Today, Studio Ghibli celebrates the ten-year milestone of releasing Spirited Away, a film that holds the distinction of being the only foreign movie to win the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. This achievement highlights its global success. Personally, Spirited Away is one of my favorite films because it possesses many outstanding qualities. It tells a captivating coming-of-age story and features a cast of characters with unique and complex traits. The animation itself is breathtaking, seamlessly blending traditional techniques with digital technology. Additionally, Joe Hisaishi’s score is truly remarkable. When these elements come together, they create an incredibly enjoyable film that deeply resonates with viewers.
The remarkable fact that Spirited Away, which is now a decade old, continues to showcase the impressive talent of Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli is worth noting. It’s also important to acknowledge John Lasseter for his exceptional handling of the English dub. Oliver Good from The National provides an insightful article on how Spirited Away transformed Japanese cinema. This movie was produced by the renowned Japanese anime studio Studio Ghibli and written and directed by celebrated animator Hayao Miyazaki in 2001. Its original Japanese title can be interpreted as The Spiriting Away of Sen and Chihiro or Sen and the Spiriting Away of Chihiro.
However, the name also forms a pun, with “Sen to Chihiro” sounding like “Sentou Chihiro”, which means “Bath-house Chihiro”. In Japan, the film is commonly referred to simply as “Sen”. The film received many awards around the world, including the second Oscar ever awarded for Best Animated Feature and the only winner of that award to win among five nominees (in every other year there were three nominees). Chihiro is a sullen little girl moving to a new home, in a new town, while traveling to her new house with her parents, she seems sad.
After going the wrong way, they end up lost in an empty town with many restaurants. Despite being hungry, Chihiro’s parents decide to eat while Chihiro herself refuses. Instead, she wanders off and is surprised when she returns to find her parents turned into pigs. As she continues exploring, Chihiro slowly realizes that she has stumbled into a different world – a place where spirits and gods relax in a large bathhouse managed by Yubaba, a witch. To free her parents and herself from this world, Chihiro must undergo a mental transformation from her previous timid nature.
Chihiro Ogino, also referred to as Sen Chihiro Ogino, is the protagonist in Spirited Away, an animated film. Her character is defined by her gloomy disposition, timidity, and practical mindset. At first, she feels dissatisfied with her family’s relocation and their unplanned visit to a deserted theme park. However, her worries are proven valid when her parents, after consuming magical food, undergo a metamorphosis into swine. Unlike them, Chihiro intelligently declines partaking in the enchanted cuisine and her serious attitude transforms into apprehension as she starts behaving like a frightened child.
Chihiro learns from Haku, a mysterious boy-like spirit, that the park is actually a resort for Japanese gods. She then finds employment at the resort’s bathhouse, which becomes the setting for her personal journey of emotional growth. In the original Japanese version, Chihiro was voiced by Rumi Hiiragi, while the English-language dub featured child star Daveigh Chase, known for her role as the voice of Lilo Pelekai in Disney’s Lilo & Stitch. [edit] Akihiko Ogino, Chihiro’s father, plays a crucial role in the movie’s unfolding events through his impulsive actions, ultimately leading to his transformation into a pig.
Voiced by: Takashi Naito (Japanese), Michael Chiklis (English) [edit] Yumiko Ogino is Chihiro’s mother and, along with Chihiro’s father, is transformed into a pig at the beginning of the movie. She is voiced by Yasuko Sawaguchi in Japanese and Lauren Holly in English. [edit] Haku / Nigihayami Kohakunushi (??, Haku/Nigihayami Kohakunushi) is a young boy who aids Chihiro after her parents have been turned into pigs. He helps her avoid becoming a spirit and offers advice on obtaining employment at the bathhouse so she can survive and reunite with her parents.
Haku serves as Yubaba’s direct subordinate, carrying out tasks and missions for her. He possesses the ability to fly and transform into a dragon. Toward the end of the story, Chihiro remembers her previous encounter with Haku as she fell into the Kohaku river, which is his spirit. By helping him recall his true name, she ultimately frees him from Yubaba’s control. Despite often being perceived as aloof and not well-liked by the bathhouse staff, Haku consistently shows kindness towards Chihiro, perhaps due to their shared history. His coldness towards her at certain times stems from his awareness of Yubaba’s watchfulness and the potential consequences they both face if she discovers his involvement in assisting Chihiro or if she learns that Chihiro may elicit Haku’s memory of his real name. Yubaba only seems to value Haku as a magical errand boy; when he is dying in her quarters due to the seal she ordered him to steal, her main priority is disposing of his body to prevent further damage to the carpet.
In the end, it appears that Haku develops feelings for Chihiro and vice versa. Voiced by: Miyu Irino (Japanese), Jason Marsden (English) [edit] Yubaba Yubaba (??, Yuubaba, lit. “bathhouse crone”) is an elderly sorceress who manages the bathhouse and has an unusually large head and nose. She also possesses great intuition. Yubaba reluctantly makes a contract with Chihiro, taking her name and giving her the new name “Sen” to maintain control over her throughout the contract. While Yubaba has a dominant and authoritative personality, she reveals a tender side through her affection for her large baby, Boh.
In contrast to her simple and hospitable sister, Yubaba lives in opulent quarters and is only interested in taking care of guests for money. Despite being very intuitive (she senses the approach of No Face and realizes that the River God is not a stink spirit as he appears), she fails to notice that her own baby is missing. When Haku prompts her by informing her that something she values is missing, her immediate response is to examine the gold. Her name bears resemblance to another legendary witch, Baba Yaga.
The character known as The Duchess from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland bears a resemblance to her. She has a large head and mistreats a child, not noticing his absence until it is pointed out. Similar to the Duchess, she treats Chihiro poorly. She is voiced by Mari Natsuki in Japanese, Suzanne Pleshette in English, and Nina Hagen in German.
Kashira, a group of three heads, resides in Yubaba’s office and moves around by bouncing. They communicate through grunts as they bounce. Later on, Zeniba transforms them into an illusion of Boh to deceive Yubaba.
Kamajii, also known as the “boiler old man,” oversees the boiler room of the bathhouse. With his six arms, he operates the furnace with the help of Soot balls (Susuwatari), who carry coal for him. Kamajii keeps a large cabinet containing various herbs used in the baths. After some convincing, he allows Chihiro to work at the bathhouse and takes on the role of her grandfather to protect her. He also provides care for an injured Haku in his boiler room while Chihiro embarks on a journey to Zeniba’s cottage with train tickets given by Kamajii.
Voiced by: Bunta Sugawara (Japanese), David Ogden Stiers (English) [edit] Lin is a worker at the bathhouse who initially appears cold. However, she gradually warms up to Chihiro and forms a strong bond with her. Lin warns No Face, who had previously caused chaos, not to harm Chihiro or face consequences. In the end, Lin is overjoyed when Chihiro successfully finds her way back home. Voiced by: Yumi Tamai (Japanese), Susan Egan (English) [edit] No Face is an unusual spirit that takes an interest in Chihiro. Chihiro allows No Face to enter the bathhouse through a side door.
At first, No Face appears as a mysterious figure wearing a cloak and mask, exuding an enigmatic aura while simply breathing and smiling. No Face, a solitary being, thrives on the feelings of the individuals he encounters, particularly their response to his offerings. He proves to be beneficial to Chihiro due to her past act of kindness towards him. Upon witnessing the staff at the bathhouse’s intense desire for gold and attempting to win them over by presenting more gold, his reaction to their avarice leads him to transform into a repugnant monster, consuming copious amounts of food and some of the staff. However, once he escapes the influence of the bathhouse, he regains composure and returns to his original state. Ultimately, he chooses to stay with Zeniba as her assistant.
No Face’s mask, movement, and name are reminiscent of the Japanese Noh theater. Additionally, he imitates the voices and personalities of those he “eats”. The character is voiced by Tatsuya Gashuin in Japanese and Bob Bergen in English. Another character in the story is the River Spirit, initially mistaken for a “stink spirit” and assigned to Chihiro and Lin at the bathhouse. Yubaba, the owner of the bathhouse, suspects that there is more to the River Spirit than meets the eye. Chihiro proves Yubaba’s suspicions right when she helps the River Spirit by removing trash from his river.
He is actually a renowned and affluent river god. As a reward, he presents Chihiro with a ball of plant material. According to Kamajii, in the English-subtitled version, it is referred to as a “healing cake.” However, in the English dubbed version, it is simply described as medicine from the river god. This “healing cake” is later used to orally heal Haku’s injuries and induce No Face to expel the people and massive amounts of food he consumed during his rampage. [edit] Boh Boh is Yubaba’s son. Despite having the appearance of a young infant, he is twice the size of Yubaba.
Yubaba pampers Boh and goes out of her way to satisfy his desires. He is under the belief that going outside will cause him to fall ill; Sen, on the other hand, advises him that staying isolated in his room for extended periods will lead to sickness. Subsequently, Zeniba transforms him into a mouse. Although the spell eventually wears off, Boh chooses to remain in his mouse form simply because he prefers not to revert back. During this time, he develops a close friendship with Chihiro and eventually confronts Yubaba in order to protect her. Boh expresses that he had a great time while in the company of Chihiro. His little escapade can be viewed as a parallel to Chihiro’s own adventures and coming-of-age journey.
This idea suggests that Boh is excessively large because he has never truly grown up under Yubaba’s excessive care. Voiced by: Ryunosuke Kamiki (Japanese), Tara Strong (English) Note: Some elements of Ryunosuke Kamiki’s voice can be heard in the English version (e.g.: when Boh cries during the scene where Chihiro/Sen gets her contract). [edit] Zeniba Zeniba (zeni can refer to both money and public baths, making her name a play on Yubaba’s) Zeniba is Yubaba’s twin sister and rival. Though they look identical, their personalities are nearly complete opposites.
Initially, when Chihiro saw Yubaba’s anger and her threat to retrieve her stolen magic seal regardless of Haku’s fate, she seemed just as unkind. However, in an attempt to seek forgiveness from Zeniba, Chihiro embarks on a journey to return the seal and offer her apologies at Zeniba’s cottage. It is during this encounter that Zeniba’s true character is unveiled – she is kind and nurturing, in complete contrast to Yubaba. In fact, Zeniba even insists on being called “Granny” in the English version, prepares dessert and tea for Chihiro and No Face, and genuinely attempts to assist Chihiro within her limited capacity.
In the Japanese version, Chihiro no longer blames Haku for stealing her seal. Some fans believe this is because she learned about Yubaba’s control-slug and realized that Yubaba was more responsible than Haku. Chihiro forgives Haku and says goodbye to everyone, assuring them that she will be okay.
Additionally, Zeniba accepts No Face as her assistant and gives him a place to call home. It’s important to note that Zeniba is voiced by the same actors as Yubaba in both the English and Japanese versions.
Chihiro is a young girl who is moving to a different town with her parents.
Chihiro expresses dissatisfaction with the move and is solely focused on its impact on herself. She complains about different aspects, including her new school and the farewell gift of flowers she received. While searching for a faster route to their new home, Chihiro’s father takes them down a narrow road that leads to a peculiar building. Curious, Chihiro’s parents enter the dim entrance of the building. On the other side, they find what seems to be an abandoned amusement park, not realizing that this entrance actually serves as a gateway into the spirit realm.
While walking along a dry riverbed, Chihiro’s parents detect a delightful aroma and follow it across a grassy plain to a small village abundant with restaurants. Despite the vacant appearance of the restaurants, the tables are adorned with sumptuous food. Chihiro’s parents help themselves while she hesitates to join in. When they offer her some food, she declines and runs away. She stumbles upon a grand bathhouse and proceeds towards a bridge that leads to it. Just as she is about to reach the bridge, a boy named Haku approaches her and cautions her to depart before nightfall. In that exact moment, the sky darkens and the bathhouse lamps are illuminated.
Haku instructs Chihiro to quickly cross the river. Scared, Chihiro hurries back to the restaurant where her parents are still eating only to find that they have turned into pigs. Overwhelmed, she attempts to locate her way back to the car but encounters an obstacle when she realizes that the grassy plain is now covered by a massive body of water. As if things couldn’t get worse, Chihiro becomes transparent, further adding to her distress. Fortunately, Haku comes to her aid and provides her with sustenance from the spirit world to prevent her from disappearing.
Haku assists Chihiro in secretly entering the bathhouse, which is overseen by Yubaba, a sorceress. He advises her that the only way for her to safely remain at the bathhouse long enough to rescue her parents is to work there. Following Haku’s guidance, Chihiro visits the boiler room to request employment from Kamajii, the boiler man. Initially, he rejects her until one of his workers, a magical ball of soot, collapses beneath a piece of coal. Chihiro picks up the coal and carries it to the boiler, despite its immense weight. She successfully fulfills her task.
Kamajii helps Chihiro find a job by asking Lin to take her to Yubaba. Chihiro finds Yubaba to be a regal but monstrous woman and asks for a job despite her refusals. Eventually, Yubaba agrees but only if Chihiro gives her name. Yubaba takes possession of Chihiro’s name by grasping the signature from the contract, leaving only one part of her name on the paper.
The kanji character with one stroke removed, which is used in Japanese writing, is pronounced as “Sen” [1]. Now known as Sen, she becomes Lin’s assistant. The following day, Haku reveals to Sen that her parents are being kept in a pen with other pigs. Haku hands Sen her old clothes and the card from her goodbye bouquet of flowers. As Sen reads the card, she recalls her own name. Haku warns her about Yubaba’s control over people through name theft; once they forget their names, they become Yubaba’s possessions, just like Haku did. This is the story of Sen (also known as Chihiro) and No Face.
Sen struggles to adapt to a work-filled life but earns admiration by assisting a challenging customer, an unpleasant creature known as a “stink spirit.” Sen aids in the cleansing of the stink spirit and uncovers its true identity as a wealthy and influential river spirit that had been tainted. Sen accomplishes this task with the support of a enigmatic being named No Face (Kaonashi), who is drawn to her due to her compassionate nature. In return, the river spirit rewards Sen with a spheroidal herbal cake (referred to as a medicine ball) that induces vomiting. However, the presence of No Face in the bathhouse awakens its latent monstrous qualities.
No Face is capable of creating gold and feeds off the employees’ greed at the bathhouse. As he becomes insatiably hungry, he consumes everything in his path, including three bathhouse workers. Meanwhile, Haku, in the form of a dragon, is pursued and attacked by a swarm of magical kirigami birds. Severely wounded, he manages to enter Yubaba’s office. Not knowing she is being followed by one of the paper birds, Sen goes off to find Haku after recognizing him as the dragon. During her search, she comes across Yubaba’s infant son, Boh, who wants to play with her.
She manages to escape from his grasp and stumbles upon Yubaba’s servants known as Kashira, which are three heads without bodies. These Kashira are attempting to force Haku into a shaft. The paper bird that had been following Sen suddenly transforms into Zeniba, who is Yubaba’s sister and was pursuing Haku because he had stolen her seal. The seal possesses a spell that brings death to anyone who steals it. Zeniba transforms the baby into a mouse, turns Yubaba’s flying servant into a tiny bird, and alters the appearance of the three heads to resemble Boh, all as a ruse to deceive Yubaba. With his tail, Haku severs the paper in half, causing Zeniba’s guise to vanish.
He tumbles down the chimney with Sen and they both end up in the boiler room without any harm. Sen gives Haku a slice of the river spirit’s cake, leading him to spit out the stolen seal. The seal is inhabited by a black slug, which Sen accidentally crushes under her foot as it tries to escape. Sen decides to assist Haku by returning Zeniba’s seal and apologizing on his behalf. Kamajii provides Sen with a train ticket and directions to Zeniba’s location. Before departing, Sen goes back to the bathhouse to confront No Face, who is beckoning for her in his confusion.
Upon receiving the remaining herbal cake, she feeds it to him, resulting in him regurgitating the food as well as the three bathhouse workers he had consumed. The excessive eating ends after he follows her outside. Accompanied by Boh, Yubaba’s flying servant, Sen and No Face take a train to Zeniba’s home in Swamp Bottom. Meanwhile, Haku recovers from his injuries at the bathhouse. However, Yubaba becomes furious upon discovering that her baby is missing. Haku strikes a deal with her, agreeing to retrieve the baby on the condition that Yubaba sends Sen and her parents back to their world.
Sen discovers at Zeniba’s cottage that the black slug she killed was actually placed inside Haku by Yubaba, granting her control over him. Zeniba reveals to Sen that the spell binding her seal can only be broken through love. Haku, now in his dragon form, locates Sen at Zeniba’s cottage. Zeniba forgives Haku for stealing her seal and invites No Face to stay with her. Haku carries Sen back to the bathhouse, and as they soar through the air, Chihiro recalls a prior encounter with Haku: when she was young and fell into a river, she survived because she was carried by the current to the shore.
Haku, the spirit of the Kohaku River, saved Chihiro. Upon recalling this, Chihiro informs Haku that he is Kohaku and he breaks free from Yubaba’s influence. At the bathhouse, Chihiro has one last duty to release her parents which involves selecting them amongst a crowd of pigs. Fueled by her newfound bravery, Chihiro embraces the task and correctly declares that none of the pigs are her parents. Consequently, they are given permission to return to their world. Haku assures her that they will reunite in the future.
