Chihiro and her parents are moving to a small Japanese town
in the countryside, much to Chihiro's dismay. On the way to
their new home, Chihiro's father makes a wrong turn and drives
down a lonely one-lane road which dead-ends in front of a tunnel.
Her parents decide to stop the car and explore the area.
They go through the tunnel and find an abandoned amusement park
on the other side, with its own little town. When her parents
see a restaurant with great-smelling food but no staff, they
decide to eat and pay later. However, Chihiro refuses to eat
and decides to explore the theme park a bit more. She meets a
boy named Haku who tells her that Chihiro and her parents are
in danger, and they must leave immediately. She runs to the
restaurant and finds that her parents have turned into pigs.
In addition, the theme park turns out to be a town inhabited by
demons, spirits, and evil gods. At the center of the town is a
bathhouse where these creatures go to relax. The owner of the
bathhouse is the evil witch Yubaba, who is intent on keeping
all trespassers as captive workers, including Chihiro. Chihiro
must rely on Haku to save her parents in hopes of returning to
their world.
-Zachary Harper
