It's fair to say that I don't go to the cinema all that often. In fact, I've probably only visited the flicks two or three times since The Lion King was gracing the big screen nearly ten years ago. Movie advertising seems to have reached all-new levels in the past twelve months as we've been constantly bombarded by glitzy, high-budget 'epics', to the extent whereby we can almost see them in our dreams…

However, I have learnt in the past that hype can be a terrible thing, and I feared that my anticipation for Spirited Away was so great that I could only end up disappointed. Thankfully, this wouldn't prove to be the case; having watched the film in my local theatre, it's safe to say it made quite an impact - I bought the American DVD from playUSA.com the next day.

The family end up at a temple, with the parents deciding it would be a good time to have a little wander around. Young Chihiro is less than happy, and only decides to tag along when her parents threaten to leave her in a rather creepy clearing populated by carved stone statues. Before long, the three stumble across a deserted town, with a stall packed to the brim with weird and wonderful food. Chihiro's parents then proceed to stuff their faces with the interesting cuisine, and after mild protest and a disapproving look, she decides to explore the ghost town.

But she is too late. Punished for their greed, Chihiro's parents have been turned into huge, slobbering pigs. As spirits start to appear all around, the pint-sized heroine makes for the temple that will lead back to the sanctuary of her family car and, presumably, reality. But where there was a field by day, there is a lake by night. Chihiro is trapped in the world of the spirits, whilst all the while she mumbles to herself that it's 'just a dream'.

And so the girl must transform herself from a 'lazy bum' (as director Hayao Miyazaki describes her) into an efficient worker if she is to have any chance of rescuing her parents and returning to the real world.

It's a magical film and one of all too few these days that actually make you stop and think about what you are actually witnessing - nothing is ever quite what it seems in Spirited Away, which makes it all the more compelling. For example, at one stage in the film a great flock of birds are relentlessly pursuing and attacking a dragon. After being alerted, the dragon dives inside the bathhouse, with Chihiro quickly shutting the door to prevent its aggressive pursuers from maintaining their chase, and only when they fly into the door is it revealed that they are simply made of paper…

A hindrance I have encountered in previous animes (and in some of Hayao Miyazaki's previous works) is the lead female voice-over - usually due to the performance being overly high-pitched and delivered in ridiculously over-emphasised tones. Chihiro/Sen is portrayed terrifically however by Daveigh Chase (Lilo & Stitch, The Ring); regularly conveying the emotion and humour of the character, she is absolutely perfect in the role - the voice and the character go hand-in-hand, and so rather than proving an annoyance, Chihiro develops into one of the most pleasant characters ever to grace an animation.

For much of the film, Chihiro is teamed up with the likable Lin - a kind-hearted young woman who enjoys a good gossip amongst fellow workers. Her confident nature could potentially have made her a stumbling-block in terms of English-dubbing, though Susan Egan's (Galaxy Quest, Hercules) performance is superb. Her performance is matched by the hair-raising villainess, Yubaba; this old lady has an enormous head, and a seemingly cold heart - though she cares greatly for her 'baby' (who in reality is the largest creature to appear in the entire film!) - its a menacing effort from Suzanne Pleshette (Lion King 2 among many others). John Lassester, who was responsible for the English-language translation, said the whole team was very proud of the voicing and English scripting. It isn't hard to see why - there are so many different styles of dialogue, and yet it's all top-quality throughout. It is very rare to see a Japanese-to-English film turn out with so few translation troubles, but Spirited Away pulls it off.

It is rated PG and I can guarantee that it won't just be the kids who enjoy this. My parents thought it was (and I quote) 'Brilliant' - and that's saying something as they aren't the biggest fans of animation. I would even go as far to say that it could convert those who thought Disney was as good as it gets.

*DVD Extras*
The DVD of Spirited Away that I purchased was Region 1 format (North American), though aside from the case, it is basically the same as the Region 2 European edition.