Spirited Away

Starring: Rumi Hiiragi, Miyu Irino, Mari Natsuki, Takeshi Naito, Yasuko Sawaguchi

Directed by: Hayao Miyazaki

RS: 4of 4 Stars

2002 Adventure

Think you're too hip for Japanese anime about a lost ten-year-old girl whose parents turn into snorting pigs? Get over it. The freshly crowned Oscar winner for Best Animated Film -- it out-grossed Titanic in Japan -- is a must-have two-disc DVD. Purists can switch to the original Japanese soundtrack if they object to the English version, produced by Toy Story director John Lasseter with voice talent including The Shield's Michael Chiklis, Suzanne Pleshette and young Daveigh Chase (Lilo of Lilo and Stitch).

The bonus material that delves into the mostly hand-drawn art of writer-director Hayao Miyazaki (Princess Mononoke, Kiki's Delivery Service) merits space in a time capsule. The same goes for the movie, which damn near bursts off the screen as Miyazaki (with a smidgen of computer help) conjures up monsters and magic that might scare the pants off impressionable kids from eight to eighty. Miyazaki is the Pied Piper -- see Spirited Away and you'll follow him anywhere.

PETER TRAVERS
(April 9, 2003)