| Photos (see all 20 | slideshow) |
| Rumi Hîragi | ... | Chihiro / Sen (voice: Japanese version) | |
| Miyu Irino | ... | Haku (voice: Japanese version) | |
| Mari Natsuki | ... | Yubaba / Zeniba (voice: Japanese version) | |
| Takashi Naitô | ... | Chihiro's Father (voice: Japanese version) | |
| Yasuko Sawaguchi | ... | Chihiro's Mother (voice: Japanese version) | |
| Tatsuya Gashuin | ... | Aogaeru, Assistant Manager (voice: Japanese version) | |
| Ryunosuke Kamiki | ... | Bôh (voice: Japanese version) | |
| Yumi Tamai | ... | Lin (voice: Japanese version) | |
| Yo Oizumi | ... | Bandai-gaeru (voice: Japanese version) | |
| Koba Hayashi | ... | Kawa no Kami (voice: Japanese version) | |
| Tsunehiko Kamijô | ... | Chichiyaku (voice: Japanese version) | |
| Takehiko Ono | ... | Aniyaku (voice: Japanese version) | |
| Bunta Sugawara | ... | Kamajii (voice: Japanese version) | |
| Noriko Kitou | ... | Additional Voices (voice: Japanese version) | |
| Shiro Saito | ... | Additional Voices (voice: Japanese version) | |
| Ken Yasuda | ... | Additional Voices (voice: Japanese version) | |
| Daveigh Chase | ... | Chihiro (voice: English version) | |
| Suzanne Pleshette | ... | Yubaba / Zeniba (voice: English version) | |
| Jason Marsden | ... | Haku (voice: English version) | |
| Susan Egan | ... | Lin (voice: English version) | |
| David Ogden Stiers | ... | Kamajii (voice: English version) | |
| Lauren Holly | ... | Chihiro's Mother (voice: English version) | |
| Michael Chiklis | ... | Chihiro's Father (voice: English version) | |
| John Ratzenberger | ... | Assistant Manager (voice: English version) | |
| Tara Strong | ... | Bôh (voice: English version) | |
| Mickie McGowan | ... | Additional Voices (voice: English version) | |
| Jack Angel | ... | Additional Voices (voice: English version) | |
| Bob Bergen | ... | No-Face / Frog / Additional Voices (voice: English version) | |
| Rodger Bumpass | ... | Additional Voices (voice: English version) | |
| Jennifer Darling | ... | Additional Voices (voice: English version) | |
| Paul Eiding | ... | Additional Voices (voice: English version) | |
| Sherry Lynn | ... | Additional Voices (voice: English version) | |
| Mona Marshall | ... | Additional Voices (voice: English version) | |
| Candi Milo | ... | Additional Voices (voice: English version) | |
| Colleen O'Shaughnessey | ... | Additional Voices (voice: English version) | |
| Phil Proctor | ... | Additional Voices (voice: English version) | |
| Jim Ward | ... | Additional Voices (voice: English version) |
Directed by | |||
| Hayao Miyazaki | |||
| Kirk Wise | (co-director) (english version) | ||
Writing credits | ||
| Hayao Miyazaki | (story) | |
| Hayao Miyazaki | (screenplay) | |
| Cindy Davis Hewitt | (adaptation: English version) and | |
| Donald H. Hewitt | (adaptation: English version) and | |
| Linda Hoaglund | (adaptation: English version) and | |
| Jim Hubbert | (adaptation: English version) | |
Produced by | |||
| Donald W. Ernst | .... | producer (English language version) | |
| Lori Korngiebel | .... | associate producer (English language version) | |
| John Lasseter | .... | executive producer: US | |
| Toshio Suzuki | .... | producer | |
| Yasuyoshi Tokuma | .... | executive producer | |
Original Music by | |||
| Joe Hisaishi | |||
Cinematography by | |||
| Atsushi Okui | |||
Film Editing by | |||
| Takeshi Seyama | |||
Production Design by | |||
| Norobu Yoshida | |||
Art Direction by | |||
| Yôji Takeshige | |||
Production Management | |||
| Jeff Deckman | .... | assistant production manager: english language version | |
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director | |||
| Masayuki Miyagi | .... | assistant director | |
| Atsushi Takahashi | .... | assistant director | |
Art Department | |||
| Kô'hei Endô | .... | color managment system | |
| Yukie Nomura | .... | color design assistant | |
| Kazuko Yamada | .... | color design assistant | |
| Michiyo Yasuda | .... | color designer | |
Visual Effects by | |||
| Robert Bagley | .... | telecine operator | |
| Thomas Baker | .... | CAPS scene planning (english version) | |
| Masaru Karube | .... | digital animator | |
| Mitsunori Katâma | .... | digital animator | |
| Miki Sato | .... | digital animator | |
| Yoichi Senzui | .... | digital animator | |
| Yuji Tone | .... | digital animator | |
| Hiroki Yamada | .... | digital animator | |
Camera and Electrical Department | |||
| Wataru Takahashi | .... | digital camera and composite operator | |
| Wataru Takahashi | .... | digital cinematographer | |
| Atsushi Tamura | .... | digital camera and composite operator | |
| Junji Yubata | .... | digital camera and composite operator | |
Animation Department | |||
| Shinichi Abe | .... | inbetween animator | |
| Akihiko Adachi | .... | inbetween artist | |
| Masashi Ando | .... | animation director | |
| Mi Kyoung An | .... | inbetween animator | |
| Myoung Hio An | .... | digital ink and paint artist | |
| Seiko Azuma | .... | inbetween animator | |
| Eun Soon Byeon | .... | inbetween animator | |
| Hye Soon Byeon | .... | inbetween animator | |
| Hyun Mi Cho | .... | inbetween animator | |
| Hee Eun Choi | .... | inbetween animator | |
| Soon Hwa Choi | .... | digital ink and paint artist | |
| Hanako Enomoto | .... | inbetween animator | |
| Ayako Fuji | .... | inbetween artist | |
| Emiko Fujii | .... | inbetween animator | |
| Kaori Fujii | .... | animator | |
| Hideto Fujiki | .... | inbetween animator | |
| Maya Fujimori | .... | inbetween animator | |
| Naoko Fujitani | .... | inbetween animator | |
| Naoya Furukawa | .... | animator | |
| Shôgo Furuya | .... | key animator | |
| Makiko Futaki | .... | animator | |
| Natsuko Goto | .... | inbetween animator | |
| Hideyoshi Hamatsu | .... | animator | |
| Hideki Hamazu | .... | key animator | |
| Sun Ki Ham | .... | digital ink and paint artist | |
| Keumi Han | .... | digital ink and paint artist | |
| Shinji Hashimoto | .... | animator | |
| Satoshi Hattori | .... | inbetween animator | |
| Soo Kyung Her | .... | digital ink and paint artist | |
| Kumi Hirai | .... | inbetween animator | |
| Rie Hirakawa | .... | inbetween animator | |
| Motonobu Hori | .... | inbetween animator | |
| Akira Hosogaya | .... | inbetween artist | |
| Young Mi Huh | .... | inbetween animator | |
| Hiroshi Iijima | .... | digital ink and paint artist | |
| Takeshi Imamura | .... | animator | |
| Masami Inomata | .... | inbetween animator | |
| Masayo Iseki | .... | digital ink and paint artist | |
| Hiroaki Ishii | .... | digital ink and paint checker | |
| Kunitoshi Ishii | .... | inbetween animator | |
| Kuniyuki Ishii | .... | animator | |
| Nobushige Ishita | .... | inbetween animator | |
| Yukari Ishita | .... | inbetween animator | |
| Keiko Itogawa | .... | background artist | |
| Nozomu Ito | .... | inbetween animator | |
| Yumiko Ito | .... | inbetween animator | |
| Yoshitake Iwakami | .... | inbetween animator | |
| Emiko Iwayanagi | .... | inbetween animator | |
| Cheo Ho Jang | .... | inbetween artist | |
| Hyeon Soo Joung | .... | inbetween animator | |
| Sung Hee Jung | .... | inbetween animator | |
| Hyun Ju Jun | .... | inbetween animator | |
| Megumi Kagawa | .... | animator | |
| Tsutomu Kaichi | .... | inbetween animator | |
| Shizue Kaneko | .... | animator | |
| Mioko Katano | .... | inbetween animator | |
| Byong Yor Kim | .... | digital ink and paint artist | |
| Eun Young Kim | .... | inbetween animator | |
| Shigeru Kimishima | .... | key animator | |
| Ji Eun Kim | .... | inbetween animator | |
| Jin Wook Kim | .... | digital ink and paint artist | |
| Jung-Hee Kim | .... | inbetween animator | |
| Mi Sun Kim | .... | digital ink and paint artist | |
| Mung Sook Kim | .... | digital ink and paint artist | |
| Myoung Sun Kim | .... | digital ink and paint artist | |
| Tae Jong Kim | .... | digital ink and paint artist | |
| Yumiko Kitajima | .... | inbetween animator | |
| Ogura Kobo | .... | background artist | |
| Komasa | .... | inbetween artist | |
| Daizen Komatsuda | .... | inbetween animator | |
| Junko Komatsuzaki | .... | inbetween animator | |
| Rie Kondou | .... | inbetween animator | |
| Ken'ichi Konishi | .... | animator | |
| Fumie Konno | .... | inbetween animator | |
| Kitaro Kosaka | .... | animator | |
| Misuzu Kurata | .... | animator | |
| Bok Kyoung Kwon | .... | inbetween artist | |
| Do Hee Lee | .... | digital ink and paint artist | |
| Eun Kyung Lee | .... | digital ink and paint artist | |
| Hye Sung Lee | .... | inbetween animator | |
| Mi Ok Lee | .... | inbetween animator | |
| Sue Shang Lee | .... | inbetween animator | |
| Daisuke Makino | .... | inbetween animator | |
| Kiyoko Makita | .... | inbetween animator | |
| Reiko Mano | .... | inbetween animator | |
| Yu Maruyama | .... | inbetween animator | |
| Tadahito Matsubayashi | .... | inbetween animator | |
| Mariko Matsuo | .... | animator | |
| Masaru Matsuse | .... | animator | |
| Atsuko Matsushita | .... | inbetween artist | |
| Satoshi Mikage | .... | inbetween animator | |
| Tomoko Miyata | .... | inbetween animator | |
| Yoshiyuki Momose | .... | animator | |
| Naomi Mori | .... | digital ink and paint artist | |
| Takashi Mori | .... | inbetween animator | |
| Kanako Moriya | .... | digital ink and paint checker | |
| Yasuto Murata | .... | inbetween animator | |
| Rie Nakagome | .... | inbetween animator | |
| Hiroaki Nakajima | .... | inbetween animator | |
| Yuki Nakajima | .... | inbetween animator | |
| Kazuki Nakamoto | .... | inbetween animator | |
| Katsutoshi Nakamura | .... | animator | |
| Yohei Nakano | .... | inbetween animator | |
| Hisashi Nakayama | .... | animator | |
| Mai Nakazato | .... | inbetween animator | |
| Kumi Nanjo | .... | digital ink and paint artist | |
| Akiko Nasu | .... | digital ink and paint artist | |
| Sumie Nishido | .... | inbetween animator | |
| Atsushi Nishigori | .... | inbetween artist | |
| Hiromi Nishikawa | .... | inbetween animator | |
| Minori Noguchi | .... | inbetween animator | |
| Fumiko Oda | .... | digital ink and paint checker | |
| Gosei Oda | .... | inbetween animator | |
| Norihito Ogawa | .... | inbetween animator | |
| Masahiro Ohashi | .... | inbetween animator | |
| Minoru Ohashi | .... | animation checker | |
| Shin'ya Ôhira | .... | animator | |
| Mayumi Ohmura | .... | inbetween animator | |
| Kumiko Ohta | .... | inbetween animator | |
| Kyoko Okabayashi | .... | inbetween animator | |
| Rie Okada | .... | digital ink and paint artist | |
| Chika Okubo | .... | inbetween animator | |
| Masashi Okumura | .... | inbetween animator | |
| Fumino Okura | .... | digital ink and paint artist | |
| Takeyoshi Omagari | .... | inbetween animator | |
| Aya Onishi | .... | inbetween artist | |
| Kazuyoshi Onoda | .... | animator | |
| Katsu Ôshiro | .... | animator | |
| Masaru Oshiro | .... | animator | |
| Norihiro Ôsugi | .... | animator | |
| Miho Otsuka | .... | inbetween animator | |
| Akihiro Oyama | .... | digital ink and paint artist | |
| Ji Hyun Park | .... | inbetween animator | |
| La Sung Park | .... | digital ink and paint artist | |
| So Hwa Park | .... | inbetween animator | |
| Suk-Hwa Park | .... | inbetween animator | |
| Young Suk Park | .... | inbetween animator | |
| Eun Me Pyun | .... | inbetween animator | |
| Shinobu Saeki | .... | inbetween animator | |
| Michiko Saito | .... | digital ink and paint artist | |
| Saho Saito | .... | inbetween animator | |
| Masaya Saitou | .... | animation checker | |
| Reiko Sakai | .... | inbetween animator | |
| Masako Sakano | .... | inbetween animator | |
| Chikako Sasagawa | .... | inbetween animator | |
| Masako Sato | .... | inbetween animator | |
| Akiko Seki | .... | inbetween artist | |
| Jin Hyuk Seo | .... | inbetween animator | |
| Kum Sook Seo | .... | inbetween animator | |
| Yuka Shibata | .... | inbetween animator | |
| Tomotaka Shibayama | .... | digital ink and paint artist | |
| Tsutomu Shibutani | .... | inbetween animator | |
| Ritsuko Shiina | .... | inbetween animator | |
| Ikuko Shimada | .... | inbetween animator | |
| Akiko Shimizu | .... | digital ink and paint artist | |
| Masako Shinohara | .... | animator | |
| Naoyoshi Shiotani | .... | inbetween animator | |
| Hyun Ju Song | .... | inbetween animator | |
| Jee Young Soung | .... | inbetween animator | |
| Akira Sugino | .... | digital ink and paint artist | |
| Ryozo Sugiyama | .... | inbetween animator | |
| Makiko Suzuki | .... | key animator | |
| Mariko Suzuki | .... | animator | |
| Kanako Takahashi | .... | digital ink and paint artist | |
| Naoko Takahashi | .... | inbetween animator | |
| Noboru Takano | .... | animator | |
| Nobuyuki Takeuchi | .... | key animator | |
| Noriyuki Takeuchi | .... | animator | |
| Atsushi Tamura | .... | animator | |
| Atsuko Tanaka | .... | animator: Telecom Animation Film | |
| Haruka Tanaka | .... | inbetween animator | |
| Yuichi Tanaka | .... | animator | |
| Kumiko Tanihira | .... | inbetween animator | |
| Hitomi Tateno | .... | animation checker | |
| Kumiko Terada | .... | inbetween animator | |
| Masako Terada | .... | inbetween animator | |
| Akiko Teshima | .... | inbetween artist | |
| Akiko Toba | .... | inbetween artist | |
| Yoyoi Toki | .... | inbetween animator | |
| Keiko Tomizawa | .... | inbetween animator | |
| Jinko Tsuji | .... | inbetween animator | |
| Koujirou Tsuraoka | .... | inbetween animator | |
| Kazuyuki Ueda | .... | inbetween animator | |
| Yumiko Ukai | .... | digital ink and paint artist | |
| Yukari Umebayashi | .... | inbetween animator | |
| Hideo Watanabe | .... | inbetween animator | |
| Alexandra Weihrauch | .... | inbetween artist | |
| Hisako Yaji | .... | inbetween animator | |
| Chikako Yamada | .... | inbetween animator | |
| Ken'ichi Yamada | .... | animator | |
| Satoko Yamada | .... | inbetween animator | |
| Shinichiro Yamada | .... | inbetween animator | |
| Tamami Yamada | .... | key animator | |
| Atsushi Yamagata | .... | animator | |
| Hirômi Yamakawa | .... | animator | |
| Eiji Yamamori | .... | key animator | |
| Hideshi Yamamori | .... | animator | |
| Rie Yamamoto | .... | inbetween animator | |
| Akihiko Yamashita | .... | animator | |
| Muneyuki Yamashita | .... | inbetween animator | |
| Shôjurô Yamauchi | .... | animator | |
| Yukari Yamaura | .... | inbetween animator | |
| Morihiko Yano | .... | inbetween animator | |
| Masafumi Yokota | .... | inbetween animator | |
| Yuki Yokoyama | .... | digital ink and paint artist | |
| Hiromasa Yonebayashi | .... | animator | |
| Mi Kyoung Yoon | .... | inbetween animator | |
| Hideaki Yoshio | .... | animator | |
| Hea Yeop Yun | .... | digital ink and paint artist | |
Casting Department | |||
| Motohiro Hatanaka | .... | casting coordinator | |
| Jamie Thomason | .... | voice casting: English version | |
| David Wright | .... | voice casting: English version (as David H. Wright III) | |
| Keiko Yagi | .... | casting coordinator | |
| Naomi Yasu | .... | casting coordinator | |
Editorial Department | |||
| Chris DeLaGuardia | .... | color timer | |
| Katie Hooten | .... | post-production coordinator | |
| Kyoko Mizuta | .... | assistant editor | |
| Mutsumi Takemiya | .... | assistant editor | |
| Megumi Uchida | .... | assistant editor | |
Music Department | |||
| Joe Hisaishi | .... | conductor | |
| Joe Hisaishi | .... | musician: piano | |
| Kazumi Inaki | .... | music production | |
| Youmi Kimura | .... | composer: song "Itsumo nando-demo" | |
| Tamaki Kojo | .... | music production | |
| Masayoshi Okawa | .... | music engineer | |
| Shinichi Tanaka | .... | orchestra recordist | |
| Joe Hisaishi | .... | orchestrator (uncredited) | |
| Kazunori Miyake | .... | orchestrator (uncredited) | |
| Jun Nagao | .... | orchestrator (uncredited) | |
Other crew | |||
| Stephen Alpert | .... | overseas promotion | |
| Nao Amisaki | .... | overseas promotion | |
| Shokichi Arai | .... | coordinator | |
| Koichi Asano | .... | merchandising development | |
| Leo Chu | .... | vice president of production | |
| Nozomi Fukuda | .... | advertising producer | |
| Mieko Hara | .... | advertising producer | |
| Hiroi Hosokawa | .... | advertising producer | |
| Minami Ichikawa | .... | advertising producer | |
| Tomomi Imai | .... | merchandising development | |
| Rieko Izutsu | .... | merchandising development | |
| Yasushi Kanno | .... | advertising producer | |
| Yusuke Kikuchi | .... | advertising producer | |
| Michiyo Koyanagi | .... | advertising producer | |
| Haruyo Moriyoshi | .... | overseas promotion | |
| Minako Nagasawa | .... | public relations | |
| Ai Nakanishi | .... | advertising producer | |
| Junichi Nishioka | .... | public relations | |
| Atsuo Ogaki | .... | advertising producer | |
| Naoto Okamura | .... | advertising producer | |
| Hiroyuki Orihara | .... | advertising producer | |
| Mikiko Takeda | .... | overseas promotion | |
| Masaru Tsuchiya | .... | advertising producer | |
| Morikazu Wakizaka | .... | advertising producer | |
| Kirk Wise | .... | dialogue director | |
Thanks | |||
| Robert Bagley | .... | special thanks | |
| Matthew Jon Beck | .... | special thanks | |
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| Ha |
Last year I saw Spirited Away on it's UK release. I've never been a particular fan of anime, and it didn't really occur to me that I was watching a foreign language film dubbed into English (or 'American'). I can't imagine seeing a live action foreign language film dubbed into another language, but hey, this is a kids cartoon, what does it matter? Up to a point it didn't, because I loved the film. I enjoyed it so much I set about digging up the Studio Ghibli/Miyazaki back catalogue, in the process Sprited Away was filed away as one of the lesser Ghibli's - still great, but compared to Laputa, Grave of the Fireflies and a few others, it seemed a little weak.
BUT... I recently re-watched it on DVD with the subtitles and found the difference unbelievable. The film came alive like the other Miyazaki's I've seen. It seemed infinitely more layered, detailed, intelligent and witty than I remembered. Could it be that retaining the intended performances (even if the words are unintelligible) can make that much difference? Maybe the dub was just poorly done? Or was it just because I was now versed in the language of Ghibli? As a little experiment I decided to re-watch some of the film with both the English subtitles and English language dub in order to compare, I ended watching the whole thing out of morbid fascination. It's simply amazing what a difference there is. Entire scenes change. It's not just that subtle emphasis is shifted or the same points are made in a different manner - in the dub, the subject of whole conversations and scenes are changed, and often to some flat and uninteresting hokum. Relationships between characters are changed, their motivations and personalities are changed, the difference is shocking.
I appreciate western, and particularly American audiences can be put off by subtitles. And cinemas are less likely to show the film anyway. It's pointless to be all righteous when, fundamentally, you just want people to see the film. Unless they do, this treasure trove will remain undiscovered, and maybe finding it will encourage people to conquer the 'subtitle demon' (as Miyazaki might call him). But the problem is the quality of these dubs, and the liberties taken with the source material. Of course, without speaking Japanese, who can say it's not the subtitles that are way off? They're probably written by westerners too. But the dub just stinks of Disneyfication. Saturday morning generic nonsense. The challenging, uncompromising and emotionally ambitious nature of the film is severely watered down.
A fair question might be, 'if it's so bad why was it so successful?' The success is evidence of the films staggering quality. Even so, it hardly challenged whatever Jerry Bruckheimer movie was showing at the time. In Japan it's the biggest grossing film in history. 'Go figure,' as Chihiro wouldn't say.