Spirited Away

     One of my favorite animated movies ever made, Spirited Away, has made tremendous strides in the animation industry while captivating audience with a fantastic plot and characters. Personally, the most amazing thing about this film is the amount of creativity that flows throughout it and makes an everlasting impact on the audience. This film was directed Hayao Miyazaki, a man who has made many masterpieces and in my opinion, his best one to date. Spirited Away has won an Oscar as well as many other notable awards and has been recognized as a masterpiece of animated cinema.

     The story focuses on a young girl named Chihiro and her struggle to survive in a strange new world where creatures and witches live and where humans are turned into beasts. The movie begins with Chihiro and her family driving cross country to their new house in a new town. On the way, they stop near an abandoned park to explore the desolate, but beautiful landscape. Along the way, as the sun gets closer to setting, spirits start to appear and Chihiro's parents are transformed into pigs. Scared and alone in an unknown place, Chihiro runs away and encounters Haku, a mysterious boy who is willing to help her return home. Throughout the rest of the movie, Chihiro encounters strange creatures and circumstances that she must overcome to save her parents and return to the peaceful life she was once bored with. On top of the fantastic animation, the character development is amazing and you learn to sympathize with the protagonist in more ways than one.

Overall, Spirited Away is a must see film that can be enjoyed by any age and produces heartfelt moments that are the most memorable and gripping than any other film I've seen.