I got this movie because I loved Princess Mononoke and it was made by the same company. This same logic failed me in the case of My Neighbor Totoro and Laputa Castle in the Sky, but it came through in spades for Spirited Away.
I can't contain my enthusiasm, so THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS! ...sorry...
In some ways, Spirited Away is actually better than Princess Mononoke, and that's saying something. But because I love whining about what I don't like, I'll cover that first.
The witches having some pretty huge heads, man. And they're basically all-over freaky, too.
Bou (or is it Boh?) sucks. A giant baby, come on. But he's cool when he gets turned into a rat. Rats rule. I just wish he could have stayed that way...
And that's about all I can think of that's bad, which when you consider that this is a two-hour movie and those two things aren't really THAT bad, is really something. This movie is genius, no questions asked. The world it presents is totally captivating. I heard this movie be compared to Alice in Wonderland, and though that's a decent comparison, it really doesn't do justice to how unique this movie is.
Some people, I know, won't like this movie, for basically the same reasons that I like it. People might say that the stuff here is dumb, that it's too far-fetched and weird to take seriously. This movie calls for almost total suspension of disbelief. You have to be ready for whatever comes next, and take it in stride. In that way, watching this movie is almost an active, not a passive, activity.
Spirited Away is totally dream-like. It's like a really good dream that you know is a dream, and that makes you enjoy it all the more. Once you leave all your expectations and hang-ups behind (I didn't, obviously, since I have those gripes, but I came close) you'll totally love this movie.
All righty, I just managed to say the exact same thing over and over again, so I think I'll list the things I love about this movie (if you didn't get it the first time, more spoilers are in here:)
When you first see Haku, 'cuz that's where the movie properly starts.
The part where Chihiro is disappearing is pretty kewl, 'cuz it's so dreamlike.
When Kamajii says that Chihiro is his granddaughter, 'cuz it makes you feel all warm and fuzzy to see this tough old monster-thing warm up to Chihiro.
When Chihiro is assigned to Ren first and Ren acts mad, but then when they're alone she congratulates Chihiro on it and you realize that she's a cool person after all..
When the mask man first gives Chihiro the thingy for the salt.
When they pull all that junk out of Kawa no Kami. Another great dream-like moment. Then of course everyone's happy for Chihiro (aka Sen).
I love any part with the dragon Haku in it. He's just so awesome... I want a dragon!
"It's blood! Blood!" The power of blood is always cool in a dream-world.
"If you tell anyone about this, your mouth will crack." A good curse goes a long way to making things cool.
When you find out that Chihiro broke the curse on Haku - Of course.
The end - You gotta have a cool ending, and everything wraps up so well in the end... except for maybe that it has to end at all!
Of course, it has the ol' Princess Mononoke "So does Haku (or Ashitaka) meet back up with Chihiro (or San) or not?!" ending.
Heh, I just remembered another cool thing. Not a scene necessarily, but I think it's really cute how Chihiro's hair raises up when she's scared.
Right, enough gushing praise for now. Spirited Away rules!
New version notes: I've seen it properly translated on my lovely new Spirited Away DVD now, and it's even better now that I've realized a few things. Before, for instance, I had thought that Haku was a boy who turns into a dragon, while now it seems he's a dragon who turns into a boy. Wicked!
The English dub is pretty dubious though. Chihiro sounds too young and whiny and Haku sounds too old. Stick to the Japanese, sez I.