Spirited Away

Japan’s legendary Studio Ghibli animation studio shut down in the wake of the 2013 retirement of its visionary artistic leader and co-founder Hayao Miyazaki, who many consider the best animation filmmaker ever.

That’s owing to his (and partner Isao Takahata) helming a stellar run of creatively groundbreaking and box office smashing (in Japan, at least) animated films including the heartbreaking World War II film Grave of the Fireflies, the gentle and whimsical My Neighbor Totoro, and 1997’s sophisticated and beguiling Princess Mononoke.

But the crown jewel may be Spirited Away from 2001. It’s Japan’s highest-grossing film of all time (eight of Studio Ghibli’s films are on that list), won the Academy Award for Best Animated Film, and this year was voted the fourth best film of the 21st century in a BBC poll of 177 film critics. This from a movie with no discernible heroes or villains, storyboarded on the fly as it was being made, and that hinges on a protagonist who is stubbornly normal.

It returns in a 15th-anniversary showing for three days only at Century Cinemas in Monterey and Northridge Cinemas in Salinas, a magical and curious holiday treat for kids (7 or so and up) and parents who can embrace novelty.

It starts mundanely enough, with 10-year-old Chihiro being driven by her parents to the new city they’re moving to where her father has taken a job, and she’s stewing with resentment and boredom. The Pixar film Inside Out turns on this same pivot, but the narratives most people compare Spirited Away to are Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland andThe Wizard of Oz.

That’s because the family takes a wrong turn and ends up in a magical village of spirits, witches and gods. Chihiro’s parents become incapacitated (standard for a film for kids) which forces/frees her to navigate her new world, specifically the inner workings of a stately Japanese bathhouse, in order to save them.

This is where the plot would kick in. But what occurs in the intervening two hours defies preconceived notions of where a kids’ film should go and how it should get there. And it’s best to preserve the surprise.

Though the animation was spectacular in its day, it’s the story, told through Miyazaki’s imaginative writing and honest directing, where Spirited Away soars. That is why John Lasseter (Toy Story, The Incredibles) is such a big fan and why Disney distributes Studio Ghibli’s films in the U.S.

Miyazaki’s aim was to create a 10-year-old girl without condescension or pandering, to put her through predicaments that test and teach her, and to create an imaginary world with its own rules and logic.

He succeeded soundly on all fronts. Miyazaki cushions thrilling sequences of action and conflict with moments of quiet and reflection where the film expands like a breath. Wonder, fear, sadness, loss, love and courage hover in its atmosphere.

When she realizes the topsy-turvy world she’s in is not her own, Chihiro panics: “I’m dreaming! I’m dreaming!” But she eventually makes friends and allies, including with the enigmatic boy Haku, who help her in her journey.

Along the way, we watch Chihiro stumble and careen from childhood into adolescence, nearer to the world of adulthood (she even gets a job in the spirit world’s bathhouse) and that’s a wistful inevitability of childhood – that it ends.

You won’t detect formula or marketing at work. This is pure filmmaking in service to the way kids navigate new and difficult occurrences in their real lives. Like moving to another city, gaining independence, or having to grow up.

Spirited Away (4) Directed by Hayao Miyazaki. Starring Daveigh Chase/Rumi Hiiragi, Jason Marsden/Miyu Irino. Rated PG. 125 min. 12pm Sunday, Dec. 4 (dubbed in English), 7pm Monday, Dec. 5 (Japanese with English subtitles) and 7pm Thursday, Dec. 8 (dubbed in English) at Century Cinemas, 1700 Del Monte Center, Monterey; and Northridge Cinemas, 350 Northridge Shopping Center, Salinas. Rated PG. $10.50-$12.50. 373-8051, www.FathomEvents.com.