20 Most Rewatchable Movies Of The 2000s

2. Spirited Away (2001)

Hayao Miyazaki is almost single-handedly responsible for taking Japanese animation mainstream in the West, and since the late '70s he has been gifting us fantastical worlds and characters that have become pop culture staples. Yet few of his films have penetrated the minds and imaginations of viewers globally as his crowning glory of the noughties, Spirited Away.

The movie follows Chihiro (voiced by Rumi Hiiragi and Daveigh Chase), as her small family is waylaid during their move to a new home in the country. When they inadvertently enter the world of the spirits, and her parents are turned into pigs, Chihiro must take a role in the witch Yubaba's bathhouse while she figures out a way to restore her family and return home. But the rules, norms, and beings in this reality aren’t like anything she’s used to, with talking frogs, enslaved dragon-men, giant babies, and a mysterious spirit named No-Face who is intent on eating everything in his path.

An Alice in Wonderland for a generation raised on global culture and consumerism, Spirited Away blends surrealism with a heartfelt coming-of-age story. Unlike some other Miyazaki movies, it never drags, the quality of the animation and story never slips, and there are so many small details and indelible images throughout that we find ourselves staggered at every viewing.