Miyazaki wrote the screenplay after he decided the film would be based on the ten-year-old daughter of his friend Seiji Okuda, the film's associate producer, who came to visit his house each summer.[9] At the time, Miyazaki was developing two personal projects, but they were rejected. With a budget of US$19 million, production ofSpirited Away began in 2000.Pixar animatorJohn Lasseter, a fan and friend of Miyazaki, convincedWalt Disney Pictures to buy the film's North American distribution rights, and served as executive producer of its English-dubbed version.[10] Lasseter then hiredKirk Wise as director andDonald W. Ernst as producer, while screenwriters Cindy and Donald Hewitt wrote the English-language dialogue to match the characters' original Japanese-language lip movements.[11]
Ten-year-old Chihiro Ogino and her parents Akio and Yūko travel to their new home. Akio, taking a shortcut, stops in front of a tunnel leading to what appears to be an abandonedresort town, which Yūko insists on exploring over Chihiro's protestations. Upon finding a seemingly empty restaurant stocked with food, Chihiro's parents immediately begin to eat. While exploring further, Chihiro finds an enormousbathhouse and meets a boy named Haku, who warns her to return across the riverbed before sunset. However, spirits begin to appear, and Chihiro discovers that her parents have been transformed into pigs and that she cannot cross the now-flooded river.
Haku finds Chihiro and instructs her to ask for a job from the bathhouse's boiler-man, Kamaji, ayōkai spirit commanding soot sprites known assusuwatari. Kamaji instead asks a worker named Lin to bring Chihiro to Kamaji's master Yubaba, the witch who runs the bathhouse and who cursed Chihiro's parents. Yubaba tries to frighten Chihiro away but eventually gives her a work contract. As Chihiro signs the contract with her name (千尋), Yubaba takes away the secondkanji in her name, renaming her Sen (千). She soon forgets her real name, and Haku later explains that Yubaba controls people by taking their names; if Chihiro completely forgets hers like he once did, she will never be able to leave the spirit world.
The other workers, except for Kamaji and Lin, frequently mock Sen. While working, she invites a silent creature named No-Face inside, believing him to be a customer. The spirit of a polluted river arrives as Sen's first customer. After she cleans him, he gives her a magicemetic dumpling as a token of gratitude. Meanwhile, No-Face demands food from the bathhouse workers, granting gold copied from the river spirit in exchange. However, when Sen declines the gold and leaves to find Haku, No-Face angrily swallows some workers.
Sen sees papershikigami spirits attacking a dragon and recognizes the dragon as a metamorphosed Haku. When the seriously injured Haku crashes into Yubaba's penthouse, Sen follows him upstairs. A shikigami that stowed away on her back shapeshifts into Yubaba's twin sister Zeniba, who turns Yubaba's son, Boh, into a mouse and creates a false copy of him. Zeniba tells Sen that Haku has stolen a magic golden seal from her that carries a deadly curse. Haku strikes the shikigami, causing Zeniba to vanish. Sen and Haku fall into the boiler room, where she feeds him part of the emetic dumpling. He vomits up the seal and a slug that a disgusted Sen kills.
Sen resolves to return the seal and apologize to Zeniba. She confronts an engorged No-Face and feeds him the rest of the dumpling, forcing him to regurgitate the workers. No-Face follows Sen out of the bathhouse, and Lin helps them leave. Sen, No-Face, and Boh travel to see Zeniba using train tickets from Kamaji. Meanwhile, Yubaba nearly orders Sen's parents slaughtered, but Haku reveals Boh is missing and offers to retrieve him if Yubaba releases Sen and her parents. Yubaba agrees, but only if Sen can pass a final test.
The train crosses a sea to a land where Sen meets Zeniba, who reveals that Yubaba used the slug to control Haku. Zeniba tells Sen that she can't help her parents, but she makes her a magic protective hairband. Using his dragon form, Haku flies Sen and Boh back, while No-Face decides to stay with Zeniba. Mid-flight, Sen recalls falling into the Kohaku River years earlier and being washed safely ashore, correctly guessing Haku's real identity as the spirit of the Kohaku River and restoring his memory.
When they arrive at the bathhouse, Yubaba tests Sen, asking her to identify her parents among a group of pigs. After she answers correctly that none of the pigs are her parents, her contract disappears and she is given back her real name. Haku takes her to the now-dry riverbed and vows to meet her again. Chihiro crosses the riverbed to her restored parents. Shortly before leaving for her new home, Chihiro looks back at the tunnel, still wearing her hairband from Zeniba.
"I created a heroine who is an ordinary girl, someone with whom the audience can sympathize [...]. [I]t's not a story in which the characters grow up, but a story in which they draw on something already inside them, brought out by the particular circumstances [...]. I want my young friends to live like that, and I think they, too, have such a wish."
During summers,Hayao Miyazaki spent his vacation at a mountain cabin with his family and five girls who were friends of the family. The idea forSpirited Away came about when he wanted to make a film for these friends. Miyazaki had previously directed films for small children and teenagers such asMy Neighbor Totoro andKiki's Delivery Service, but he had not created a film for ten-year-old girls. For inspiration, he read theshōjo manga magazines (likeNakayoshi andRibon) that the girls had left at the cabin, but felt they only offered subjects on "crushes" and romance. Miyazaki felt this was not what these young friends "held dear in their hearts", and resolved to make the film about a young heroine whom they could look up to.[16]
Hayao Miyazaki usedshōjo manga magazines for inspiration to directSpirited Away.
Miyazaki had wanted to produce a new film for years, but his two previous proposals—one based on the Japanese bookKiri no Mukō no Fushigi na Machi (霧のむこうのふしぎな町) by Sachiko Kashiwaba, and another about a teenage heroine—were rejected. His third proposal, which ended up becomingSpirited Away, was more successful. The three stories revolved around a bathhouse that was inspired by one in Miyazaki's hometown. He thought the bathhouse was a mysterious place, and there was a small door next to one of the bathtubs in the bath house. Miyazaki was always curious about what was behind it, and he made up several stories about it, one of which inspired the bathhouse setting ofSpirited Away.[16]
AJapanese dragon ascends toward the heavens withMount Fuji in the background in this print fromOgata Gekkō.Spirited Away is heavily influenced by Japanese Shinto-Buddhist folklore.[8]
Production ofSpirited Away commenced in February 2000 on a budget of¥1.9 billion (US$15 million).[2] The film was produced in association withTokuma Shoten,Nippon Television Network,Dentsu,Buena Vista Home Entertainment,Tohokushinsha Film, andMitsubishi.[17]Disney's 10% investment allowed for theright of first refusal for North American distribution.[18][19][self-published source?] As withPrincess Mononoke, Miyazaki and theStudio Ghibli staff experimented with computer animation. With the use of more computers and programs such asSoftimage 3D, the staff learned the software, but used the technology carefully so that it enhanced the story, instead of "stealing the show". Each character was mostly hand-drawn, with Miyazaki working alongside his animators to see if they were getting it just right.[2][self-published source?] The biggest difficulty in making the film was to reduce its length. When production began, Miyazaki realized it would be more than three hours long if he made it according to his plot. He had to delete many scenes from the story, and tried to reduce the "eye candy" in the film because he wanted it to be simple. Miyazaki did not want to make the hero a "pretty girl". At the beginning, he was frustrated at how she looked "dull" and thought, "She isn't cute. Isn't there something we can do?" As the film neared the end, however, he was relieved to feel "she will be a charming woman."[16]
During production, Miyazaki often sought inspiration by visiting theEdo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum inKoganei, Tokyo. He based some of the buildings in the spirit world on the Pseudo-Western style buildings from theMeiji period that were available there. The museum made Miyazaki feel nostalgic, "especially when I stand here alone in the evening, near closing time, and the sun is setting – tears well up in my eyes."[16] Another major inspiration was the Notoya Ryokan (能登谷旅館), atraditional Japanese inn located inYamagata Prefecture, famous for its exquisite architecture and ornamental features.[20][unreliable source?] While some guidebooks and articles claim that the old gold town ofJiufen in Taiwan served as an inspirational model for the film, Miyazaki has denied this.[21] TheDōgo Onsen is also often said to be a key inspiration for theSpirited Away onsen/bathhouse.[22][unreliable source?]
Toshio Suzuki, the producer of the film, also cites European inspirations and influences in the production ofSpirited Away. He specifically invokes the structure of the film as European-inspired due to Miyazaki's own influences by European films such asThe Snow Queen andThe Shepherdess and the Chimney Sweep.[23]
Thefilm score ofSpirited Away was composed and conducted by Miyazaki's regular collaboratorJoe Hisaishi, and performed by theNew Japan Philharmonic.[24] The soundtrack received awards at the 56th Mainichi Film Competition Award for Best Music, theTokyo International Anime Fair 2001 Best Music Award in the Theater Movie category, and the 17th Japan Gold Disk Award for Animation Album of the Year.[25][26][27] Later, Hisaishi added lyrics to "One Summer's Day" and named the new version of the song "The Name of Life" (いのちの名前,"Inochi no Namae") which was performed byAyaka Hirahara.[28]
The closing song, "Always With Me" (いつも何度でも,"Itsumo Nando Demo"; lit. 'Always, No Matter How Many Times') was written and performed byYoumi Kimura, a composer andlyre-player fromOsaka.[29] The lyrics were written by Kimura's friend Wakako Kaku. The song was intended to be used forRin the Chimney Painter (煙突描きのリン,Entotsu-kaki no Rin), a different Miyazaki film which was never released.[29] In the special features of the Japanese DVD, Hayao Miyazaki explains how the song in fact inspired him to createSpirited Away.[29] The song itself would be recognized as Gold at the43rd Japan Record Awards.[30]
Besides the original soundtrack, there is also animage album, titledSpirited Away Image Album (千と千尋の神隠し イメージアルバム,Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi Imēji Arubamu), that contains 10 tracks.[31]
John Lasseter,Pixar animator and a fan and friend of Miyazaki, would often sit with his staff and watch Miyazaki's work when encountering story problems. After seeingSpirited Away, Lasseter was ecstatic.[32] Upon hearing his reaction to the film, Disney CEOMichael Eisner asked Lasseter if he would be interested in introducingSpirited Away to an American audience. Lasseter obliged by agreeing to serve as the executive producer for the English adaptation. Following this, several others began to join the project:Beauty and the Beast co-directorKirk Wise andAladdin co-producerDonald W. Ernst joined Lasseter as director and producer ofSpirited Away, respectively.[32][self-published source?] Screenwriters Cindy Davis Hewitt and Donald H. Hewitt penned the English-language dialogue, which they wrote in order to match the characters' original Japanese-language lip movements.[11]
The cast of the film consists ofDaveigh Chase,Jason Marsden,Suzanne Pleshette (in her final film role before her death in January 2008),Michael Chiklis,Lauren Holly,Susan Egan,David Ogden Stiers andJohn Ratzenberger (a Pixar regular). Advertising was limited, withSpirited Away being mentioned in a small scrolling section of the film section ofDisney.com; Disney had sidelined their official website forSpirited Away[32] and given the film a comparatively small promotional budget.[19] Marc Hairston writing forFPS Magazine argues that this was a justified response to Studio Ghibli's retention of the merchandising rights to the film and characters, which limited Disney's ability to properly market the film.[19]
The majorthemes ofSpirited Away, heavily influenced by JapaneseShinto-Buddhist folklore, centre on the protagonist, Chihiro, and herliminal journey through the realm of spirits. The central location of the film is a Japanese bathhouse where a great variety of Japanese folklore creatures, includingkami, come to bathe. Miyazaki cites the solstice rituals when villagers call forth their local kami and invite them into their baths.[8] Chihiro also encounters kami of animals and plants. Miyazaki says of this:
In my grandparents' time, it was believed that kami existed everywhere – in trees, rivers, insects, wells, anything. My generation does not believe this, but I like the idea that we should all treasure everything because spirits might exist there, and we should treasure everything because there is a kind of life to everything.[8]
Chihiro'sarchetypal entrance into another world changes her status as one somewhere between child and adult. Chihiro also stands outside societal boundaries in the supernatural setting. The use of the wordkamikakushi (literally 'hidden by gods') within the Japanese title, and its associated folklore, reinforces this liminal passage: "Kamikakushi is a verdict of 'social death' in this world, and coming back to this world from Kamikakushi meant 'social resurrection.'"[33]
Additional themes are expressed through No-Face, who reflects the characters who surround him, learning by example and taking the traits of whomever he consumes. This nature results in No-Face's monstrous rampage through the bathhouse. After Chihiro saves No-Face with the emetic dumpling, he becomes timid once more. At the end of the film, Zeniba decides to take care of No-Face so he can develop without the negative influence of the bathhouse.[34]
Yubaba has many similarities tothe Coachman from the 1940 filmPinocchio, in the sense that she mutates humans into pigs in a similar way that the boys ofPleasure Island were mutated into donkeys. Upon gaining employment at the bathhouse, Yubaba's seizure of Chihiro'strue name symbolically kills the child,[38] who must then assume adulthood. She then undergoes arite of passage according to themonomyth format; to recover continuity with her past, Chihiro must create a new identity.[38]
Spirited Away contains critical commentary on modern Japanese society concerning generational conflicts and environmental issues.[39] Chihiro has been seen as a representation of theshōjo, whose roles and ideology had changed dramatically since post-war Japan.[39] Just as Chihiro seeks her past identity, Japan, in its anxiety over the economic downturn occurring during the release of the film in 2001, sought to reconnect to past values.[38] In an interview, Miyazaki has commented on this nostalgic element for an old Japan.[40]
Japanese philosophy plays a huge role inSpirited Away, specifically through concepts likeKami and principles likeMottainai andOn.[41][self-published source?] The concept of Kami, for instance, involves various spirits that each represent different elements and aspects of nature. The principle of Mottainai, which is deeply ingrained in Japanese culture, embodies a sense of regret towards waste, valuing the complete utilization of an object or resource. While the principle of On, a key tenet of Japanese ethics that signifies a sense of moral indebtedness, plays a significant role in Chihiro's character development.[citation needed]
Similar to the Japanese concept ofOn, the film can be partly understood as an exploration of the effect of greediness and Westernconsumerism on traditional Japanese culture.[42][unreliable source?] For instance, Yubaba is stylistically unique within the bathhouse, wearing a Western dress and living among European décor and furnishings, in contrast with theminimalist Japanese style of her employees' quarters, representing the Westerncapitalist influence over Japan in itsMeiji period and beyond. Along with its function within the ostensiblecoming of age theme, Yubaba's act of taking Chihiro's name and replacing it with Sen (an alternate reading ofchi, the first character in Chihiro's name,lit.'one thousand') can be thought of as symbolic ofcapitalism's single-minded concern with value.[39]
The film's setting encapsulates Miyazaki's commentary on modern Japanese values and the erosion of cultural heritage. The bathhouse, situated within an abandoned theme park, symbolizes Japan's distorted cultural identity. This once-traditional locale is marred by neon signs and Westernization, exemplifying cultural degradation. Early scenes highlight economic concerns and consumerism. The film's visuals underscore the commercialization of Japanese culture. The failed theme park serves as a metaphor for the unsuccessful fusion of ideologies. The Meiji design of the park is the setting for Chihiro's parents' metamorphosis – the family arrives in an importedAudi car and the father wears a European-styledpolo shirt, reassuring Chihiro that he has "credit cards and cash", before morphing into literal consumerist pigs because of their bad habits.[43] Miyazaki has stated:
Chihiro's parents turning into pigs symbolizes how some humans become greedy. At the very moment Chihiro says there is something odd about this town, her parents turn into pigs. There were people that "turned into pigs" during Japan'sbubble economy (consumer society) of the 1980s, and these people still haven't realized they've become pigs. Once someone becomes a pig, they don't return to being human but instead gradually start to have the "body and soul of a pig". These people are the ones saying, "We are in a recession and don't have enough to eat." This doesn't just apply to the fantasy world. Perhaps this isn't a coincidence and the food is actually (an analogy for) "a trap to catch lost humans".[42]
The bathhouse of the spirits cannot be seen as a place free of ambiguity and darkness.[44] Many of the employees are rude to Chihiro because she is human, and corruption is ever-present;[39] it is a place of excess and greed, as depicted in the initial appearance of No-Face.[45] In stark contrast to the simplicity of Chihiro's journey and transformation is the constantly chaotic carnival in the background.[39]
Commentators have often referred to environmental themes in the films of Miyazaki. InSpirited Away, two major instances of allusions to environmental issues have been noted.Pam Coats, for example, a Vice President of Walt Disney Feature Animation, describes Chihiro dealing with the "stink spirit", who, it turns out, is actually a river spirit but is so corrupted with filth that one cannot tell what it is at first glance. It only becomes clean again when Chihiro pulls out a huge amount of trash, including car tires, garbage, and a bicycle. This alludes to human pollution of the environment, and how people can carelessly toss away things without thinking of the consequences and of where the trash will go.[46]
The second allusion is seen in Haku himself. Haku does not remember his name and lost his past, which is why he is stuck at the bathhouse. Eventually, Chihiro remembers that he used to be the spirit of the Kohaku River, which was destroyed and replaced with apartments. Because of humans' need for development, they destroyed a part of nature, causing Haku to lose his home and identity. This can be compared to deforestation and destruction of natural habitats; humans tear down nature, cause imbalance in the ecosystem, and demolish animals' homes to satisfy their want for more space (housing, malls, stores, etc.) but do not think about how it can affect other living things.[47][48]
Spirited Away was released theatrically in Japan on 20 July 2001 by distributorToho. It grossed a record ¥1.6 billion ($13.1 million) in its first three days, beating the previous record set byPrincess Mononoke.[49] It wasnumber one at the Japanese box office for its first eleven weeks and spent 16 weeks there in total.[50] After 22 weeks of release and after grossing $224 million in Japan, it started its international release, opening in Hong Kong on 13 December 2001.[51] It was the first film that had grossed more than $200 million at the worldwide box office excluding the United States.[52][53] It went on to gross ¥30.4 billion to become thehighest-grossing film in Japanese history, according to the Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan.[54] It also set the all-time attendance record in Japan, surpassing the 16.8 million tickets sold byTitanic.[55] Its gross at the Japanese box office has since increased to¥31.68 billion, as of 2020[update].[56][57]
In February 2002,Wild Bunch, an international sales company that had recently spun off from its former parent companyStudioCanal, picked up the international sale rights for the film outside of Asia and France.[58] The company would then on-sell it to independent distributors across the world. On 13 April 2002,The Walt Disney Company acquired the Taiwanese, Singaporean, Hong Kong, French and North American sale rights to the film, alongside Japanese Home Media rights.[59]
Disney's English dub of the film, supervised by Lasseter, premiered at theToronto International Film Festival on 7 September 2002[60] and was later released in the United States on 20 September 2002. The film grossed $450,000 in its opening weekend from 26 theatres.Spirited Away had very little marketing, less than Disney's other B-films, with a maximum of 151 theatres showing the film in 2002.[19] After the2003 Oscars,[61] it expanded to 714 theatres. It ultimately grossed around $10 million by September 2003.[62] Outside of Japan and the United States, the movie was moderately successful in both South Korea and France, where it grossed $11 million and $6 million, respectively.[63] In Argentina, it is in the top 10 anime films with the most tickets sold.[64][failed verification][unreliable source?]
In the United Kingdom, then-independent based film distributorOptimum Releasing acquired the rights to the movie from Wild Bunch in January 2003.[65][failed verification][non-primary source needed] The company then released it theatrically on 12 September 2003.[66][67] The movie grossed $244,437 on its opening weekend from 51 theatres, and by the end of its theatrical run in October, the movie has grossed $1,383,023 in the country.[68]
About 18 years after its original release in Japan,Spirited Away had a theatrical release in China on 21 June 2019. It followed the theatrical release in China ofMy Neighbour Totoro in December 2018.[69] The delayed theatrical release in China was due to long-standing political tensions between China and Japan, but many Chinese became familiar with Miyazaki's films due to rampant video piracy.[70] It topped the Chinese box office with a$28.8-million opening weekend, beatingToy Story 4 in China.[71] In its second weekend,Spirited Away grossed a cumulative$54.8 million in China, and was second only behindSpider-Man: Far From Home that weekend.[72] As of 16 July 2019[update], the film has grossed$70 million in China,[73] bringing its worldwide total box office to$346 million as of 8 July 2019[update].[74]
Spirited Away's worldwide box office total stands at US$395,802,070.[a]
Spirited Away was first released on VHS and DVD formats in Japan byBuena Vista Home Entertainment on 19 July 2002.[75] The Japanese DVD releases include storyboards for the film and the special edition includes a GhibliDVD player.[76]Spirited Away sold 5.5million home video units in Japan by 2007,[77] and holds the record for most home video copies sold of all time in the country as of 2014[update].[78] The movie was released onBlu-ray byWalt Disney Studios Japan on 14 July 2014, and DVD was also reissued on the same day with a new HD master, alongside several otherStudio Ghibli movies.[79][80]
In North America, the film was released on DVD and VHS formats by Walt Disney Home Entertainment on 15 April 2003.[81] The attention brought by the Oscar win resulted in the film becoming a strong seller.[82] The bonus features include Japanese trailers, a making-of documentary which originally aired onNippon Television, interviews with the North American voice actors, a select storyboard-to-scene comparison andThe Art of Spirited Away, a documentary narrated by actorJason Marsden.[83] The movie was released on Blu-ray in North America byWalt Disney Studios Home Entertainment on 16 June 2015.[84]GKIDS andShout! Factory re-issued the film on Blu-ray and DVD on 17 October 2017 following the expiration of Disney's previous deal with Studio Ghibli in the country in North America.[85] On 12 November 2019, GKIDS and Shout! Factory issued a North-America-exclusiveSpirited Away collector's edition, which includes the film on Blu-ray, and the film's soundtrack on CD, as well as a 40-page book with statements by Toshio Suzuki and Hayao Miyazaki, and essays by film criticKenneth Turan and film historianLeonard Maltin.[86][87] Along with the rest of the Studio Ghibli films,Spirited Away was released on digital markets in the United States for the first time, on 17 December 2019.
In the United Kingdom, the film was released on DVD and VHS as a rental release through independent distributor High Fliers Films PLC following the film's limited theatrical release. It was later officially released on DVD in the UK on 29 March 2004, with the distribution being done by Optimum Releasing themselves.[88] In 2006, the DVD was reissued as a single-disc release (without the second one) with packaging matching other releases in Optimum's "The Studio Ghibli Collection" range.[89] The then-renamedStudioCanal UK released the movie on Blu-ray on 24 November 2014, A British 20th Anniversary Collector's Edition, similar to other Studio Ghibli anniversary editions released in the UK, was released on 25 October 2021.[90]
In the United States, the 2015 Blu-ray release grossed $9,925,660 from 557,613 physical units sold as of 21 February 2021[update].[91] In the United Kingdom, the film's Studio Ghibli anniversary release appeared several times on the annual lists of best-sellingforeign language film onhome video, ranking number six in 2015,[92] number five in 2016,[93] and number one in 2019.[94]
The film was aired onNippon TV (NTV) in Japan, on 24 January 2003. It became NTV's most-watched film of all time with a 46.9%audience rating, surpassing the 35.1% record previously set byPrincess Mononoke in 1999.[95]
In the United Kingdom, the film was watched by 670,000 viewers onBBC2 in 2010. This made it the year's most-watched foreign-language film onBBC, and the year's second highest foreign film on UK television (below the IndianBollywood filmOm Shanti Om).[96]Spirited Away was later watched by 300,000 UK viewers on BBC2 in 2011, making it the year's most-watched foreign-language film on BBC2.[97] Combined, the film drew a970,000 UK television viewership on BBC2 between 2010 and 2011.[citation needed]
Onreview aggregatorRotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 96% approval rating based on 221 reviews, with an average rating of 8.6/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Spirited Away is a dazzling, enchanting, and gorgeously drawn fairy tale that will leave viewers a little more curious and fascinated by the world around them."[98] The site ranked it 28th on their "300 Best Movies of All Time" list in 2025.[99] OnMetacritic, it has a weighted average score of 96 out of 100 based on reviews from 41 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[12]
Roger Ebert of theChicago Sun-Times gave the film a full four stars, praising the work and Miyazaki's direction. Ebert also said thatSpirited Away was one of "the year's best films", as well as adding it to his "Great Movies" list.[100]Elvis Mitchell ofThe New York Times positively reviewed the film and praised the animation. Mitchell drew a favorable comparison to Lewis Carroll'sThrough the Looking-Glass, and wrote that Miyazaki's "movies are as much about moodiness as mood" and that "the prospect of animated figures' not being what they seem – either spiritually or physically – heightens the tension".[37] Derek Elley ofVariety said thatSpirited Away "can be enjoyed by sprigs and adults alike" and praised the animation and music.[101]Kenneth Turan of theLos Angeles Times praised Miyazaki's direction and the voice acting, as well as saying that the film is the "product of a fierce and fearless imagination whose creations are unlike anything a person has seen before."[102]Orlando Sentinel's critic Jay Boyar also praised Miyazaki's direction and said the film is "the perfect choice for a child who has moved into a new home."[103]
In 2004,Cinefantastique listed the film as one of the "10 Essential Animations".[104] In 2005,Spirited Away was ranked byIGN as the 12th-best animated film of all time.[105] 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 inEmpire magazine's "The 100 Best Films of World Cinema" in 2010.[106] In 2010, Rotten Tomatoes ranked it as the thirteenth-best animated film on the site,[107] and in 2012, as the seventeenth.[108] In 2019, it topped the site's list of 140 essential animated films.[109] The film was ranked at number 46 onTime Out magazine's list of "The 100 Best Movies of All Time".[110] The film is listed within the top ten on theBritish Film Institute's list of "Top 50 films for children up to the age of 14".[111] In 2016, it was voted thefourth-best film of the 21st century by theBBC, as picked by 177 film critics from around the world, making it the highest-ranking animated film on the list.[112] In 2017,The New York Times ranked it as the second best film of the 21st Century so far.[113] In 2021, theWriters Guild of America rankedSpirited Away's screenplay the 67th greatest of the 21st century so far.[114] In 2022, the film was ranked number 75 onSight & Sound's greatest films list, being one of two animated films to make the list (alongside Miyazaki's ownMy Neighbor Totoro).[115][116] In 2025, the film ranked number 9 onThe New York Times' list of "The 100 Best Movies of the 21st Century."[117] In July 2025, it ranked number 15 onRolling Stone's list of "The 100 Best Movies of the 21st Century."[118]
In his bookOtaku,Hiroki Azuma observed: "Between 2001 and 2007, theotaku forms and markets quite rapidly won social recognition in Japan," and cites Miyazaki's win at the Academy Awards forSpirited Away among his examples.[119]
Spirited Away is frequently regarded as one of the best films of the 21st century as well as one of thegreatest animated films ever made.[131][132][133]Comic Book Resources wrote that the film "set the bar extremely high for all anime movies that followed it – including Studio Ghibli's" and further explained that "It's a movie many people re-watch due to its comfort and nostalgia, and since Netflix brought the Ghibli movies to North America last year, it's become even more accessible".[134][unreliable source?]Vice also declaredSpirited Away to be the all-time best animated film and wrote that the film "showed how breathtaking, heartfelt, and serious animation can be" that "Pixar,Disney, and other mainstream animators have still failed to genuinely realize 15 years later".[135] In 2016, theBBC placed the film fourth on its list of the100 Greatest Films of the 21st Century.[136]
Film directorSteven Spielberg said thatSpirited Away might be "better than any Disney films" he has ever seen.[137]Rayna Denison, professor of film, television, and media studies, toldTime that "This is a film made by a master animator at the height of his powers and it is one where the quality of the animation really does set it apart from everything else around it. Nobody else was making films that looked like this or that were as inventive as this was at this time".[138] The film has been cited as influence for variousDisney andPixar animated films. Production designerHarley Jessup said that he initially looked atSpirited Away and was inspired by the spiritual feelings elements to utilize them inCoco.[139] Co-writers Ken and Ryan Firpo cited the film as one of the influences that helps them explore "ideas of morality and humanity" inEternals.[140]Turning Red's directorDomee Shi namedSpirited Away as one of her favorite animated films and one of the influences for her film.[141]
According toTime,Spirited Away "arrived at a time when animation was widely perceived as a genre solely for children, and when cultural differences often became barriers to the global distribution of animated works" but it "shattered preconceived notions about the art form and also proved that, as a film created in Japanese with elements of Japanese folklore central to its core, it could resonate deeply with audiences around the world". Denison emphasized thatJohn Lasseter andDisney "boostedSpirited Away's visibility in America by heavily campaigning for the film to be considered for the Academy Awards", and cited it as one of the reasons why it wonAcademy Award for Best Animated Feature.[142] WriterJonathan Clements, whose published works revolve around East Asian culture,anime, and Japanese television dramas, emphasized that the film's Oscar win was "a wake-up call for a lot of people in the film business who had been disregarding Japanese animation for years".[143] Susan Napier, professor of Japanese studies atTufts University, calledSpirited Away's wins at major Western award shows "a very big shot in the arm to the Japanese animation industry". She further explained thatcartoons 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".[144][page needed]
A stage adaptation ofSpirited Away was announced in February 2021 with a world premiere planned in Tokyo on 28 February 2022. It is written and directed byJohn Caird, withToho as the production company, with Studio Ghibli's blessing. The role of Chihiro is played by bothKanna Hashimoto andMone Kamishiraishi.[145][146] In August 2023, it was announced that the production would have its European premiere at theLondon Coliseum from April 2024,[147] with most of the cast reprising their roles.[148]
^España, Taquilla (24 May 2021)."El viaje de Chihiro".TAQUILLA ESPAÑA (in European Spanish).Archived from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved2 July 2021.
^Sunada, Mami (Director) (16 November 2013).夢と狂気の王国 [The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness] (Documentary) (in Japanese). Tokyo: Studio Ghibli.Archived from the original on 7 July 2014. Retrieved12 July 2014. Interview with Toshio Suzuki
^abcSatoshi, Ando. 11 February 2009. "Regaining Continuity with the Past: Spirited Away and Alice's Adventures in Wonderland."Bookbird 46(1):23–29.doi:10.1353/bkb.0.0016.
^Groves, Don (22 October 2001). "Romance, laffs boos o'seas B.O.".Variety. p. 12.
^Sudo, Yoko (4 June 2014)."'Frozen' Ranks as Third-Biggest Hit in Japan".The Wall Street Journal.Archived from the original on 6 February 2017. Retrieved27 June 2014.Walt Disney'sFrozen has surpassed ¥21.2 billion (about $212 million) in box office sales as of this week and now ranks as the third-highest-grossing movie ever in Japan, according to the company ... Having toppedHarry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone,Frozen now trails onlyTitanic, which opened in 1997 and grossed ¥26.2 billion, and Hayao Miyazaki'sSpirited Away, which opened in 2001 and brought in ¥30.4 billion, according to the Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan Inc.
^Groves, Don (1 October 2001). "H'wood makes 'Rush' into Japan".Variety. p. 16.
^Conrad, Jeremy (14 March 2003)."Spirited Away".IGN.Archived from the original on 9 April 2016. Retrieved2 June 2016.
^Reid, Calvin (28 April 2003)."'Spirited Away' Sells like Magic".Publishers Weekly. Vol. 250, no. 17.Archived from the original on 19 December 2013. Retrieved29 April 2012.
Callis, Cari. 2010. "Nothing that Happens is ever Forgotten." InAnime and Philosophy, edited by J. Steiff and T. D. Tamplin. New York: Open Court.ISBN9780812697131.
Cooper, Damon (1 November 2010), "Finding the spirit within: a critical analysis of film techniques in spirited Away.(Critical essay)",Babel, vol. 45, no. 1, Australian Federation of Modern Language Teachers Associations, pp. 30(6),ISSN0005-3503
Coyle, Rebecca (2010).Drawn to Sound: Animation Film Music and Sonicity. Equinox Publishing.ISBN978-1-84553-352-6.Drawn to Sound focuses on feature-length, widely distributed films released in the period since World War II, from producers in the USA, UK, Japan and France-from Animal Farm (1954) to Happy Feet (2006), Yellow Submarine (1968) to Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005), Spirited Away (2001) and Les Triplettes de Belleville (2003).
Denison, Rayna (2008). "The global markets for anime: Miyazaki Hayao's Spirited away (2001)". In Phillips, Alastair; Stringer, Julian (eds.).Japanese Cinema: Texts and Contexts. Routledge.ISBN978-0-415-32847-0.
Fielding, Julien R. (2008).Discovering World Religions at 24 Frames Per Second. Scarecrow Press.ISBN978-0-8108-5996-8.Several films with a 'cult-like' following are also discussed, such asFight Club,Princess Mononoke,Spirited Away, andJacob's Ladder.
Galbraith IV, Stuart (2008).The Toho Studios Story: A History and Complete Filmography. Scarecrow Press.ISBN978-0-8108-6004-9.Since its inception in 1933, Toho Co., Ltd., Japan's most famous movie production company and distributor, has produced and/or distributed some of the most notable films ever to come out of Asia, includingSeven Samurai,Godzilla,When a Woman Ascends the Stairs,Kwaidan,Woman in the Dunes,Ran,Shall We Dance?,Ringu, andSpirited Away.
Geortz, Dee (2009). "The hero with the thousand-and-first face: Miyazaki's girl quester in Spirited away and Campbell's Monomyth". In Perlich, John; Whitt, David (eds.).Millennial Mythmaking: Essays on the Power of Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature, Films and Games. McFarland.ISBN978-0-7864-4562-2.
Hooks, Ed (2005). "Spirited Away".Acting in Animation: A Look at 12 Films. Heinemann Drama.ISBN978-0-325-00705-2.
Knox, Julian (22 June 2011), "Hoffmann, Goethe, and Miyazaki's Spirited Away.(E.T.A. Hoffmann, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, and Hayao Miyazaki)(Critical essay)",Wordsworth Circle,42 (3), Wordsworth Circle: 198(3),doi:10.1086/TWC24043148,ISSN0043-8006,S2CID169044013
Matthews, Kate (2006), "Logic and Narrative in 'Spirited Away'",Screen Education (43):135–140,ISSN1449-857X
