Sen to Chihiro no kamikakushi (2001)

User Rating:

8.5/10   

Directors:

Hayao Miyazaki
Kirk Wise (co-director) (english version)

Writers:

Hayao Miyazaki (story)
Hayao Miyazaki (screenplay)

Release Date:

27 July 2001 (Japan)

Genre:

Animation | Adventure | Family | Fantasy

Tagline:

(The tunnel led Chihiro to a mysterious town,,,)

Plot:

In the middle of her family's move to the suburbs, a sullen 10-year-old girl wanders into a world ruled by gods, witches, and monsters; where humans are changed into animals; and a bathhouse for these creatures.

Plot Keywords:

Greed | Ghost Town | Parallel World | Cult Cartoon | Bathhouse

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 35 wins & 19 nominations

US Showtimes:

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Cast

Rumi Hîragi	...	Chihiro / Sen (voice: Japanese version)
Miyu Irino	...	Haku (voice: Japanese version)
Mari Natsuki	...	Yubaba / Zeniba (voice: Japanese version)
Takashi Naitô	...	Chihiro's Father (voice: Japanese version)
Yasuko Sawaguchi	...	Chihiro's Mother (voice: Japanese version)
Tatsuya Gashuin	...	Aogaeru, Assistant Manager (voice: Japanese version)
Ryunosuke Kamiki	...	Bôh (voice: Japanese version)
Yumi Tamai	...	Lin (voice: Japanese version)
Yo Oizumi	...	Bandai-gaeru (voice: Japanese version)
Koba Hayashi	...	Kawa no Kami (voice: Japanese version)
Tsunehiko Kamijô	...	Chichiyaku (voice: Japanese version)
Takehiko Ono	...	Aniyaku (voice: Japanese version)
Bunta Sugawara	...	Kamajii (voice: Japanese version)
Noriko Kitou	...	Additional Voices (voice: Japanese version)
Shiro Saito	...	Additional Voices (voice: Japanese version)

Also Known As:

Miyazaki's Spirited Away (International: English title) (USA) (poster title)
Sen (Japan) (informal short title)
Sen and the Mysterious Disappearance of Chihiro
Spirited Away (USA)
The Spiriting Away of Sen and Chihiro (informal literal English title)

MPAA:

Rated PG for some scary moments.

Runtime:

125 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.00 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby (English-language version) | Dolby Digital (English-language version) | DTS-ES | Dolby Digital EX

Certification:

Netherlands:6 | Argentina:Atp | Australia:PG | Austria:0 | Brazil:Livre | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Chile:TE | Denmark:7 | Finland:K-7 | France:U | Germany:o.Al. | Hong Kong:I | New Zealand:PG | Norway:7 | Portugal:M/6 | Singapore:PG | South Korea:All | Spain:T | Sweden:7 | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | UK:PG | USA:PG

Company:

Studio Ghibli

Trivia:

A minor dub error causes Haku's name to be 'slurred'. His actual given name in Sen to Chihiro is Kohakunushi Nigihayami, while Spirited Away just refers to his river, the Kohaku River, ignoring the rest of his name entirely, and therefore changing the meaning of his name drastically.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Yubaba flies back to the Aburaya with the bag, she clearly flies above the side of the deck. However, in the next shot, the bag hits the side of the deck.

Quotes:

Lin: Sen! Sen, where are you?
Chihiro: [from beside the Stink Spirit] Over here!
Lin: Don't worry... stay right where you are, I'm coming to get you! You're gonna be fine, I won't let him hurt you.
Chihiro: I think he needs help! It feels like there's a thorn in his side!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Samba in Mettmann (2004)

Soundtrack:

Ano Natsu He

I disagree with Gazzer-2

Actually I dislike his or her comments badly. If you didn't get it watch it again. This is not a piece to just entertain, the creator has put his own feeling and I believe life experience and the fear always buried in children's mind into it. It is a comely tale that express the creator's thoughts in some way, whilst shining as a attractive animation piece with so many details that you might have ignore if you were careless. It is a rich story and I can see the efforts creators put into it in many spots and frames.

e.g. While Chihiro was walking towards the garden where Haku told her to meet him, she passed some stairs where she can see an island, there are some house on it, she stopped for it for a little while, that, represents her longing to human world, her own world, this kind of details can be ignored by many people but they don't mind putting it in to make the whole story richer, more truthful, full of power of humanity.

Apart from that, did you ever notice that some "camera language" was used very well to tell the story in a more entertaining and better pace.e.g. When Kamaji was telling Chihiro how Haku turned up to this world before just like what she did, the "camera" panned to where the little rat(changed from the fat baby)was showing off to soots by putting his foot into the spell melted print while Kamaji's introduction about Haku's background is also getting across to the audience. This is just one of the details that shows how much story telling skills and rhythm control of plots.

There're many other things like this, shouldn't be ignored if you want to make a nice comment, even though as an American viewer you might miss a lot of the story by lack of the culture background, but that's not the reason that you can comment it as anyway you want without even really READ the film.

I am a visual effects person and film maker but I can't tell where the jerking of the footage and the stopping of character's movement are in the film. could Gazzer please enlighten us? As also a fan of Pixar I hope I don't have bias on either American animations or Japanese ones, but as a Chinese who might have some resistance towards Japanese products for national esteem or historic reason, I still admires Ghibli Studio's work. "Spirited Away" is a masterpiece of elegant picture and touching story, if Gazzer-2 knows what that means.

"Ice Age" was a pretty cute one of Fox productions, but not good enough to compete with "Spirited Away" I'm afraid. And I'd laugh at the opinion that the story of "Ice Age" is much simpler hence Oscar committee didn't recognise it, actually I believe "Spirited Away" was beautifully hand-painted frame by frame while "Ice Age" had a giant crew in 3d animation and visual effects. I'm afraid Ice Age was the much more complicated one.