Fast animé magic

Hard on the animated heels of last week's magnificent Belleville Rendez-Vous comes this delightful multi-award-winning Japanese anime.

From the pen of the master animator Hayao Miyazaki, who delivered the gorgeous Princess Mononoke six years ago, this is a classic not just of animation but of fantasy storytelling. The benign spectre of Lewis Carroll hovers over the story of Chihiro, a capricious, wilful 10-year-old girl who, during a walk in the woods with her parents, takes a wrong turn through a tunnel and wanders into a dream dimension.

Caught in an enchantment where her mother and father are somehow turned into pigs, Chihiro is left to perform a series of tasks (such as working in a bath house for the gods) to rescue the pair from imminent slaughter and escape the bewitched world.

For anyone who considers animation the poor relation of live action fantasy, Spirited Away is proof that a combination of imaginative and profound writing coupled with draughtsmanship of the highest calibre can exceed the wildest dreams of the innovative creator.

Vivid, amusing and genuinely awe-inspiring.

Spirited Away
Cert: PG