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Spirited Away

Spirited Away

Animation · Family · Fantasy · 2001

A young girl, Chihiro, becomes 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 her family.

Movie details

Spirited Away

“Beyond the tunnel was a mysterious town.”

2001 Animation · Family · Fantasy 2h 5m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

8.5 / 10

Community rating

A young girl, Chihiro, becomes 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 her family.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Spirited Away?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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My Neighbor Totoro

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Two sisters move to the country with their father in order to be closer to their hospitalized mother, and discover the surrounding trees are inhabited by Totoros, magical spirits of the forest. When the youngest runs away from home, the older sister seeks help from the spirits to find her.

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Twitches

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Children Who Chase Lost Voices

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Animation · 2011

The film centers on Asuna, a young girl who spends her solitary days listening to the mysterious music emanating from the crystal radio she received from her late father as a memento. One day while walking home she is attacked by a fearsome monster and saved by a mysterious boy named Shun. However, Shun disappears and Asuna embarks on a journey of adventure to the land of Agartha with her teacher Mr. Morisaki to meet a Shun again. Through her journey she comes to know the cruelty and beauty of the world, as well as loss.

My Oni Girl

My Oni Girl

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A shy teenage boy's inability to say no is tested when a headstrong girl drags him on a mystical journey amid summer snow to find her missing mom.

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Mary and The Witch's Flower

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Barbie: A Fairy Secret

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Barbie realises that fairies secretly surround everybody. She, along with the help of her friends, Taylor and Carrie, sets out to rescue Ken. He is taken to the secret fairy city, Gloss Angeles.

Where it lives

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Hayao Miyazaki

Written by

Hayao Miyazaki

Rumi Hiiragi

Rumi Hiiragi

Chihiro (voice)

Miyu Irino

Miyu Irino

Haku (voice)

Mari Natsuki

Mari Natsuki

Yubaba / Zeniba (voice)

Takashi Naito

Takashi Naito

Father (voice)

Yasuko Sawaguchi

Yasuko Sawaguchi

Mother (voice)

Tatsuya Gashuin

Tatsuya Gashuin

Aogaeru (voice)

Ryunosuke Kamiki

Ryunosuke Kamiki

Boh (voice)

Court is in session

Put Spirited Away on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Sincerity is not manipulation.”

The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“The strings are showing.”

Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.