Movie: Spirited Away, 2001.

Plot: A young girl named Chihiro and her family are moving to a new house to start a new life. Unlike her parents, Chihiro isn't excited about the move, and would rather have stayed in her old home. After taking a wrong turn, the family discovers what appears to be an abandoned amusement park. The family decides to explore the park, Chihiro is once again not enthusiastic, but reluctantly joins her parents. Once there, Chihiro wanders away to explore by herself, but can't help but feel that the park isn't abandoned. She returns to her parents only to discover that her parents have been transformed into animals. Shocked and terrified, Chihiro runs away and begins to witness strange beings appear and her surroundings completely change before her eyes. Chihiro then meets a young boy named Haku, and informs her that she has accidentally wandered into a realm where spirits come to relax, and the reason her parents have been transformed is because they ate the food that rightfully belonged to the spirits. She soon realizes that if she wants to stay alive, help her parents and go back to the normal world, she will have to take a job at the local bath house which is the primary business of the realm. Chihiro summons the courage and boldness she never know she had, and agrees to do the job and becomes more determined than ever to do what's right for herself, and for her family.

On any normal day, I would usually turn my back on a movie like this. But recently I've been trying to expand my interests in films, music and games. After hearing many great things about this film, including that it won the Academy Award for Best Animated Film, I decided to be more open minded and check it out.

After watching it, I can say that Spirited Away is one of the most remarkable films I've ever seen in terms of both animation and fantasy. The story and characters are all unforgettable, and I can say with full confidence that it's now one of my all-time favorite movies.