Spirited Away
Japanese animation legend Hayao Miyazaki broke through to Western audiences with this Golden Bear and Oscar-winning film about a girl who ends up in an abandoned amusement park full of ghosts and gods during a family outing.
Whilst travelling through a tunnel, ten-year-old Chihiro suddenly finds herself in a fantastic, incredible world where all sorts of weird things happen. This world exists alongside the world of humans and yet, nobody has ever noticed it before. It is a world of gods and lesser gods, goblins and ogres; it is also a world where there is a city of hot springs, where the gods heal all manner of ailments – big and small. This world is no place for humans and Chihiro’s presence is only tolerated on two conditions: one, she must work for a mean witch named Yubaba who rules the great thermal baths and two, she must give up her name and, hence, being human. However, in return, she receives a new name, Sen.
Finally, with courage, patience, wit and a dose of spirituality, she can free not only her parents, but also other enchanted people.