Spirited Away

Theatrical Release Date: 2002 09 20 (USA - Limited) / 2003 03 28 (USA - Rerelease)

UPC: 786936213843

Studio: Walt Disney Video

MPAA Rating: PG   Contains:[Mild Violence, Watch With Your Kids, Scary Moments]

Summary: Master animation director Hayao Miyazaki follows up on his record-breaking 1997 opus Princess Mononoke with this surreal Alice in Wonderland-like tale about a lost little girl. The film opens with ten-year-old Chihiro riding along during a family outing as her father races through remote country roads. When they come upon a blocked tunnel, her parents decide to have a look around -- even though Chihiro finds the place very creepy. When they pass through the tunnel, they discover an abandoned amusement park. As Chihiro's bad vibes continue, her parents discover an empty eatery that smells of fresh food. After her mother and father help themselves to some tasty purloined morsels, they turn into giant pigs. Chihiro understandably freaks out and flees. She learns that this very weird place, where all sorts of bizarre gods and monsters reside, is a holiday resort for the supernatural after their exhausting tour of duty in the human world. Soon after befriending a boy named Haku, Chihiro learns the rules of the land: one, she must work , as laziness of any kind is not tolerated; and two, she must take on the new moniker of Sen. If she forgets her real name, Haku tells her, then she will never be permitted to leave. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

Category: Fantasy

Awards: Golden Berlin Bear – Berlin International Film Festival Best Animated Feature – Los Angeles Film Critics Association Best Animated Feature – Broadcast Film Critics Association Best Foreign Film – French Academy of Cinema Best Animated Feature – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Golden Bear – Berlin International Film Festival Best Animated Feature – National Board of Review Best Animated Feature – Broadcast Film Critics Association Best Animated Feature – New York Film Critics Circle Film Presented – Telluride Film Festival

Features: cc "Spirited Away" introduction by John Lasseter
The art of "Spirited Away"
The Nippon television special - The Making of the Film
Select storyboard-to-screen comparison
Behind the microphone with Suzanne Pleshette and Jason Marsden
Original Japanese trailers
English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
Original Japanese-language track
Widescreen (2.0:1) - enhanced for 16 x 9 televisions
French-language track

Spirited Away

Format: DVD

Release Date: 04/15/2003

Audio: DD5.1 Dolby Digital 5.1

Runtime: 125 Minutes

Sides: 2

Number of Discs: 2

Language(s) English,French

Subtitles: English

Region: USA & territories, Canada

Chapters: Side #1 -- Disc 1
1. Opening Credits/The Middle of Nowhere
2. "It's Just a Dream"
3. Finding Work at the Bathhouse
4. Meeting Yubaba
5. Sen's New Life
6. "We Have an Intruder"
7. Working for Tips
8. A Strange Visit to the Nursery
9. The Golden Seal
10. A Monster Called 'No Face'
11. The Train to Swamp Bottom
12. "What Did You Do With My Baby!"
13. A Visit With Zeniba
14. Finding the Way Home
15. One Final Test
16. End Credits

Andrea LeVasseur

This fantasy adventure combines the magic of Alice in Wonderland and Wizard of Oz with a wildly imaginative critique of consumption in contemporary times. With Spirited Away, master animator Hayao Miyazaki unifies elements of his previous works: the youthful innocence of My Neighbor Totoro, the independence lessons of Kiki's Delivery Service, and the powerful grown-up forces of the spirit world from Princess Mononoke. Introducing a huge number of creatures, the spirit world Chihiro stumbles into is nothing short of amazing. Using sparse computer animation in his previous feature-length film, Miyazaki experiments with a lot of CGI software for this dizzying journey, which mostly takes place in fantastical spirit bathhouse. The effects are put to good use as characters hold powers that enable them to change form into beings like bats and dragons. Bizarre creatures overpopulate the film, with everything from tiny spider-like workers to giant radish spirits. Although sometimes resorting to gross-out humor, the tale is really the most traditional of fantasy adventure stories. The plucky Chihiro starts out as such an average spoiled 20th century youngster and develops into a self-confident hero. Not overly cute or smart, she is just a kid that has to learn to survive. Beyond this seemingly simplistic narrative are fully nuanced characters, rousing action, and a weird fantasy construction of capitalism that hits home at a very base level. Although not exactly a satire, greed figures into the narrative as a driving force that demands choices from the hero. The result is a memorable and captivating journey, marking a high point in the director's career as well as duly serving the underestimated population of people that Miyazaki frequently portrays: ten-year-old girls. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Donald W. Ernst  Producer 
Hayao Miyazaki  Director 
Hayao Miyazaki  Screenwriter 
John Lasseter  Executive Producer 
Joe Hisaishi  Composer (Music Score) 
Toshio Suzuki  Producer 
Yasuyoshi Tokuma  Executive Producer 
Hironori Aihara  Executive Producer 
Koji Hoshino  Executive Producer 
Takeyoshi Matsushita  Executive Producer 
Yutaka Narita  Executive Producer 
Banjiro Uemura  Executive Producer 
Seiichiro Ujie  Executive Producer 
Cindy Davis Hewitt  Screenwriter 
Donald H. Hewitt  Screenwriter 
Daveigh Chase  Actor 
Rumi Hiiragi  Actor 
Miyu Irino  Actor 
Jason Marsden  Actor 
Mari Natsuki  Actor 
Suzanne Pleshette  Actor 
Susan Egan  Actor 
Yumi Tamai  Actor 
Yasuka Sawaguchi  Actor 
David Ogden Stiers  Actor 
Lauren Holly  Actor 
Tatsuya Gasyuin  Actor 
Ryunosuke Kamiki  Actor 
Michael Chiklis  Actor 
Takashi Naito  Actor 
John Ratzenberger  Actor 
Yo Oizumi  Actor 
Tara Strong  Actor 
Koba Hayashi  Actor 
Tsunehiko Kamijyo  Actor 
Takehiko Ono  Actor 
Bunta Sugawara  Actor 

Country: Japan