Spirited Away

Think Alice in Wonderland, but with a Japanese influence.

Spirited Away is animation at its finest. Like a living, breathing, piece of art, the movie enthralls the viewer with its nuances and subtleties, while at the same time dazzling them with its vision and skill.

The script by writer-director Hayao Miyazaki balances meaningful characterization with wondrous visuals and an intriguing story, a technique Disney—with its cookie-cutter approach to characterization and by-the-numbers plotting—would do well to learn from.

While Spirited Away’s allusions to Japanese mythology may be lost on western audiences, the aura of fantasy and wonder is only enhanced by the culture gap.

Finally, the voice acting in the English dubbed version is surprisingly good, and won’t detract from the film for those averse to subtitles.