The curiosity of Chihiro's mother (Lauren Holly) and father (Michael Chiklis) leads the reluctant child into what appears to be an abandoned amusement park.
Soon her parents are greedily feasting on various delights from an enticing food stand and are literally turned into pigs.
The frightened and bewildered girl then encounters a young man named Haku (Jason Marsden), who explains what she must do to navigate this strange and magical realm.
Finding employment in a bathhouse for spirits and other odd characters, including kimono-wearing frogs, lumbering tentacled monsters, and a mysterious apparition named No Face, Chihiro attempts to figure out how she can free her parents from the clutches of the resort's owner, a powerful witch named Yubaba (Suzanne Pleshette).
In the process, she makes some very eccentric friends--and has to deal with some notoriously stinky customers
Miyazaki's Spirited Away brought the world of Studio Ghibli anime movies to a Western audience winning Oscar for Best Animation, and is the only winner of that award to win among five nominees (in every other year there were three nominees).
The movie also won the Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2002.
It became the highest-grossing film in Japanese history and was the first movie to have earned $200 million at the worldwide box office before opening in the United States.
4. Princess Mononoke
While protecting his village from a rampaging boar-god, the warrior Ashitaka (Billy Crudup) is cursed with a rapidly spreading scar that threatens to end his life.
Seeking a cure and a reason for the animal-god's attack, he journeys into the sacred depths of the Great Forest Spirit's realm.
On the edge of this once serene forest, however, the Tatara clan have begun to destroy the surrounding land to produce iron.
In retaliation, San (Claire Danes), the adopted daughter of the wolf-god Moro (Gillian Anderson), has begun raiding the Tatara fortress to stop their encroachment.
Soon Ashitaka is caught in the middle and must stop the war between the humans and the forest dwellers before they destroy each other.
At the time of release 1997 it became the most expensive animation ever made in Japanese history but went on to be the highest grossing film in Japan until Titanic was released.
5. My Neighbour Totoro
Departing from the action-oriented plots of his previous films (Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind and Laputa: Castle in the Sky), Japan's most beloved animator, Hayao Miyazaki, provides a slower-paced, stunningly realistic portrayal of life in the countryside.
When their mother is hospitalised because of an unspecified illness, two young sisters spend a summer in the Japanese countryside with their father.
The children's strange new environment turns out to be a natural wonderland filled with exotic real-life creatures and a trio of furry, woodland sprites who can only be seen by children.
Released in 1988 My Neighbour Totoro is one of Studio Ghibli's older pictures and instead of focusing on the horrors of war the film, instead, looks at the importance of family.
Unlike many of Miyazaki's movies this film is aimed at a child audience as the film focuses on a child's curious wonder, imagination and wide eyed wonder.
Other Studio Ghibli titles that are well worth checking out include Laputa Castle in the Sky, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind and Kiki's Delivery Service.
Ponyo is released 12th February
FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw
Tagged in Hayao Miyazaki Studio Ghibli