Spirited Away

Spirited Away is an anime film animated by Studio Ghibli that opened in Japanese theaters in July 2001. Hayao Miyazaki wrote the original screenplay and directed the animation. Work on the script and storyboards began in 1999.

Ten-year-old Chihiro Ogino travels by car with her parents toward their new suburban house in Japan. Her father takes an unpaved road into an abandoned amusement park that leads to a bathhouse for spirits and deities. Chihiro discovers that her parents turned into pigs after eating food from an unattended market stall. A mysterious boy named Haku assists Chihiro in obtaining an employment contract from the witch Yubaba to work at the bathhouse and save her family.

Rumi Hiiragi voices Chihiro, while Miyu Irino voices Haku. Masashi Ando supervised the animation character designs, and long-term collaborator Joe Hisaishi composed the orchestral score. The film earned 31.68 billion yen at the domestic box office during its Japanese theatrical run. That total established a milestone as the highest-earning film in Japanese history for 19 years until 2020. Worldwide cinema ticket sales reached $395 million across international markets. No direct sequels or spin-off anime series followed the standalone story.

The English-language version debuted in North American theaters in September 2002. International film bodies recognized the film with major honors throughout 2002 and 2003. At the 75th Academy Awards in 2003, the film won the award for Best Animated Feature. The 52nd Berlin International Film Festival in 2002 awarded Miyazaki the Golden Bear, shared jointly with the drama Bloody Sunday. In Japan, the 25th Japan Academy Film Prize presented the work with Picture of the Year. The 1st Tokyo Anime Awards in 2002 also gave the film its Animation of the Year trophy.