Cleo

“Chihiro is terrified of forgetting her name, yet it is during this period as Sen that she gradually finds composure, grows as a person and understands herself. As the movie progresses, she becomes less worried about her parents’ fate because she gains an independence and belief in herself.”
― Gael Berton, The Works of Hayao Miyazaki: The Japanese Animation Master

“producer Toshio Suzuki had no idea during production that Spirited Away would break record after record at the box office. In Japan, it became the most watched movie at theaters with over 23 million tickets sold, surpassing Titanic’s record which had beaten the record set by Princess Mononoke.”
― Gael Berton, The Works of Hayao Miyazaki: The Japanese Animation Master

“A major theme in Spirited Away is the young girl’s deconstruction into a type of positive schizophrenia that enables her personal development. The pivotal moment is when Yubaba changes Chihiro’s name; the consequence of this act only fully reveals itself to those who have some knowledge of Japanese. In the Japanese language, the first name and surname are made up of characters called kanji that have one meaning but have several pronunciations depending on whether they are used alone or with other words. In the case of “Chihiro,” the name is formed by the kanji “sen” (for “thousand”) and “jin” (meaning “search” or “question”).”
― Gael Berton, The Works of Hayao Miyazaki: The Japanese Animation Master

“Spirited Away uses Carrollian symbols (tunnel, river, bridge) not only to mark a crossing but to signpost the difficulty in returning to one’s own world.”
― Gael Berton, The Works of Hayao Miyazaki: The Japanese Animation Master