Directed by Hayao Miyazaki, this critically acclaimed 2001 animated fantasy film tells the story of a young girl named Chihiro who wanders into a world inhabited by spirits and must work in a bathhouse to free herself and her parents. What is this movie called?

The film described is indeed Spirited Away (Review), a critically acclaimed animated fantasy from 2001. Directed by the renowned Hayao Miyazaki, this Studio Ghibli masterpiece perfectly matches the narrative of a young girl named Chihiro who inadvertently enters a mysterious spirit world. Her parents are transformed into pigs after foolishly eating food meant for the spirits, leaving Chihiro to find work in a bathhouse catering to supernatural beings in order to save herself and her family.

Spirited Away achieved immense international recognition, becoming the first hand-drawn, non-English-language animated film to win the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature at the 75th Academy Awards. It also co-received the Golden Bear at the 2002 Berlin (Review) International Film Festival. Miyazaki's inspiration for the film stemmed from wanting to create a story for the ten-year-old daughter of a friend, resulting in a narrative that explores themes of identity, courage, and environmentalism through the lens of Japanese folklore. The film's widespread success significantly contributed to the popularization of Japanese animation in the Western world.