Spirited Away

Movie · 2001

A 10-year-old girl's parents are transformed into pigs by a witch, leaving her to navigate a fantastical spirit world on her own in order to save them. The film is a stunning, imaginative adventure, but it carries a sustained eerie atmosphere and several genuinely frightening creature sequences that can be too intense for younger or more sensitive children.

Most comfortable for children 8 and up; brave, fantasy-loving 6–7 year olds may enjoy it with a parent snuggled close.

Scary imageryPeril & tensionViolenceLoss & griefBig emotionsLanguageBehavior modeledLoud or startling soundsDrinking, drugs & smoking

If you’d rather skip

Scary imageryearly in the film, shortly after the family arrives at the spirit world entranceModerate

Chihiro's parents begin eating food at an empty stall and rapidly transform into large, ravenous pigs — the transformation is abrupt and Chihiro's panicked reaction is extended.

Peril & tensionearly in the film, Chihiro's first minutes alone in the spirit town at duskModerate

Ghostly spirits begin filling the streets, Chihiro starts turning transparent, and the sense of being trapped and invisible builds for several distressing minutes.

Scary imageryChihiro's first meeting with Yubaba in her officeModerate

Yubaba has an exaggeratedly oversized head and suddenly breathes fire directly toward Chihiro's face — brief but startling.

7 more moments are in the full report. See all of them, checked against your own family’s settings, in Little Longer.