History Trivia / SpiritedAway

** In all versions, Chihiro is voiced by a child actress. Her Japanese VA, Rumi Hiiragi, was only 10 years old when she first recorded the character. Meanwhile, Creator/DaveighChase was 12 years old when she voiced the character in the English dub.

* CrossDressingVoices: In the Taiwanese and Hong Kong dubs, Haku is voiced by Wang Shiwei and Can Ngonjing respectively.

* RoleReprise: Mari Natsuki, Yubaba's voice actress, would return to the role ''21 years later'' for Creator/{{Toho}}‘s ScreenToStageAdaptation.

* RealitySubtext: Devoted environmentalist Miyazaki included a bicycle getting pulled out of the polluted water spirit after a clean-up group he was part of actually did find one in a river.
** When Chihiro accidentally steps on the slug, the Boiler Man does a "cut the line" routine with her. In Miyazaki's time, this was a "cleansing" ritual that kids performed among each other when one of them accidentally stepped in feces. Much to Miyazaki's chagrin, he had to explain this to Rumi Hiiragi!
*** The translation staff had trouble with the gesture as well, until someone realized that it was thematically similar to a "cootie shot" schoolkids would use.

* ThoseTwoActors: In the English dub, Creator/JasonMarsden voices Haku, and his boss Yubaba is voiced by the late Creator/SuzannePleshette. The two previously voiced together in ''WesternAnimation/TheLionKing2SimbasPride'', with Marsden voicing Kovu, the subordinate son of Pleshette's BigBad Zira.

* ExecutiveMeddling / NetworkToTheRescue: With a rare ''positive'' spin and happy ending. After the lackluster box office showing for ''Anime/PrincessMononoke'', Disney executives were hesitant to move forward with more of the Studio Ghibli films they'd bought the rights for. ''Anime/CastleInTheSky'' had been dubbed and shown up on the film festival circuit, but no proper release date was announced, and it seemed like the other Ghibli films would be lost in DevelopmentHell. The happy ending? Creator/JohnLasseter, then the head of Creator/{{Pixar}}, stuck his neck out to push for ''Spirited Away's'' production and release in America. Lasseter's championing of the film, and its eventual Oscar win, was the impetus for the eventual release of the rest of the Ghibli catalog on DVD, as well as the distribution of future Ghibli films.

* ExecutiveMeddling/NetworkToTheRescue: With a rare ''positive'' spin and happy ending. After the lackluster box office showing for ''Anime/PrincessMononoke'', Disney executives were hesitant to move forward with more of the Studio Ghibli films they'd bought the rights for. ''Anime/CastleInTheSky'' had been dubbed and shown up on the film festival circuit, but no proper release date was announced, and it seemed like the other Ghibli films would be lost in DevelopmentHell. The happy ending? Creator/JohnLasseter, then the head of Creator/{{Pixar}}, stuck his neck out to push for ''Spirited Away's'' production and release in America. Lasseter's championing of the film, and its eventual Oscar win, was the impetus for the eventual release of the rest of the Ghibli catalog on DVD, as well as the distribution of future Ghibli films.

* ExecutiveMeddling: With a rare ''positive'' spin and happy ending. After the lackluster box office showing for ''Anime/PrincessMononoke'', Disney executives were hesitant to move forward with more of the Studio Ghibli films they'd bought the rights for. ''Anime/CastleInTheSky'' had been dubbed and shown up on the film festival circuit, but no proper release date was announced, and it seemed like the other Ghibli films would be lost in DevelopmentHell. The happy ending? Creator/JohnLasseter, then the head of Creator/{{Pixar}}, stuck his neck out to push for ''Spirited Away's'' production and release in America. Lasseter's championing of the film, and its eventual Oscar win, was the impetus for the eventual release of the rest of the Ghibli catalog on DVD, as well as the distribution of future Ghibli films.

** This is Tsunehiko Kamijo's third collaboration with Hayao Miyazaki. He previously voiced the Mamma Aiuto Gang's boss in ''Anime/PorcoRosso'' and Gonzo in ''Anime/PrincessMononoke''.

** No -ace's design was originally much more [[https://static1.cbrimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/ArtofSpiritedAwayA6-2.jpg?q=50&fit=crop&w=740&h=773&dpr=1.5 humanoid and colorful]] looking in concept art.

** No Face's design was originally much more [[https://static1.cbrimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/ArtofSpiritedAwayA6-2.jpg?q=50&fit=crop&w=740&h=773&dpr=1.5 humanoid and colorful]] looking in concept art.

** According to Miyazaki, his original draft would had made the film 3 hours long (the final film is 2 hours), which led to many scenes getting cut out in order to simplify the story and keep the film at a reasonable pace.

* CompletelyDifferentTitle: In Norway, the film was titled "Chihiro og heksene" (''"Chihiro and the witches"'').

* IWantYouToMeetAnOldFriendOfMine: In the English dub, Creator/JasonMarsden voices Haku, and his boss Yubaba is voiced by the late Creator/SuzannePleshette. The two previously voiced together in ''WesternAnimation/TheLionKing2SimbasPride'', with Marsden voicing Kovu, the subordinate son of Pleshette's BigBad Zira.

* RoleReprise: Mari Natsuki, Yubaba’s voice actress, would return to the role ''21 years later'' for Creator/{{Toho}}‘s ScreenToStageAdaptation.

* CompletelyDifferentTitle: In Norway, the film was titled "Chihiro og heksene" ("Chihiro and the witches").

** There are three Latin American Spanish dubs, both made simultaneously. One produced by Disney made in UsefulNotes/MexicoCity-based Prime Dubb/SDI Media de México (broadcasted in HBO), another one produced by Primer Plano made in Buenos Aires-based Videorecord for their theatrical distribution in Argentina.[[note]]Both dubs were made for cinemas, which are ''way'' more expensive than the average dub for TV, DVD/BD and streaming. This also makes the only case of a production recieving two neutral Latin American Spanish dub for cinemas.[[/note]] and another one done in Mexico by BTI for Netflix. When Disney bought Primer Plano's Argentine theatrical rights of ''Spirited Away'', they decided to release it with the Argentine dub instead of their own dub. To this date, the Argentine dub it's the most distributed in the region, being the only one ever released on home video and broadcasted on air TV and Disney Latino has come to distribute it in streaming and TV broadcasts in Creator/DisneyChannel and {{Creator/Jetix}}; the Mexican dub, [[Main/KeepCirculatingTheTapes however]]...

* ActingForTwo: Yubaba and Zeniba are both played by Mari Natsuki. This is carried over to the foreign dubs, with the late Creator/SuzannePleshette voicing both roles in the English release.

** Haku's Japanese voice actor Miyu Irino, was only 13 years old at the time of the film's release.