Poster for the original Japanese release of Spirited Away.

The ensemble waves goodbye to Chihiro after her victory.

Spirited Away, or Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi is the 2001 magnum opus of Hayao Miyazaki. It tells the story of a ten-year-old girl, Chihiro, on her way to a new school. After her father loses the road, the family stumbles across a strange run-down structure which turns out to be a vacation resort for spirits and gods. When her parents become pigs as punishment for eating food for the gods, Chihiro must get a job at the seedy bathhouse to find a way to restore them.  Through the assistance of the dragon Haku and others, Chihiro discovers courage and strength she didn't know she had and returns to the human world with her parents a new and better person.

The film released to near universal acclaim from critics and audiences alike and remains Japan's highest grossing film as well as the only foreign film to win Best Animated Feature Film at the Oscars. While Spirited Away almost certainly is more impactful and pertinent to Japanese audiences, it has a truly universal message on the complex themes of developing a national as well as an individual identity.

(This exhibit is based on the 2002 Disney release of the film.)