The boy’s got spirit

HAYAO MIYAZAKI’S Spirited Away is a rare gem in a sea of mediocrity, and it may very well change your view of animated films for ever more.

It’s the story of 10-year-old Chihiro, who along with her mother and father, is lost on the way to her new home. They stop at an abandoned town and, while her parents feast on a banquet that seems to have appeared out of nowhere, Chihiro meets Haku, a young boy who warns her to leave before it gets dark.

But it’s too late. Ghosts begin to appear, Chihiro’s parents turn into pigs and the town is surrounded by a sea of water.

To avoid being eaten or turned into a pig like her parents, Chihiro goes to work for Yunibaba the witch. With the help of Haku and friends, and a growing belief in her own ability, Chihiro starts planning her and her family’s flight to freedom.

This brief plot description doesn’t do justice to the richly textured world Miyazaki has created. He has managed to take animation to new level, to a place untouched by Disney’s conveyor belt of sickly-sweet offerings.

With more action than your average thriller and an enchanted backdrop of characters and places, Spirited Away provides two hours of unforgettable entertainment for young and old alike.

Animation, G. 4/5