Spirited Away

At first sight, the plot sounds too silly to be able to work. A young girl named Chihiro, spoiled and sullen, is on a trip to her countryside with her parents to a new home. On the way they get lost and arrive at what looks like an abandoned park, which is filled with food. The parents eat and eat until they literally turn themselves into pigs. Soon Chihiro finds himself in a world inhabited by spirits and monsters, and with the help of a young boy named Haku, she will have to learn to adapt herself and survive in this strange new world, if she expects to save her parents.
This is, without a doubt, one of the best films to come out on the first decade of the new millennium. And as silly as the plot sounds, it is handled by Hayao Miyazaki, the king of Japanese animation. This is his greatest triumph, with only “Nausicaa In The Valley Of The Wind” being a better movie in his filmography. The characters are all over the top, especially when you don’t really know who the main antagonist is (until the end). Also, I love the thought of spirits having to go to the bathhouse. Miyazaki’s themes of how humanity is destroying his environment is very present here, as seen by the shit-covered spirit who is cursed by a thorn made out of thrash. All in all, this is a perfect film, and is not to be missed.