Spirited Away
(Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi)
[DVD Info]

A young girl named Chihiro (VA: Rumi Hîragi). She is very spoiled and bratty. Her family is moving to the suburbs (which she is very upset about) but on the way they get lost and come upon a tunnel. Thinking their new house must be on the other side of his tunnel they go through. While their house isn't on the other side, what seems to be an abandoned amusement park is...and her father (VA: Takashi Naitô) smells food. The park must still be running he thinks and follows his nose. They find a stand full of food and since there seems to be no one around Chihiro's mother (VA: Yasuko Sawaguchi) and father start to eat...rationalizing that they'll pay the vendor when they show up. Chihiro irritated with her parents wanders off till she reaches a bridge. Looking into the water she's startled by a voice. A young boy yells at her "Hey you can't be here!" and chases her off. Running away crying ("what's his problem") she goes to finds her parents...but when she reaches the stand...there are two huge pigs in their place. It seems they've stumbled into a magical world where humans aren't allowed. Chihiro's parents have been turned into pigs, she's forced to work (and change her name to Sen) at a god's bath house (or she'll be turned into a pig and eaten), and she's fallen in love with the evil Yubaba's (VA: Mari Natsuki) henchman! Follow Chihiro and her adventures as she tries to save her parents and make new friends.

"You've been through a lot...now eat some more." ~Haku.

None ^_^

This anime from Japan (made by the awesome Miyazaki [known for: Princess Mononoke, My Neighbor Totoro, and Kiki's Delivery Service] ) was beautiful (you can watch it with original Japanese voices or English). The colors were amazing, the story was sweet and very involving. My only complaint was that it was really long. If you like non-stop action, you'll probably be bored to tears. I really liked "No Face" he was my favorite. I was sad that Chihiro didn't say goodbye...way not to care. Hehe. You really see her mature and become a better person. It may look like a little kid's film but it's really for anyone who likes beautiful animation and a good story. Even if you're not a big fan of Japanese animation, this is still a really sweet and heart-warming tale. Because of this, the jury gives this flick:

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