Spirited Away
Spirited Away (千と千尋の神隠し, Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi) is a 2001 Japanese animated film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki. The film follows a sullen ten-year-old girl who is in the process of moving to a new town with her family, and chronicles her adventures in a world of spirits and monsters.
The film received many awards, including the second Oscar ever awarded for Best Animated Feature, the first anime film to win an Academy Award, and the first non-English speaking animation to win. The film also won the Golden Bear at the 2002 Berlin International Film Festival and is among the top ten in the BFI list of the 50 films you should see by the age of 14.
Spirited Away overtook Titanic in the Japanese box office to become the highest-grossing film in Japanese history.
The film score was composed and conducted by Joe Hisaishi, and performed by the New Japan Philharmonic. His "Day of the River" (あの日の川 ) piece received the 56th Mainichi Film Competition Award for Best Music, the Tokyo International Anime Fair 2001 Best Music Award in the Theater Movie category, and the 16th Japan Gold Disk Award for Animation Album of the Year.
The closing song, "Always With Me" (いつも何度でも "Always, No Matter How Many Times") was written and performed by Youmi Kimura. The lyrics were written by Wakako Kaku. Hayao Miyazaki said this song inspired him to create Spirited Away.
Tutorials
Always With Me いつも何度でも
Inochi no Namae いのちの名前,
The Name of Life ("Inochi No Namae") has the same melody as The River of That Day (あの日の川 ,"Ano hi no Kawa"). Joe Hisaishi added lyrics to the latter and gave the song a new name.
One Summer's Day あの夏へ
The Sixth Station
