History YMMV / SpiritedAway

* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff: The film is just as widely beloved and popular in the United States as it is in Japan, to the point that it recieved an Academy Award for best animated film, the only Ghibli film to have gotten one.

** There is also the fact that Yubaba complains that Chihiro doesn't have a day of work under her belt. [[JerkassHasAPoint Despite technically being true,]] in an age with prominent child labor laws that Chihiro clearly doesn't match the age range for, it's easy to brush off Yubaba's words with the matter of the fact that [[RealityEnsues Chihiro legally isn't allowed to work.]] Though considering she is working among presumably immortal {{Youkai}} and Kami, this could be a product of CultureClash and is thus DeliberateValuesDissonance. It could also imply Chihiro doesn't do any chores at home, which is a reasonable expectation for children in both eastern and western cultures for a girl her age.

* {{Woolseyism}}: As mentioned above, the Disney dub is high quality, but there are some things that Disney thought needed to be explicated, so a few things are left out that either become more obvious in the Japanese version or were changed in the English to fit in. These changes aren't necessarily bad, and some people prefer them, but they are different.

* PopularWithFurries: [[spoiler:Haku's dragon form get a lot of attention from the furry crowd.]]

** The environmental Aesop is heavy handed sure, but it shows the negative effects that pollution can have, not to mention the amount of work it takes to fix even the smallest amount of environmental damage. Hayao Miyazaki specifically wrote the river spirit scene based off a moment in real life where he was part of a clean-up crew and a bicycle was fished out of the river.

* VindicatedByCable: The movie wasn't a success in the US at first, but positive word of mouth and strong DVD sales made the movie one of Miyazaki's most well-known films in the US.

** There is also the fact that Yubaba complains that Chihiro doesn't have a day of work under her belt. [[JerkassHasAPoint Despite technically being true,]] in a age with prominent child labor laws that Chihiro clearly doesn't match the age range for, it's easy to brush off Yubaba's words with the matter of the fact that [[RealityEnsues Chihiro legally isn't allowed to work.]] Though considering she is working among presumably immortal {{Youkai}} and Kami, this could be a product of CultureClash and is thus DeliberateValuesDissonance. It could also imply Chihiro doesn't do any chores at home, which is a reasonable expectation for children in both eastern and western cultures for a girl her age.

* NarmCharm: While Chihiro crying and eating a rice cake is definitely a heartbreaking scene, Chihiro's tears are so comically large, that it can be hard not to crack a smile.

* OneTruePairing: Chihiro/Haku is this for fans of the movie to the point where you'd think they ''did'' end up together in the end.

* {{Moe}}: Chihiro, to an extent.

* BrokenBase: The English dub inserts one final line from Chihiro saying "I think I can handle it" (re: moving to a new house). WordOfGod is that she doesn't remember any of her experiences in the spirit world, so fans are split over whether this line undermines that. It also means they can't decide whether Chihiro does in fact remember everything or forgets but still keeps the CharacterDevelopment anyway. Unlike the LullDestruction in Disney's dubs of ''Castle in the Sky'' and ''Kiki's Delivery Service'', neither Disney nor [=GKids=] removed this (or any of the dialogue Disney added) from any [=DVDs=] or Blu-Ray Discs.

** "Oy, oy, oy, oy, oy, oy, oy, oy, oy, oy!" (Yubaba's three green heads.)

* NarmCharm: Chihiro crying shiny, oversized tears while eating a rice cake is a bit of a funny image, but it's still a saddening scene of a young girl breaking down after everything she's been through.

* NarmCharm: Chihiro crying shiny, oversized tears while eating a rice cake. Then again, it's still a heartbreaking scene as Chihiro just breaks down after everything she's having to take in.

** There is also the fact that Yubaba complains that Chihiro doesn't have a day of work under her belt. [[JerkassHasAPoint Despite technically being true,]] in a age with prominent child labor laws that Chihiro clearly doesn't match the age range for, it's easy to brush off Yubaba's words with the matter of the fact that [[RealityEnsues Chihiro legally isn't allowed to work.]] Though considering she is working among presumably immortal {{Youkai}} and Kami, this could be a product of CultureClash and is thus DeliberateValuesDissonance.

* ValuesDissonance: A more western audience might find Chihiro's behaviour a bit more understandable, given that she's pretty young ''and'' her parents constantly downtalk her. Even in the scenes where she is in the "theme park" and is telling her parents she wants to leave, she comes off as the OnlySaneMan.
** There is also the fact that Yubaba complains that Chihiro doesn’t have a day of work under her belt. [[JerkassHasAPoint Despite technically being true,]] in a age with prominent child labor laws that Chihiro clearly doesn’t match the age range for, it’s easy to brush off Yubaba’s words with the matter of the fact that [[RealityEnsues Chihiro legally isn’t allowed to work.]]

* HilariousInHindsight: There is a scene in the movie where Chihiro says verbatim, "[[Film/AvengersInfinityWar I don't feel so good]]".

* NauseaFuel: The long and drawn-out [[VomitIndiscretionShot projectile vomiting]] sequence, caused when Chihiro feeds Kaonashi an emetic dumpling.

* ValuesDissonance: A more western audience might find Chihiro's behaviour a bit more understandable, given that she is not only pretty young ''and'' her parents constantly downtalk her. Even in the scenes where she is in the "theme park" and is telling her parents she wants to leave, she comes off as the OnlySaneMan.

* UnintentionallySympathetic: Chihiro is meant to be written as a brat who doesn't appreciate what she has in the beginning until she loses it. Except . . . she's moving to a new place against her will, like Riley in ''WesternAnimation/InsideOut'', and the worst she does is whine about how she's gotten a goodbye bouquet from her best friend, whom she's leaving behind. Then when her father gets them lost in the middle of the woods, she senses something isn't right with the abandoned amusement park and yells at her family to leave. It turns out she's ProperlyParanoid about that given the food there turns her parents into pigs.

** "Oy, oy, oy, oy, oy, oy, oy, oy, oy, oy!" (The three heads.)

* CounterpartComparison: Yubaba is easily comparable to [[Disney/TheLittleMermaid Ursula the Sea Witch]], being a grotesque, greedy old hag who uses magically binding contracts to trap people in malevolent deals, whilst simultaneously having a soft spot for someone she considers her "baby".

* {{Moe}}: Chihiro,to an extent.