Japan's Studio Ghibli may not be as famous as Disney, but it's more than managed to hold its own in the ever-changing world of animation. While the Mouse House has been struggling of late as Mickey's magic has turned into Pluto's poop, the Japanese animators have been going from strength to strength, elbowing past the likes of Lilo & Stitch, Ice Age and Treasure Planet to land the Best Animated Film Oscar at the 2003 Academy Awards.

The story of a wilful 10-year-old girl called Chihiro who stumbles into a parallel universe of ghosts, dragons and monsters, Spirited Away delivers something completely different from the usual 'toon plot. Forced to stand on her own two feet, Chihiro takes a job in the basement of a spa hotel for the gods. There she realises that before she can escape, she must first find her place in this bustling community of spirits.

While American animation emphasises individual success and happy-clappy family values, Hayao Miyazaki is more interested in the Japanese theme of hard graft as the key to personal happiness. It's an idea that dominates the director's other films, from Kiki's Delivery Service to Castle In The Sky. If Miyazaki were to ever remake Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs, chances are he'd soon have the pristine heroine down the mines shovelling coal.

Such Eastern quirkiness extends to the dreamlike quality of the animation. Steeped in Japanese mythology, Spirited Away is full of bold, imaginative strokes and characters striking enough to deserve their own spin-off movies. They include a slobbering, Jabba The Hutt-style "stink god" in desperate need of a bath; a talking frog in a kimono; a group of helpful soot creatures; and a trio of bodyless heads that roll around the floor murmuring to themselves.

Then there are the backgrounds. Filled with gorgeous buildings, rolling fields and shimmering lakes, this beautiful, haunting world lies somewhere past the end of the rainbow. See it and marvel.

DVD Extras:

Pixar's John Lasseter is Miyazaki's self-proclaimed No1 Fan and the bloke we have to thank for shipping his films over to the West. So it's fitting that he introduces this double-disc set with a starry-eyed gab about why he loves Miyazaki-San so much. With the gushing out of the way, the rest of the disc follows much the same trajectory as the Region One edition.That means we get the original Japanese dub plus a high-quality American alternative, a 40-minute Making Of, a brief Behind The Microphone featurette about the English voice-dubbing process and 30 whole minutes of trailers. But the real jewel in the crown of this quietly impressive disc is the inclusion of the storyboards for the entire film. Something that's never been seen before outside of Japan, it's likely to leave American animé fans green-eyed with envy. The lack of a gab-track from Miyazaki is disappointing but understandable given that his English isn't so hot. Fortunately, it's balanced out by the Making Of's unprecedented access to Studio Ghibli's offices, which lets us see the master craftsman at work. His hands-on approach makes for hilarious viewing - cracking the whip one minute, cooking homemade noodles the next - and watching him act out moments from the film in development meetings is necessary viewing. A few more extras wouldn't have gone amiss, but the storyboards alone make this an essential purchase.