Entertainment Weekly, 09/27/2002, p.57, "...A triumph of psychological depth and artistic brilliance..."
Los Angeles Times, 09/20/2002, p.C1, "...This visual wonder is the product of a fierce and fearless imagination whose creations are unlike any you've seen before..."
USA Today, 09/20/2002, p.7E, "...Elements of Eastern religions and Japanese legends add to the otherworldly, magical quality of the film..."
New York Times, 09/20/2002, p.E11, "...The beauty of the animation, a skillful blend of hand-painted foreground and well-placed computer background, works to generate the storytelling..."
Box Office, 11/01/2002, p.151, "...The film unfolds like an enchanted hybrid of Alice in Wonderland and Oliver Twist....The illustrations are richly textured..."
Variety, 09/23/2002, p.25, "...Miyazaki's comic touches and often astounding flights of fantasy -- enhanced by Joe Hisaishi's thankfully intact score -- still win the day..."
Chicago Sun-Times, 04/06/2003, p.5, "...This is the best animated film of recent years....Delightful and enchanting..."
Sight and Sound, 09/01/2003, p.34-64, "...Remarkable....It has some splendid gags....The film's opening demonstrates the cross-cultural universality of fairy tales..."
Title Note
Theatrical release: September 20, 2002
Distributor Note
Miyazaki's Spirited Away
From one of the most celebrated filmmakers in the history of animated cinema comes the most acclaimed film of 2002. Hayao Miyazaki's latest triumph, filled with astonishing animation and epic adventure, is a dazzling masterpiece for the ages. It's a "wonderfully welcoming work of art that's as funny and entertaining as it is brilliant, beautiful, and deep" (Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal). SPIRITED AWAY is a wondrous fantasy about a young girl, Chihiro, trapped in a strange new world of spirits. When her parents undergo a mysterious transformation, she must call upon the courage she never knew she had to free herself and return her family to the outside world. An unforgettable story brimming with creativity, SPIRITED AWAY will take you on a journey beyond your imagination. "To enter the world of Hayao Miyazaki is to experience a kind of lighthearted enchantment that is unique to the world of animation" (Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times). It's a fantastic tale the whole family will want to experience over and over again.
Source: Buena Vista Home Entertainment.
Release Note
DVD Features:
Region 1 2-Disc Set Anamorphic Widescreen - 1.85 Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1 - Japanese Dolby Digital 5.1 - English Additional Release Material: Introduction - 1. John Lasseter Featurette - 1. Voice Talent 2. THE ART OF SPIRITED AWAY 3. Television Nippon Special Trailers Film-to-Storyboard Comparison Interactive Features: Scene Access Interactive Menus Text/Photo Galleries: Storyboards
Product Notes
Directed by animation legend Hayao Miyazaki, SPIRITED AWAY is the tale of Chihiro (voiced by Daveigh Chase), a young girl who is taken down an unusual road by her parents while moving to a new home in an unfamiliar town. The curiosity of Chihiro's mother (Lauren Holly) and father (Michael Chiklis) leads the reluctant child into what appears to be an abandoned amusement park. Soon her parents are greedily feasting on various delights from an enticing food stand and are literally turned into pigs. The frightened and bewildered girl then encounters a young man named Haku (Jason Marsden), who explains what she must do to navigate this strange and magical realm. Finding employment in a bathhouse for spirits and other odd characters--including kimono-wearing frogs, lumbering tentacled monsters, and a mysterious apparition named No Face--Chihiro attempts to figure out how she can free her parents from the clutches of the resort's owner, a powerful witch named Yubaba (Suzanne Pleshette). In the process, she makes some very eccentric friends--and has to deal with some notoriously stinky customers.
A surreal adventure reminiscent of Lewis Carroll's ALICE IN WONDERLAND, SPIRITED AWAY continues Miyazaki's streak of groundbreaking animated films that also includes PRINCESS MONONOKE and MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO. Succeeding MONONOKE as the most successful film in Japanese cinema history, this charming movie follows its own bizarre yet engaging logic as it reveals a cast of fascinating characters and jaw-dropping settings through stunningly beautiful hand-crafted animation. A movie experience like no other, SPIRITED AWAY is sure to enchant audiences of all ages, leaving viewers grinning with a giddy sense of wonderment.
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