1 to compensate for the overscan on most television sets. There is much dispute over the validity of this practice, as many displays are capable of showing the entire picture, and as a result the DVD picture has a noticeable border around it.

All Asian releases of the DVD (including Japan and Hong Kong) have a noticeably accentuated amount of red in their picture transfer. This is another case of compensating for home theatre displays, this time supposedly for LCD television which, it was claimed, had a diminished red colour in its display. Releases in other DVD regions such as the US, Europe and Australia do not feature this red correction.

The U.S. television premiere of this film was on Turner Classic Movies in early 2006, closely followed by its premiere on Cartoon Network's "Fridays" on February 3, 2006. On March 18, Cartoon Network's Toonami began a "Month of Miyazaki" that featured four movies directed by Hayao Miyazaki, with Spirited Away being the first of four. Cartoon Network showed the movie three times more: once on Christmas 2006, for Toonami's "New Year's Eve Eve" on December 30, and on March 31, 2007. It was also shown again on Turner Classic Movies on June 3, 2007.

The first European television showing of the film (both the subtitled Japanese and dubbed English versions) was in the UK on December 29, 2004 on Sky Cinema 1,^[6] and it has since been repeated several times. The first UK terrestrial showing of this film (dubbed into English) was on BBC2 on December 30, 2006.

The Canadian television premiere of the film was on CBC Television on September 30th, 2007 [1]. In order to fit the film into a two hour time slot with commercials, extensive time cuts were made during this airing.

Some changes were made to the film by John Lasseter and the other writers of the English dub.

Changes include:

• The insertion of a significant portion of background chatter
• Adjusting the translated dialogue to match the visible mouth movements of the characters.
• The addition of dialogue explaining or emphasizing certain on-screen elements: for example, when Chihiro reaches a massive, red, steaming building, she comments, "It's a bathhouse." These insertions are mostly used to explain certain aspects of Japanese culture that are foreign in America and many other English-speaking countries.
• The alteration and/or omission of several lines from the Japanese version: for example, upon hearing Haku's request to return 'Sen' and her parents to the human world in exchange for Boh, Yubaba says that she will still give 'Sen' one final test. In the original film, she instead threatens to tear Haku to pieces after sending them back.
• New lyrics were improvised by John Ratzenberger for the English version of a song sung by Aogaeru.

Miyazaki himself has stated that Chihiro, at the end of the film, does not remember what happened to her in the spirit world.^[7] The English dub adds a line indicating that Chihiro has come away from her adventure a better person. At the beginning of the film, Chihiro's pessimistic viewpoint had been expressed:

Chihiro's Father: Look, Chihiro! There's your new school!

Chihiro's Mother: It doesn't look so bad.

Chihiro: It's gonna stink. I liked my old school.

At the end of the English dubbed version, Chihiro is asked again what she thinks of her new school:

Chihiro's Father: A new town and a new school — it is a bit scary.

Chihiro: I think I can handle it.

The original film simply ends with Chihiro's father asking that she hurry back to the car.

Based on 144 reviews at Rotten Tomatoes,^[8] it ranks as the sixth-best animation film.^[9]

The closing song, "Itsumo Nandodemo," (いつも何度でも; English title: "Always With Me", literally translates as "Always, No Matter How Many Times") was written and performed by Youmi Kimura, a composer and lyre-player from Osaka. The lyrics were written by Kimura's friend Wakako Kaku. The song was intended to be used for a different Miyazaki film which was never released, Rin the Chimney Painter (煙突描きのリン Entotsu-kaki no Rin).

The other 20 tracks on the original soundtrack were composed by Joe Hisaishi. His "Ano hi no Kawa" (あの日の川; "The River of That Day") received the 56th Mainichi Film Competition Award for Best Music, the Tokyo International Anime Fair 2001 Best Music Award in the Theater Movie category, and the 16th Japan Gold Disk Award for Animation Album of the Year. Later, Hisaishi added lyrics to "Ano hi no Kawa" and named the new version "Inochi no Namae," (いのちの名前; "The Name of Life") which was performed by Hirahara Ayaka.

Beside the Original Sound Track, there is also an Image Album, which contains 10 tracks.

1. あの夏へ [Ano Natsu he / One Summer's Day] (久石譲 Joe Hisaishi)
2. とおり道 [Toori Michi / Road To Somewhere] (久石譲 Joe Hisaishi)
3. 誰もいない料理店 [Dare mo Inai Ryouriten / Empty Restaurant] (久石譲 Joe Hisaishi)
4. 夜来る [Yoru kuru / Nighttime Coming] (久石譲 Joe Hisaishi)
5. 竜の少年 [Ryuu no Shounen / Dragon Boy] (久石譲 Joe Hisaishi)
6. ボイラー虫 [Boiraa Mushi / Sootballs] (久石譲 Joe Hisaishi)
7. 神さま達 [Kami-samatachi / Procession Of The Spirits] (久石譲 Joe Hisaishi)
8. 湯婆婆 [Yubaba] (久石譲 [Joe Hisaishi])
9. 湯屋の朝 [Yuya no Asa / Bathhouse Morning] (久石譲 Joe Hisaishi)
10. あの日の川 [Ano Hi no Kawa / Day Of The River] (久石譲 Joe Hisaishi)
11. 仕事はつらいぜ [Shigoto wa Tsuraize / It's Hard Work] (久石譲 Joe Hisaishi)
12. おクサレ神 [Okusare kami / Stink Spirit] (久石譲 Joe Hisaishi)
13. 千の勇気 [Sen no Yuuki / Sen's Courage] (久石譲 Joe Hisaishi)
14. 底なし穴 [Sokonashi ana / Bottomless Pit] (久石譲 Joe Hisaishi)
15. カオナシ [Kaonashi / No Face] (久石譲 Joe Hisaishi)
16. 6番目の駅 [Roku-banme no Eki / Sixth Station] (久石譲 Joe Hisaishi)
17. 湯婆婆狂乱 [Yubaba Kyouran / Yubaba's Panic] (久石譲 Joe Hisaishi)
18. 沼の底の家 [Numa no Soko no Ie / House At Swamp Bottom] (久石譲 Joe Hisaishi)
19. ふたたび [Futatabi / Reprise] (久石譲 Joe Hisaishi)
20. 帰る日 [Kaeru Hi / The Return Day] (久石譲 Joe Hisaishi)
21. いつも何度でも [Itsu mo Nando demo / Always With Me] (木村弓 Youmi Kimura)

1. あの日の川へ [Ano Hi no Kawa He / To the River of that Day] by Umi
2. 夜が来る [Yoru Ga Kuru / The Night is Coming] by Joe Hisaishi
3. 神々さま [Kamigami-sama / The Gods] by Shizuru Otaka
4. 油屋 [Yuya / The Bathhouse] by Tsunehiko Kamijou
5. 不思議の国の住人 [Fushigi no Kuni no Jyuunin / People in the Wonderland] by Joe Hisaishi
6. さみしいさみしい [Samishii, Samishii / Lonely, Lonely] by Monsieur Kamayatsu
7. ソリチュード [Kodoku / Solitude] by Rieko Suzuki and Hiroshi Kondo
8. 海 [Umi / The Sea] by Joe Hisaishi
9. 白い竜 [Shiroi Ryuu / White Dragon] by RIKKI
10. 千尋のワルツ [Chihiro no WARUTSU / Chihiro's Waltz] by Joe Hisaishi

Character	Japanese version	English version
Chihiro Ogino/Sen	Rumi Hiragi	Daveigh Chase
Haku	Miyu Irino	Jason Marsden
Yubaba, Zeniba	Mari Natsuki	Suzanne Pleshette
Kamajii	Bunta Sugawara	David Ogden Stiers
No-Face	Tatsuya Gashuin	Bob Bergen
Lin	Yumi Tamai	Susan Egan
Boh	Ryūnosuke Kamiki	Tara Strong
Akio Ogino	Takashi Naito	Michael Chiklis
Yuuko Ogino	Yasuko Sawaguchi	Lauren Holly
Chichi-yaku	Tsunehiko Kamijō
Ani-yaku	Takehiko Ono
Ao-gaeru, Assistant Manager	Tatsuya Gashūin	John Ratzenberger
Bandai-gaeru	Yō Ōizumi	Bob Bergen

• Additional Japanese Voices: Koba Hayashi, Noriko Kitou, Shiro Saito, Ken Yasuda
• Additional English Voices: Jack Angel, Rodger Bumpass, Jennifer Darling, Paul Eiding, Sherry Lynn, Mona Marshall, Mickie McGowan, Candi Milo, Colleen O'Shaughnessey, Philip Proctor, Jim Ward

Source	Reviewer	Grade / Score	Notes
Anime News Network	Reviewer	Overall (dub): A Story: A+ Animation: B Art: A- Music: B+	DVD/Anime Review
AnimeOnDVD	Reviewer	Content: Audio: Video: Packaging: Menus: Extras:	DVD/Anime Review
Spectrum Nexus	Reviewer	X out of 5	Anime Review
THEM Anime Reviews	Reviewer	X out of 5	Anime Review

• Kami – explanation of gods and spirits in Japanese mythology
• Obake and Yokai - the spirits of the Shinto religion.
• Tengu – the origins of the term kamikakushi (spiriting away) in Japanese folklore
• Kompeito – the brightly-colored star-shaped candy Lin feeds to the coal-carrying sprites of the boiler room
• Onsen – a Japanese hot spring resort
• Sentō – a Japanese bathhouse
• Jioufen – a Taiwanese town, the model of the downtown near bathhouse
• List of animated feature-length films

• Spirited Away // OnlineGhibli.com
• Spirited Away at Metacritic
• Spirited Away at SparkNotes
• Spirited Away (Japanese) at the Japanese Movie Database

v • d • e The works of Hayao Miyazaki
Films	Director, screenplay and storyboard: The Castle of Cagliostro • Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind • Castle in the Sky • My Neighbor Totoro • Kiki's Delivery Service • Porco Rosso • Princess Mononoke • Spirited Away • Howl's Moving Castle • Ponyo on a Cliff Screenplay and storyboard: Panda! Go, Panda! • Whisper of the Heart Chief animator and concept artist: Gulliver's Travels Beyond the Moon • Horus: Prince of the Sun • Puss in Boots • Flying Ghost Ship • Animal Treasure Island • Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves
TV series	Director, screenplay and storyboard: Lupin III • Future Boy Conan • Sherlock Hound Scene design and layout: Heidi, Girl of the Alps • 3000 Leagues in Search of Mother • Anne of Green Gables
OVA	Director, screenplay and storyboard: Lupin III's Greatest Capers
Manga	Story and art: Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind • Hayao Miyazaki's Daydream Data Notes
Miscellaneous	Director, screenplay and storyboard: On Your Mark • Mei and the Kittenbus • Mizugumo Monmon
Future projects	Ponyo on a Cliff

v • d • e Studio Ghibli films
Pre Ghibli films	Hols: Prince of the Sun · Panda! Go, Panda! · Lupin III: Castle of Cagliostro · Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind
Ghibli films	Castle in the Sky · My Neighbor Totoro · Grave of the Fireflies · Kiki's Delivery Service · Only Yesterday · Porco Rosso · I Can Hear the Sea · Pom Poko · Whisper of the Heart · Princess Mononoke · My Neighbors the Yamadas · Spirited Away · The Cat Returns · Howl's Moving Castle · Tales from Earthsea · Ponyo on a Cliff
Studio Ghibli short films	Nandarou · On Your Mark · Ghiblies · Ghiblies Episode II · Mei and the Kittenbus · The Night of Taneyamagahara · Mizugumo Monmon · Iblard Jikan
Related articles	Hayao Miyazaki · Ghibli Museum · Nausicaa.net

v • d • e Academy Award for Best Animated Feature: Winners
2001: Shrek • 2002: Spirited Away • 2003: Finding Nemo • 2004: The Incredibles • 2005: Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit • 2006: Happy Feet

Preceded by Intimacy

Golden Bear winner 2002 tied with Bloody Sunday

Succeeded by In This World