14 Things To Know About "Spirited Away"

Spirited Away has held steady as one the best animated movies of all time, if not the very best. If you’ve never seen this movie before, make sure that’s the very next thing you do because believe me, you will not regret it. There’s something about this movie that makes it really special and stands out among the thousands of other children’s movies out there. Here are 15 facts about the film that will make you fall in love with it all over again. 

1. Spirited Away was written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki. At the time, he had two other projects that were rejected, but this movie went on to be the highest-grossing film in Japanese history. 

2. Hayao came up the main character, 10-year-old Chihiro, after his friend’s daughter of the same age would visit his cottage in the mountains each summer. 

3. He created the movie with a 10-year-old audience in mind. He wanted a film that they could actually relate to and care about. He didn’t want it to be “romantic” like a lot of them were – he wanted them to be able to feel like they were the hero in the story.

4. Hayao didn’t have a completed storyline when he started making the movie, which was typical for him. He says that he wanted the story to happen organically and that the film makes itself, and he follows.