Chihiro is ten years old and unhappy about moving to a new town. On the way to their new house, her family takes a wrong turn into what appears to be an abandoned theme park — and her parents, drawn by the smell of food, sit down at an empty restaurant stall and begin eating. By the time Chihiro realizes something is wrong, they have transformed into pigs. Night has fallen. The spirit world has emerged. The theme park is a bathhouse for gods and spirits, run by the powerful witch Yubaba, and humans who wander in without permission are put to work or disposed of. To survive and find a way to free her parents, Chihiro must work. Yubaba takes her name — she is now Sen — and the details of her previous life begin to slip away. The bathhouse is enormous, its inhabitants bewildering and strange, and the one person who helps her is a mysterious boy named Haku, whom she has a feeling she knows from somewhere she cannot quite remember. Spirited Away is the 2001 theatrical film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki, produced by Studio Ghibli. It is the highest-grossing film in Japanese history, surpassing Titanic at the domestic box office; the winner of the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature Film (2003) — the first and, until Pixar's Elemental, the only non-English-language film to win the award; and the winner of the Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival. Roger Ebert gave it four stars. It has appeared on nearly every major list of the greatest films ever made regardless of medium. Originally released theatrically in North America by Disney in 2002 with an English dub featuring Daveigh Chase, Suzanne Pleshette, and Michael Chiklis. The GKIDS Blu-ray + DVD was released October 17, 2017, with a SteelBook edition following December 15, 2020. Notable Staff & Voice Talent Director / Screenplay: Hayao Miyazaki (Princess Mononoke, My Neighbor Totoro, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind)Producer: Toshio SuzukiMusic: Joe HisaishiStudio: Studio Ghibli Japanese Cast:• Rumi Hiiragi as Chihiro / Sen• Miyu Irino as Haku• Mari Natsuki as Yubaba / Zeniba• Takashi Naito as Akio (Chihiro's father)• Yasuko Sawaguchi as Yuuko (Chihiro's mother)• Ryunosuke Kamiki as Boh• Yumi Tamai as Lin English Dub Cast (Disney):• Daveigh Chase as Chihiro / Sen (Lilo & Stitch — voice of Lilo)• Jason Marsden as Haku• Suzanne Pleshette as Yubaba / Zeniba• Michael Chiklis as Akio (The Shield, Fantastic Four)• Lauren Holly as Yuuko• Tara Strong as Boh (Powerpuff Girls, My Little Pony: FIM)• Susan Egan as Lin• John Ratzenberger as additional cast• Bob Bergen as additional cast Blu-ray Features (GKIDS / Shout! Factory, October 17, 2017) • Feature-Length Storyboards (Blu-ray only)• 12-Page Booklet — Statements from Hayao Miyazaki & Producer Toshio Suzuki (Blu-ray only)• Original Japanese Theatrical Trailers• TV Spots• Behind the Microphone — English Dub Recording Featurette• Nippon Television Special (DVD disc only)• English & Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1• Note: Slipcovers available on first-run basis only Spoken Languages: English & Japanese Audio, English Subtitles (French audio also on DVD) Edition Details Japanese Title: 千と千尋の神隠し (Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi / Sen and Chihiro's Spiriting Away)Runtime: ~125 MinutesDirector: Hayao MiyazakiBlu-ray + DVD Release Year: 2017 (U.S. Release, October 17 — GKIDS / Shout! Factory); SteelBook edition December 15, 2020; Collector's Edition November 12, 2019Original Release Date (Japan): July 20, 2001Publisher: GKIDS / Shout! FactoryRating: PGRegion: Region A / Region 1 (North America)Note: Academy Award winner for Best Animated Feature (2003) — first non-English-language film to win the award. Highest-grossing Japanese film in history. Golden Bear winner, Berlin International Film Festival. GKIDS Collector's Edition (November 12, 2019) also available with 40-page book and soundtrack CD.Genre: Fantasy, Adventure, DramaThemes: Spirit World, Identity and Names, Childhood Courage, Bathhouse of Gods, Hayao Miyazaki Masterwork Media assumed VG+ unless otherwise noted.
