Spirited Away story
Spirited Away (Japanese: 千と千尋の神隠し, Hepburn: Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi, "Sen and Chihiro's Spiriting Away") is a 2001 Japanese animated coming-of-age fantasy drama film. It was written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki, animated by Studio Ghibli for Tokuma Shoten, Nippon Television Network, Dentsu, Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Tohokushinsha Film and Mitsubishi and distributed by Toho. The film stars Rumi Hiiragi, Miyu Irino, Mari Natsuki, Takeshi Naito, Yasuko Sawaguchi, Tsunehiko Kamijō, Takehiko Ono, and Bunta Sugawara. Spirited Away tells the story of Chihiro Ogino (Hiiragi), a moody 10-year-old girl who, while moving to a new neighbourhood, enters the world of Kami (spirits) of Japanese Shinto folklore. After her parents are turned into pigs by the witch Yubaba (Natsuki), Chihiro takes a job working in Yubaba's bathhouse to find a way to free herself and her parents and return to the human world.
13 total · 2 choice · 9 major · 2 minor
| Theme | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| coming of age | choice | Chihiro was an insecure child taken to the magic land by her parents. She then had to put her fears aside, learn to work and face hardship in order to save herself and her parents. |
| Japanese folklore | choice | The film is filled with gods, spirits, and ideas from traditional Japanese folk traditions. |
| compassion | major | time and again it was Chihiro's kindness and compassion that earned her the loyalty of allies who later helped her |
| father and daughter | major | the story centered on Chihiro's quest to save her parents whom she missed |
| friendship | major | Chihiro made friends with various spirits who later helped her |
| greed for riches | major | Yubaba and the other denizens of the bathhouse were obsessed with getting treasure from customers. |
| humans at work | major | there was some typically Japanese theme about working harmoniously at the bathhouse, pulling one's weight and fitting in |
| kindness | major | time and again it was Chihiro's kindness and compassion that earned her the loyalty of allies who later helped her |
| magic powers | major | Yubaba and her twin sister were sorceresses with various magical abilities. |
| mass consumerism | major | Miyazaki has himself stated that elements of the story are a commentary on modern human greed in e.g. the bubble economy of 1980s Japan |