Spirited Away (2001) ft. Michael Burgett
- Thomas Duncan
- 15 hours ago
- 4 min read
Guest:
Cast:
Hayao Miyazaki, Director/Writer
Atsushi Okui, Cinematography
Joe Hisaishi, Music
Takeshi Seyama, Editing
Characters
Chihiro Ogino / Sen
Haku / Spirit of the Kohaku River
Yubaba
Zeniba
Lin
Kamaji
Boh (baby)
Aniyaku (assistant Manager)
Akio Ogino (Chihiro's father)
Yūko Ogino (Chihiro's mother)
No-Face
Aogaeru
Chichiyaku
Bandai-gaeru (foreman)
River Spirit
Background:
Spirited Away was released on July 20, 2001.
On a budget of $19.2 million, Spirited Away grossed roughly $274 million to finish #15 at the worldwide box office for 2001.
It was widely critically praised and won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature in 2002.
Susan Napier, professor of Japanese studies at Tufts University, called Spirited Away's wins at major Western award shows "a very big shot in the arm to the Japanese animation industry". She further explained that cartoons in the West have often been seen as "childish, vulgar, things that you didn't take seriously" but after the film took home the Academy Award, people were starting to see animation as "a real art form".
Spirited Away has since been considered one of the greatest animated features of all-time.
In 2004, Cinefantastique listed the film as one of the "10 Essential Animations".
In 2005, Spirited Away was ranked by IGN as the 12th-best animated film of all time.
The film is also the ninth highest-rated film of all time on Metacritic, being the highest rated traditionally animated film on the site.
The film ranked tenth in Empire magazine's "The 100 Best Films of World Cinema" in 2010.
In 2010, Rotten Tomatoes ranked it as the thirteenth-best animated film on the site, and in 2012, as the seventeenth.
In 2019, it topped the site's list of 140 essential animated films.
The film was ranked at number 46 on Time Out magazine's list of "The 100 Best Movies of All Time".
The film is listed within the top ten on the British Film Institute's list of "Top 50 films for children up to the age of 14".
In 2016, it was voted the fourth-best film of the 21st century by the BBC, making it the highest-ranking animated film on the list.
In 2017, The New York Times ranked it as the second-best film of the 21st Century so far.
In 2021, the Writers Guild of America ranked Spirited Away's screenplay the 67th greatest of the 21st century so far.
In 2022, the film was ranked number 75 on Sight & Sound's greatest films list, being one of two animated films to make the list (alongside Miyazaki's own My Neighbor Totoro).
In 2025, the film ranked number 9 on The New York Times' list of "The 100 Best Movies of the 21st Century."
In July 2025, it ranked number 15 on Rolling Stone's list of "The 100 Best Movies of the 21st Century."
Spirited Away currently holds a 96% among critics on RT, a 96 score on Metacritic, and a 4.4/5 on Letterboxd.
Plot Summary: A young girl named Chihiro finds herself in a spirit world when her parents are turned into pigs after eating enchanted food. To save them, she takes a job at a bathhouse run by the witch Yubaba while befriending the dragon-boy Haku and the lonely spirit No-Face along the way. Through courage and hard work, Chihiro grows into someone capable of breaking the curse and returning home.
Did You Know:
Although it has a rich plot with well-developed characters, this film was not created with a script. Hayao Miyazaki's films have never used scripts during production. "I don't have the story finished and ready when we start work on a film," the filmmaker told Midnight Eye. "I usually don't have the time. So, the story develops as I begin drawing storyboards. The production starts while the storyboards are still evolving." Miyazaki doesn't know where the plot is heading, and he lets it develop naturally. "It's not me who makes the film. The film makes itself, and I have no choice but to follow."
This is the first film to earn US $200 million in grosses before opening in the U.S.
The cleansing of the river spirit is based on a real-life incident in Hayao Miyazaki's life in which he participated in the cleaning of a river, removing, among other things, a bicycle.
One of only two animated films ever to receive the Japan Academy Prize for picture of the year, the first being Princess Mononoke (1997), a product of the same crew.
Hayao Miyazaki refused to go to the United States to accept his Academy Award for this film due to his opposition to the Iraq War.
Best Performance: Hayao Miyazaki (Director/Writer)
Best Secondary Performance: Joe Hisaishi (Music)/Suzanne Pleshette (Yubaba/Zeniba (US))/David Ogden Stiers (Kamaji)
Most Charismatic Award: Joe Hisaishi (Music)/David Ogden Stiers (Kamaji)/Chihiro
Best Scene:
Amusement Park/Pigs
River Spirit
Rescuing Haku
No-Face
Final Test
Favorite Scene: River Spirit/Zeniba/No-Face
Most Indelible Moment: Amusement Park-Pigs/Zeniba/Rescuing Haku
In Memorium:
Barbara Ling, 73, American production designer (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Michael, Batman Forever), Oscar winner
Don Iwerks, 96, American entertainment executive (Disney, SimEx-Iwerks)
Randolph Mantooth, 80, American actor (Emergency!, Loving, The City)
Peter Van Norden, 75, American actor (The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear, The Accused, The Stand)
Bonnie Tyler, 75, Welsh singer ("Holding Out for a Hero", "Total Eclipse of the Heart", "It's a Heartache"),
Joanna Pettet, 83, English actress (Casino Royale, The Night of the Generals, The Evil)
Louise Lasser, 87, American actress (Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman; Bananas, Happiness).
Carter DeHaven, 94, American film producer (Hoosiers, Dead Heat on a Merry-Go-Round, The Exorcist III)
Sir Sam Neill, 78, Northern Irish-born New Zealand actor (Jurassic Park, The Piano, Event Horizon)
Best Lines/Funniest Lines:
Zeniba: Once you’ve met someone, you never really forget them.
Zeniba: [Giving Chihiro a hair tie] It will protect you. It's made from the threads your friends wove together.
Chihiro: I finally get a bouquet and it's a goodbye present. That's depressing.
Aogaeru: Welcome the rich man, he's hard for you to miss. His butt keeps getting bigger, so there's plenty there to kiss!
The Stanley Rubric:
Legacy: 9.5
Impact/Significance: 9
Novelty: 8.33
Classic-ness: 9.67
Rewatchability: 7
Audience Score: 9.1 (8.6 IMDB, 96% RT)
Total: 52.6
Remaining Questions:
When will Chihiro meet Haku again?
How long were Chihiro and her parents gone?
Did the movers leave or move everything in?
Why did Yubaba need to enslave Haku?
Does Chihiro ever reconnect with her old best friend?
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