Spirited Away

Spirited Away (2001) is a Japanese animated fantasy film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki and produced by Studio Ghibli. The story follows a 10-year-old girl named Chihiro who stumbles into a mysterious and magical world after her parents are transformed into pigs. Forced to work in a bathhouse for spirits, she undergoes a journey of growth, courage, and identity while seeking a way to return to the human world. The richly layered narrative blends Shinto symbolism, environmental commentary, and critiques of greed and consumerism, all wrapped in a surreal, dreamlike aesthetic. The film was a massive box office success, earning over ¥31.68 billion ($305 million USD) in Japan, becoming the highest-grossing film in Japanese history at the time—a record it held for nearly 20 years until 2020. Globally, it grossed over $395 million, making it the most successful Japanese animated film worldwide until it was surpassed by Demon Slayer: Mugen Train in 2020. Its financial success was paralleled by its widespread critical acclaim. Spirited Away received overwhelming praise for its imaginative world-building, complex characters, and hand-drawn animation. It holds a 97% score on Rotten Tomatoes and a Metacritic score of 96. It won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature in 2003—making it the first (and still only) hand-drawn non-English-language film to win that category. It also won the Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2002, one of the few animated films ever to do so. Its legacy is monumental. Widely regarded as one of the greatest animated films ever made, it helped cement Studio Ghibli’s international reputation and expanded the global audience for Japanese animation. It’s frequently taught in film studies programs and remains a cultural touchstone for both anime fans and general audiences alike. In 2020, it was ranked among the top films in the BBC’s “100 Greatest Films of the 21st Century” list.