Spirited Away Wins the Oscar for Animated Feature

Production on the Japanese animated film Spirited Away began in February 2000, under the direction of Studio Ghibli co-founder Hayao Miyazaki. Having previously crafted works for young children and teenagers, Miyazaki aimed to create a story specifically tailored for ten-year-old girls. His inspiration arose during summer retreats at a mountain cabin, where he observed the young daughters of friends, including associate producer Seiji Okuda. After finding popular girls' manga fixated on romance, Miyazaki chose instead to depict a capable heroine whom real young people could admire, drawing additionally upon personal memories of local bathhouses.

Budgeted at 1.9 billion yen, or roughly 15 million to 19 million dollars, the project balanced traditional hand-drawn animation with restrained digital software techniques. Miyazaki developed the narrative of Chihiro Ogino, a ten-year-old girl who stumbles into a spirit world governed by the witch Yubaba. After her parents are transformed into swine for gorging on supernatural food, Chihiro takes labor at an elaborate bathhouse serving various folklore spirits. To survive, she navigates treacherous social dynamics, confronts creatures such as the enigmatic entity No-Face, and seeks to rescue both her family and a cursed river spirit named Haku.