We open a girl named Chihiro Ogino looking over a bouquet of flowers as her family is moving to a new home in the Japanese countryside. Chihiro is none too thrilled about this as the movie opens, she's a bit of a pessimist. Her mother also tells her that sometimes it can be an adventure. Pay attention, this is going to be important later.
Her father takes a wrong turn and gets lost. The imagery is impressive. Anyway, they stop at a gate her father believes is fake. Chihiro notices the wind pulling them in. Her dad wants to go in, but Chihiro does not. Her mother also wants to go, but Chihiro still refuses. After pondering by the statue out front, she does go in.
Everyone wonders what the place is as Chihiro hears a train. They all come over a grassy field and see a bunch of buildings. Her dad thinks the place is an abandoned theme park, stating the economy went bad. Oh yes- the “lost decade” and all those abandoned theme parks. Just Google those terms and you’ll get a lot of interesting information.
Chihiro wants to go back, and the wind starts blowing harder. They cross a dry riverbed when her dad smells food. Chihiro doesn’t want any, and her parents promptly make pigs of themselves.
Chihiro tries to warn them, but they just keep gorging. Chihiro then decides to take a walk, and sees a massive bath house. She looks over the bridge to see the train go by when a boy approaches her. The boy tells her she shouldn’t be there. He tells her to go while he distracts the others.
She finds her parents, but they’ve turned into pigs! Chihiro tries to find her parents and get out of there! The river is also blocking her way back!
Chihiro thinks she’s dreaming as she becomes see-through! A boat docks, and many strange spirits get off. The boy from earlier says she has to eat food from their world or she’ll disappear! When Chihiro refuses, her hand goes right through the boy’s head!
Chihiro eats the food and becomes tangible again. The boy tells Chihiro she will see her and parents again. The boy takes her through the storeroom and the pigpen. He tells Chihiro to hold her breath as they cross the bridge, or they’ll know she’s human. The spirits greet the boy as they cross. His name is Haku.
They almost make it across when a frog jumps up and surprises Chihiro! Haku tells Chihiro she can’t stay there, and she has to go if she wants to help her parents.
He uses a mind-meld to give her instructions: when things quiet down, she must go to the boiler room and meet the boiler man, Kamaji. She has to ask for a job and keep asking if they refuse. If she doesn’t get a job, Yubaba will turn her into an animal. Yubaba is a witch who is in charge of the bath house. Kamaji will try to trick Chihiro, but Haku tells her to keep asking for work. Chihiro asks how he knows her name, and Haku replies he’s known her a long time.
Haku goes inside, and Chihiro slips out the back gate. Chihiro then carefully makes her way down the stairs. She tries to watch her step, but a board breaks and she comes careening down into the wall!
Chihiro reaches the boiler room and sees Kamaji. She also sees a bunch of soot sprites carrying pieces of coal into the fire. The sprites previously appeared in "My Neighbor Totoro." Kamaji tells the sprites to get back to work as a woman enters and says it's dinner time. Kamaji says Chihiro is is granddaughter, and tells the woman to take her to Yubaba. The woman, named Lin initially refuses, but changes her mind when Kamaji gives her a roasted newt. Lin tells Chihiro to follow her, and she thanks Kamaji as she enters the bath house.
Lin says they need to go to the top floor. I really love the design of the bath house: not just the architecture, but all the moving parts and machinery.
They reach the halfway point as they meet a radish spirit. I am really enjoying the designs of all the spirits as they go through the bath house. Lin tries to hide Chihiro as one of the workers smells something. Lin presents the roasted Newt and taunts the attendant with it. Chihiro pulls the lever to go up as she stays hidden.
She reaches the top and Yubaba's office. Yubaba motions her to come in as the doors close one by one behind her! As she's filling out forms, three heads start bouncing around towards Chihiro. Yubaba is not happy with Chihiro coming there, and asks who helped her. Chihiro continually asks for a job, which makes Yubaba angry; and she promptly tells her off.
As a baby starts crying, Yubaba reluctantly agrees to give her a job. Yubaba gives Chihiro a contract to sign in order to work at the bath house. Yubaba takes her name right off the contract and dubs her "Sen." Sen tries to speak with Haku, but he's acting differently from before. He tells her to address him as "Master Haku."
The spirits are not pleased with the fact they have to work with a human. Sen promises to work hard, and Haku says if she doesn't; well, they get to decide that. Sen bunks with Lin as she's given quarters and a uniform. I really like Lin and the no-nonsense attitude she displays.
Morning has come, and Haku comes to wake Sen. Haku still knows who she really is, and agrees to take her to her parents. The soot sprites bring Sen her shoes as she goes to meet Haku. As she exits the building, she sees a strange spirit known as "No Face." Haku tells Sen to hurry: if they find her, they'll turn her into a pig!
She finds her parents and says she'll save them. Haku tells her she has to remember where they are. Haku gives Sen her clothes and her goodbye card with her real name, and says she'll need them to get home. Haku says she must remember her name or she won't get home. He forgot his name and is trapped there. Haku gives Sen some food, which restores her strength. As she returns to the bath house, she thanks Haku for being such a good friend as she sees a dragon in the sky!
Sen tries her best, but she isn't used to working so hard. She and Lin are assigned the "big tub," which hasn't been cleaned in months! Lin tells her to get an herbal soak token from the foreman. The foreman won't give her the token, and tells her to scrub it herself. As he answers the telephone, No Face gives Sen the token; much to the foreman's confusion.
A stink spirit is supposedly coming, but Yubaba is suspicious. Yubaba tells them to take the spirit to the big tub. This is just the chance Sen needs to prove herself. The "stink spirit" covers the entire area in muck. Sen goes to the big tub to help clean the spirit. The spirit takes her into his hands, and she notices something stuck in its side! Yubaba realizes this isn't a stink spirit. They end up pulling out a bicycle and a bunch of garbage as muck comes pouring out! The spirit takes Sen and congratulates her with a dumpling. Among all the trash is gold! The building starts to rumble as the spirit make his way out the door! It was a river spirit! Everyone comes out to celebrate Sen's success. That evening, Lin and Sen share dinner as they talk about the events of that day. Sen tries the dumpling, and is so revolted she gobbles up the rest of her dinner.
The frog is wandering the hall when No Face gives him gold! No Face gives him more and more and he then eats the frog! He then tells the boss he wants food and a bath. The next morning, Sen goes to see her parents, but it was only a dream. She wakes to find Lin and everyone else gone!
She goes to find Haku, and sees him getting attacked by a bunch of strange birds! She gets Haku inside, and finds out the birds are just made of paper! Sen tries to go upstairs, but the elevator operator is scared of the blood on her! No Face then starts eating the staff of the bath house!
Sen tries to open the window, and finds herself in the baby's room! She tries to escape, but is grabbed by the baby! Sen says someone she knows needs help, but the baby won't let her go! Sen holds up her dirty hand as she slips out!
Someone enters Yubaba's office, but it's not her! She turns the baby into a mouse, the bird into a sparrow and the three heads into a baby. The woman is Yubaba's twin sister, Zeniba. She demands her gold seal back from Haku. Haku is getting worse, and he and Sen fall down the garbage chute! They crash into the boiler room, and Kamaji determines Haku is bleeding internally. Sen gives him the medicine, and Haku writhes around as he swallows it. He coughs up a slug, and Sen squashes it! Haku reverts to human form, but he's still in bad shape! Kamaji explains Haku was drifting and just showed up one day. He became Yubaba's apprentice, and was never the same. Sen decides to help Haku by returning the seal to Zeniba. She asks the sprites for her clothes and shoes. Kamaji tells Sen to go to Swamp Bottom to see Zeniba, and presents her with train tickets to make the journey.
Lin meets Sen with a boat to take her to the train station. She then presents the conductor with the ticket and begins her journey to Zeniba's house with No Face. Night falls as the train makes its way down the line. Back at the bath house, Yubaba demands to know where her baby is, and Haku tells her he's with Zeniba! Haku will get her baby in return for revoking Sen's contract and sending her and her parents back to the real world! Yubaba agrees on the condition she undergo one last test.
Sen reaches Zeniba's house in Swamp Bottom, and Zeniba greets them as she decides to make tea. Zeniba tells Sen she will have to help her parents on her own, and her love for Haku broke the spell. Zeniba has made her something: a tie for her hair that will protect her. Haku arrives at the door in his dragon form, alive and well.
Zeniba forgives Haku, and No Face decides to stay with her. Chihiro then sets off. Chihiro remembers when she was very young, she lost her shoe in the river. When she tried to get it back, she fell in. She thought she would drown, but the water saved her! She realizes Haku is really the spirit of the Kohaku river!
Kohaku reverts to his human form as his memories return! Morning rises at the bath house as Chihiro and Kohaku return. The baby even returns! Kohaku then reminds Yubaba of her promise, and Yubaba reminds him of the test. Chihiro, with newfound confidence, accepts. Yubaba, with her contract in her hand, says if Chihiro can tell which pigs are her parents, they can go. She says none of the pigs are them! She's correct, and she can go.
Chihiro and her parents are back where they started. Kohaku tells her to go, saying they will meet again. Sure enough, her parents are at the gate waiting for her. As they go to their new home, Chihiro decides to face the future before her.
So that's Spirited Away: after all these years, it remains an amazing movie and one I hold within my heart. Seeing the beautiful animation and moving story of how Chihiro goes from a whiny little girl to a fine young woman makes this a movie no one should miss. It's a wonderful fantasy adventure, and the ideal family film. Thank you for supporting me all this time. Bang.
