When Disney Allegedly Undermined 'Spirited Away'?

The Big Picture

Disney played an essential part in the introduction of Hayao Miyazaki's movies to the Western audience. However, they faced initial challenges with the release of Princess Mononoke due to its mature themes and violent content.

Spirited Away encountered a similar challenge with Disney, as it took them more than a year to contemplate releasing the film in its home country. Only when it secured the prestigious Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival and with the influence of John Lasseter, did Disney finally agree to grant it a deserving release.

Despite its limited distribution and a lack of promotional efforts from Disney, Spirited Away garnered extensive praise from critics and astonishingly went on to win the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, surpassing even Disney's own nominated films. The film's stature continues to flourish, evident in its upcoming re-releases and screenings.

Hayao Miyazaki, a filmmaker whose career is comprised of numerous films that could be considered his masterpieces, has captivated audiences with his rich body of work. Whether you are enchanted by the sublime simplicity of My Neighbor Totoro, intrigued by the intricate moral dilemmas in The Wind Rises, or awed by the epic scale of Princess Mononoke, it is difficult to deny the merits of his filmography. However, one particular film stands out as a major breakthrough with Western audiences: Spirited Away.

This mesmerizing tale follows the journey of a young girl who becomes entangled in the realm of spirits while desperately trying to rescue her parents from the cruel fate of transforming into pigs. Spirited Away not only enjoyed immense success in Japan upon its release, becoming the highest-grossing film in Japanese history for nearly two decades, but it also triumphed on the international stage, securing the prestigious 2003 Academy Award for Best Animated Feature in the United States. Remarkably, it remains the sole foreign language film to have achieved this accolade.

Unsurprisingly, the process of bringing Spirited Away to the United States was far from straightforward. Overcoming numerous obstacles and defying expectations, the film ultimately triumphed, cementing its status as a cinematic gem.

Image via Studio GhibliSpirited Away

Release Date July 20, 2001Director Hayao MiyazakiRating PGGenres Animation, Adventure, Family, Fantasy

Hayao Miyazaki's Animated Films Have Always Been Well Received

The impact of Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli's films in the United States can be attributed, in part, to the efforts of Walt Disney Studios. In the mid-90s, Disney entered into a distribution deal with Studio Ghibli to release the Japanese studio's films globally, including on home video. Similar to Disney's partnership with Pixar, this arrangement involved one company supplying the films while the other utilized its influence and reach to ensure wide exposure in the market. Additionally, Disney took on the task of producing English dubbed versions of the Ghibli films, making them more accessible to English-speaking audiences, especially Disney's target demographic, children. Initially, this collaboration proved successful with films like Kiki's Delivery Service and Castle in the Sky fitting well with Disney's family-friendly brand (My Neighbor Totoro had already been distributed by Troma Entertainment). However, complications arose when Miyazaki's subsequent film failed to meet Disney's expectations. In 1997, Miyazaki released Princess Mononoke, a tale exploring the delicate balance of nature from the perspective of a cursed prince. Although it enjoyed immense box office success in Japan (only surpassed by Titanic and later Spirited Away), as well as critical acclaim worldwide, Princess Mononoke had a more mature tone and contained graphic violence, deviating from Disney's vision of a princess-themed film. As a result, the movie was handed off to Miramax, a Disney subsidiary, leading to a series of conflicts involving threats, profanity, and even a samurai sword, all centered around how the film would be distributed. Ultimately, Princess Mononoke received a limited release and fell short of Disney's expectations, leading to doubts about the viability of these movies as investment opportunities.

'Spirited Away' Could Have Been a Complete Failure, Thanks to Disney

Image via Studio Ghibli

Disney still had reservations, despite Miyazaki's personal stake in the film and the persuasion from John Lasseter. It took over a year for Disney to consider releasing Spirited Away domestically, possibly due to the financial failure of Princess Mononoke or a focus on prioritizing American productions. However, a few key factors eventually convinced Disney to change their stance.

In early 2002, Spirited Away won the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival, the highest prize given, and remains the only animated film to achieve this to date. This prestigious win made the film more desirable for the company, but further persuasion was still needed. This persuasion came from John Lasseter, the founder of Pixar and an old friend of Miyazaki. Though the specifics are not publicly known, Miyazaki claimed that Lasseter "bulldozed" the parent company into giving Spirited Away a proper release.

Lasseter's influence carried weight with Disney, especially given Pixar's recent successes such as Toy Story 1 and 2, A Bug's Life, and Monster's Inc. His input was taken seriously, and it likely helped that Spirited Away featured less intense violence compared to Princess Mononoke, with fewer depictions of gun warfare, limb removal, and the beheading of a god. Nonetheless, Disney still had lingering concerns.

Lasseter took charge of producing the English-language version of Spirited Away. The dub featured notable Disney regulars such as Susan Egan (known for her role as Meg in Hercules), David Ogden Stiers (Cogsworth in Beauty and the Beast), and John Ratzenberger (a familiar face in Pixar movies). The lead role was played by Daveigh Chase, fresh off her performance in Lilo & Stitch, released the same year. This dubbed version premiered to great acclaim at the Toronto Film Festival but subsequently received a limited release. It hit only 151 theaters in the United States, resulting in a modest initial box office gross of 5.5 million. Speculation suggests that Disney's attention was more focused on their own films, as they lacked merchandising rights for any Ghibli films, let alone rights for direct-to-video sequels, a television spin-off, video games, and more. Disney could only rely on box office and eventual home video sales for revenue, which reduced the priority for promotional efforts. Spirited Away may have faded into obscurity if it hadn't been such a phenomenal success.

The Critics Were Right About 'Spirited Away'

Critics lavished praise on Spirited Away. Roger Ebert, awarding it four out of four stars, deemed it worthy of inclusion in his esteemed "Great Movies" collection. Nigel Andrews, writing for the Financial Times, surpassed his own rating system by awarding it six out of five stars and continues to be mesmerized by it even after two decades. Steven Spielberg expressed his admiration, stating that Spirited Away might surpass any Disney film and is one of the greatest animated films ever made. The film earned a spot on nearly every critic's "Best of 2002" list and went on to secure a nomination (and eventual win) for the second-ever Best Animated Feature at the Academy Awards, which director Miyazaki boycotted in protest of the Iraq War. Spirited Away's triumph even overshadowed Disney's nominated films of that year, specifically Lilo & Stitch and Treasure Planet.

Despite a problematic initial release, the enduring legacy of Spirited Away persists. GKIDS will be re-releasing the film later this year as part of their annual Ghibli Fest. The festival will feature not only a screening of Spirited Away but also a stage adaptation of the film, along with nine other beloved Ghibli films returning to theaters. Despite Disney's lack of involvement or interest in Spirited Away, the film has managed to captivate audiences worldwide, earning a special place in their hearts.

In the United States, viewers can enjoy Spirited Away by streaming it on Max.

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