Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Definitely another masterpiece from Hayao Miyazaki
I saw this new release at early April, since then, I've decided to put it into my personal DVD collection... As a long term Hayao Miyazaki fan, this new film didn't let me down; a warm humanity emits throughout the movie, the vivid protrait of every characters, well organized plots, mixed with exotic Japanese mythology, and universal understandable humours...the young girl's spirited away is the Japanese equivalent of ours "Alice's wonderland". A good pick for adult audience, and even better choice for those who want to have imtimate, quality good times with their kids, a good material to teach kids to learn about integrity and good behaviors. For those who have extra budget allowance, you should consider put these titles into your collections: Excellent for kids (with cheerful aura, happy endings, and of course the nice humanity, and genius imaginations - trademarks of Miyazaki's films...)
1. My neighbor Totoro, 2. Kiki's delivery service, 3. The castle in the sky. For adult or more matured audience: Grave of the Fireflies (an great anti-war epic, through the eyes of two Japanese kids-a boy and his young sister- at the close of the WW II with a sad, sad ending.) Trust me, these are masterpieces; and if I were you, I will choice original Japanese soundtracks with English captions.
Rating:  - Spellbinding beauty, moral lessons, but scarey and gross!
The clarity of the details, rich color palette plus intense and distinctive characters all help to create an extraordinary dream-like beauty. The pure heart of Chihiro as she encounters tests of her perserverence is very touching. There is a clear message against greed and in favor of hard work and kindness. For all the beauty, though, it must be said that this film is not for young children (newly rated PG in the Disney version, which I have not seen..I bought the original with subtitles) The various demons are hauntingly odd and bizarre, especially the "No-face" one which tempts others to become greedy, then unveils a large mouth and eats them. Yubaba the witch has a huge head and turns into a creature, still with her head, which takes to the night sky like a strange predatory bird. There are also gross moments, when No-face vomits up all the things he ate over a period of time, and when the River God comes to the bathhouse so dirty he is dripping slime as he walks. Interestingly, Hayao Miyazaki's "Princess Mononoke" also has a gross monster, the boar-like thing that has worms dripping out of it as it moves. If Mr Miyazaki would refrain from these gross moments, I'd be more interested in seeing these unique, entrancing films over and over. Perhaps it is a cultural thing, with the gross details of such demon creatures being necessary to be true to their cultural tales. But it does not suit my taste, and I certainly would have children under age 14 or 15 to see it. On the other hand, Mr Miyazaki's "Kiki's Delivery Service" and "My Neighbor, Totoro" are more suited to children, and also have the heart, unique details/stories and dream-like beauty, without the grossness or scariness.
Rating: - Another job well done for Miyazaki
Like many of Miyazaki's previous films, Spirited Away (Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi), is an artistic masterpiece. Though released in the U.S. by Disney, Spirited Away follows in a long line of wonderfully original storylines along with the unique animation distinguished with other Studio Ghibli films. The storyline is so very original and was very well put together. There's nothing like it. And the animation was flawless. The movie takes you on an adventure that you've never experienced. The emotions of what the main character, Chihiro, feels fuel your own emotions. I cried when she cried, I happy when she was happy. Chihiro seems so much like a real girl, what with the way she acts. The movie also included real life elements. To fully understand the meanings expressed in the movie, you've just got to watch it. Remember the phrase "there are no words that can express....?" This is it folks. Following the tradition of many of Miyazaki's other films, the theme music for the movie is beautifully orchestrated. I also recommend watching it in its original Japanese content. There's just something special about the original thing. Other movies by Miyazaki that I recommend you watch would include Totoro and Mononoke Hime. For those of you who have already seen Totoro, you'll be delighted to see the return of those cute dust balls ^_^
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