Sen to Chihiro Kamikakushi

Chihiro

10-year old Chihiro becomes trapped in a forbidden world of gods and magic when her parents take her to investigate the other side of a train tunnel.

Haku

In order to survive, Chihiro must work and make herself useful, and find within her the courage and resolve the needs for her to save her parents and escape from a world where humans are dispised with the help of a white dragon.

Spirited Away is comparable to Alice in Wonderland as the story of Chihiro going through the tunnel is very much like Alice falling through the rabbit hole. However, the world of Spirited Away in some ways are wilder and more surreal than Alice in Wonderland, yet at the same time more believable and coherent as well.

For a film that's aimed at such a young audience, I found it surprisingly profound. The story's underlying theme concerns the importance of names and promises. When Chihiro is employed by Yubaba, the witch who rules the spirit world, Chihiro has to renounce her own name which she needs in order to free herself.

Yubaba and Chihiro

an odd spirit, no face

I must say that there is absolutely no fault with this film. It is beautifully animated, funny, has an arsenal of wildly imaginative characters and an inspiring story with a great soundtrack to support it.

Studio Ghibli, Inc.

This studio was first founded in June 1985 and headed by the directors Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata and producer Toshio Suzuki. This studio could be compared to the Pixar Studio and Dreamworks Studio from the States that had released many popular animations such as Toy Story, Monster Inc. and so on.

The logo of Studio Ghibli features my all-time favourite character Totoro which is a forest spirit from the film My Neighbor Totoro.

the studio's logo

The word "Ghibli" derives from the word Italians used for their Saharan scouting planes in World War II, which is Libyan "sirocco", a hot wind blowing through the Sahara Desert. Studio Ghibli was to blow a new wind into the Japanese animation industry and indeed it has!

One of the Studio Ghibli films that had succeeded the highest achievements by far is Spirited Away. It is the first film to be shot using a 100% digital process.

This is the first film to gross $200 million worldwide and the only anime film to win an Academy award for Best Animated Feature; the only winner to be made outside of the English-speaking world; the only traditionally-animated winner. It also became the top grossing film in the history of Japanese cinema, overtaking mega blockbuster Titanic at the Japanese box office.

More details about Studio Ghibli could be found here, here and the official japanese website here :)