SPIRITED AWAY

Synopsis written by Michael Wayne Howe

  Inside an Audi sedan moving through the Japanese country side, the Ogino
family are on their way to their new home. Mother and Father are optimistic
about the move, but their daughter is anything but. 10-year-old Chihiro lays
in the back seat, clutching a goodbye bouquet of flowers, pouting over having
to leave her friends behind. As Mr Ogino turns off the main interstate, it
seems he's taken a wrong turn. His wife points out that their house is nearby.
Noting a roadway going through a forrested area ahead of them, Chihiro's
father decides to take a shortcut to get to their new home. Driving down the
path, Chihiro's father picks up speed, barreling down the narrow pathway. 

  Taking turns sharper than usual, the car comes to a halt at the front of a
forrested red building, with a strange statue nearby. The family gets out to
inspect the building. Mom and Dad want to explore the structure, but Chihiro
is frightened. Her mom tells her to stay in the car, but afraid of the strange
statue nearby, Chihiro runs after her mom. The entrance to the building leads
to a train station, complete with stained- glass windows and vaulted ceilings.
As the family exits out a nearby doorway, they find themselves staring over a
large grassy plain, with dilapedated buildings and statues. Chihiro's father
concludes that they've wandered into an abandoned theme park. Chihiro pleads
with her parents to go back, but they continue on. Nearby, they encounter a
dry riverbed, when Chihiro's father smells something delicious! 

  Following his nose, Mr. Ogino leads his family to a small village.
Strangely, all the buildings seem to be restaurants. Finally, they find where
the smell is coming from. A food stall has been elaborately prepared with a
large variety of food. But there's noone servicing the place. Assuring her
husband that they can pay when the owners get back, Chihiro's parents fill
some plates up and begin to 'pig out' on the food. Chihiro pleads with her
parents to leave, but they refuse to move. Leaving them, Chihiro walks down
the main street and finds herself at the entrance to an elaborate bathhouse.
As she looks around, she suddenly comes face to face with a young boy. He
demands that Chihiro leave before it gets dark, and make her way back across
the river. 

  Chihiro runs back to her parents, as the sun sets and the lanterns nearby
light. Upon arriving at the food stall, Chihiro is shocked to find that they
have been turned into pigs! Scared, she runs through the village calling out
for her parents, as strange shadowy creatures glide by. Making her way back to
the village's entrance, she find that the grassy plain has flooded into an
enormous river! Trying to convince herself that 'it's all a dream,' Chihiro
covers her face with her hands, only to find that she is slowly becoming
transparent! With nowhere left to go, Chihiro runs into a darkened alley, not
sure of what to do. Suddenly, she feels someone's hands on her shoulder. She
looks up to see the young boy from before. 

  Offering Chihiro a small berry, he assures her that eating it will stop her
from disappearing. His words are true, and Chihiro worriedly asks what
happened to her mom and dad. Promising to tell her more in time, he quickly
grabs her hand, and 'spirits' her through numerous back alleys til' they find
themselves near the gates to the bathhouse. Now ablaze with lights and
activity, all manner of strange creatures are making their way to the
bathhouse. The young boy cautions Chihiro to hold her breath as they cross the
bathhouse bridge. Chihiro does the best she can, but a small frog that greets
the boy as 'Master Haku' startles her. Quickly taking her hand, the young boy
whisks her away to a small enclosed garden, but the damage has been done. 

  The employees nearby can be heard looking for a 'human.' Chihiro apologizes
for taking a breath. "No Chihiro, you did well," replies Haku. He then tells
Chihiro that he'll create a diversion to distract the other employees. He
instructs her to go through a small side door nearby, go down the stairway
until she gets to the boiler-room door, where she will find Kamaji, the Boiler
Man. Before he leaves, Chihiro asks Haku how he knew her name. He assures her
that he's known her since she was little, and that she call him Haku. After
Haku leaves, Chihiro makes her way down the stairs. Entering the boiler-room,
she sees a multi-armed man working a giant-sized boiler as tiny little soot
creatures fuel it with coal. Chihiro timidly walks forward asking if she can
work. Kamaji, the Boiler Man, assures her that the soot creatures are enough
help for him. 

  Chihiro dejectedly sits nearby watching, until one of the little soot
creatures can't quite carry it's coal load. Picking it up, Chihiro sets out to
do it's job for it. But her act of kindness provokes an uprising of the soot
creatures, who hope that Chihiro will also do their work for them. Kamaji
demands they get back to work, but they crowd around Chihiro, apparently their
'new friend.' Close by, a side door opens and a tall young woman named Lin
walks in. Handing Kamaji his evening meal and food for the soot creatures, she
is startled to find Chihiro. Kamaji tells Lin that Chihiro is his
'Granddaughter.' Insisting that Lin take Chihiro to see Yubaba, Lin does so in
exchange for a 'roasted newt.' Chihiro leaves her shoes and socks with the
soot creatures and follows Lin to an elevator. 

  Sneaking through the bathhouse, Chihiro and Lin take a second elevator and
find themselves face-to-face with a Radish Spirit. Sneaking away, they try to
locate another elevator going up, but apparently the Radish Spirit also wants
to go up. Suddenly, a male employee seems to sense a human. While Lin causes a
distraction, Chihiro walks into a nearby elevator and the Radish Spirit
follows suit. Handling the elevator switch, the Radish Spirit stops on a
lively bath floor, before continuing up. The elvator finally stops at an
elaborate hallway, filled with porcelain vases. Chihiro gets out, bows to the
Radish Spirit, and walks towards a pair of wooden doors. suddenly, the door
swing open and Chihiro is yanked invisibly down corridor after corridor before
she flies face forward into an elaborate office. 3 green disembodied heads
roll around the floor, but at a desk nearby sits Yubaba, a woman whose head is
almost as big as her body. 

  Chihiro asks for a job, to which Yubaba dismisses as ridiculous. Yubaba then
reveals that the bathhouse is a place where spirits can come to 'relax and
replenish themselves.' Feeling that Chihiro's parents being turned into pigs
was a fitting reward for eating the spirit's food, Yubaba tries to spook
Chihiro with threats of turning her into a piglet or a lump of coal. Yubaba
then asks Chihiro to name the person who helped her, but all Chihiro does is
keep asking for a job. Yubaba continues to try and scare Chihiro, until a loud
thump and a baby's cry can be heard from the next room. Yubaba tries to calm
the baby down, but Chihiro continues to yell to have a job. Finally, Yubaba
consents, and gives Chihiro a contract. Observing Chihiro's name written in
Japanese, she removes all but one of the character lettering. From now on,
Chihiro is to be known as "Sen." Suddenly, Haku appears, and Yubaba orders him
to set her up with a job. 

  Taking the elevator downstairs, Chihiro notices that Haku seems rather
"cold" to her. As she is led to meet the other workers, many of them are
disgusted with Chihiro. However, Haku assures them that they can "roast her or
boil her" if she doesn't work hard. Haku then assigns Chihiro to be Lin's
assistant. Lin hastily leads Chihiro away. Once out of sight, Lim commends
Chihiro for getting a job, saying she'll help her if she needs anything.
However, Chihiro is now feeling rather ill. Leading her to the women's
quarters, Lin helps pick out Chihiro's work outfit. Thinking of how Haku has
been acting, Chihiro asks Lin if there are "two Hakus." Lin assures her that
there's only one, but that Haku is not to be trusted: he's a servant of
Yubaba. Chihiro then begins to sadly whimper. 

  As dawn breaks, Yubaba transforms herself into a bird and flies off.
Downstairs, the workers all sleep, except for Chihiro, shaking and whimpering
in her bed, afraid that something bad will happen to her. Suddenly a doorway
nearby opens, and footsteps walk towards her. Chihiro hears Haku's voice
calmly explaining that he'll show her her parents. Getting up, Chihiro dresses
in her new work clothes and makes her way to teh boiler room, where the soot
creatures give her back her shoes. Leaving the boiler-room, Chihiro walks up
the nearby stairs til she reaches the bridge that separates the bathhouse from
the village. On the bridge, a strange creature with a black body and a white
face mask with lavendar markings stands watching her. Taking a breath, Chihiro
walks across the bridge and meets Haku on the other side. Walking through a
patch of wildflowers, Haku brings Chihiro to a large pigpen. Haku shows
Chihiro her parents, who now have no memory of who they are. Saddened, Chihiro
promises to free them, but tells them not to get any fatter or else they'll be
eaten. 

  Tearfully, she runs outside to the flower garden. Haku joins her later,
giving her back her 'human clothes,' which were presumably discarded. Reaching
into her shorts pockets, Chihiro find a goodbye card that her friends made for
her. As she reads the name on the card, she suddenly realizes that she had
almost forgotten her own name! Haku tells her that Yubaba controls people by
stealing their names. "If you completely forget it, you'll never find your way
home," he tells her, mentioning that he can't even remember his. But stranger
still, he actually remembers Chihiro from a long time ago. Offering Chihiro
some riceballs, she tearfully eats them, afraid of what has (and could) happen
to her. 

  Haku assures her everything will be alright. Chihiro, happy knowing that
Haku is on her side, runs back to the bathhouse. As she looks back, she sees a
white dragon sailing into the sky. Returning to the boiler room, she manages
to get her shoes off before exhaustion overwhelms her, and she curls up on the
wood floor nearby, with the little soot creatures watching over her. As night
rolls in, so do the storm clouds. Rain pelts the village as Yubaba returns to
manage the bathhouse and the employees get up to prepare for another day of
work. Lin & Chihiro work cleaning the floors, until the manager informs them
that they have to clean out the bathhouse's 'Big Tub.' Apparently, the orders
came from 'the top.' Chihiro goes to a nearby garden to empty out a bucket of
water. 

  There, she sees the strange white-masked spirit from before, standing in the
rain, watching her. Cheerfully, she offers to leave the door open for him so
he won't get wet. After she leaves, the spirit walks into the bathhouse.
Chihiro follows Lin to 'the big tub.' Having been neglected for many months,
the scum and other stuff just won't come off with normal scrubbing. Lin sends
Chihiro to the foreman to get an 'herbal soak token' to help wash off the soap
scum. In her study, Yubaba has an ominous feeling, going to her window, she
senses something lurking out in the rain. In the nearby village, all the
restaurant lights go out, as a large creature comes lumbering down the street,
it's body oozing and pulsating, giving off noxious fumes. Meanwhile, Chihiro
is still trying to get the foreman to give her a token. Intervention comes in
the form of the white-faced spirit, who shows up 'invisibly' and tosses
Chihiro a token. 

  The foreman is displeased but before he can stop Chihiro, he receives a call
from Yubaba, informing the foreman to check on an approaching 'intruder.' Lin
commends Chihiro on getting the 'herbal soak token,' and shows her how they
are used. Opening a small side-door, she attaches it to a small dangling clip.
A pull on it sends the clipped token to Kamaji, who then makes an herbal
formula that is mixed in with the bathwater. A large waterspout lowers from
the wall and fills the tub. Lin leaves Chihiro in charge of watching the water
level, which she gets breakfast. After Lin leaves, Chihiro sees the same
white-masked spirit again, lurking in a corner. Holding out his hands, Chihiro
is shocked to see that he has more bath tokens. Offering them to her, Chihiro
declines, stating that one was enough. Saddened, the spirit vanishes, and the
tokens drop to the floor. At the entrance, Yubaba makes her way to the foreman
and the bathhouse manager.

  Apparently, the approaching intruder is a Stink spirit. Bathhouse workers
try to turn the smell creture away, but it's no use. Yubaba senses something's
amiss, but still insists that he be quickly taken care of. Quickly, bathhouse
staff get other spirits to leave the bath floor, and return to their rooms.
The manager finds Chihiro and takes her to Yubaba. Yubaba then assigns Chihiro
to take the Stink spirit to the 'big tub.' As the Stink spirit enters the
room, Chihiro fights back the urge to appear repulsed. Taking sludge-covered
money from the spirit, Chihiro slowly leads the spirit to the big tub. There,
the spirit dives in, it's enormous body displacing murky, sludge water. As it
demands more water, Chihiro, takes the tokens that the white-masked spirit
left, and does exactly what Lin did before.

  Making her way to the water spout, Chihiro turns the water on, and
accidentally falls in. The Stink spirit rescues her and then moves her close.
Reaching through the wall of water, Chihiro feels something that seems to be
lodged in the spirit's side. Lin shows up just then, assuring Chihiro that
Kamaji is sending the 'best herbal soak ever.' Chihiro then confides that the
spirit seems to have a thorn in his side that won't come out. Hearing this,
Yubaba demands that all the staff get down to the main floor. "That's no Stink
spirit we have here," she says, tossing a rope to Chihiro & Lin. Chihiro and
Lin tie it on, as the bathhouse workers take up parts of the rope to pull. As
they pull on the rope, the thorn comes out, only it is actually: a bicycle?
Everyone keeps pulling until more and more junk comes out of the spirit,
ranging from bowling pins to old refrigerators. Chihiro finally pulls the last
piece of garbage out, and is surprisingly enveloped in a watery hand. As she
calms down, an aged face emerges from the pool of water. Muttering "Well done,
" it disappears, and Chihiro find herself standing on the rim of the tub. In
her hands is an herbal cake: a reward.

  As the employees look on, a cry goes up as the staff sees something in the
sediment from the spirit: it's gold! Yubaba gets everyone to stop, as the
tub's water bubbles up and a long, serpent-like creature with the aged face
takes to the air. Laughing happily, it loops around a balcony and makes it's
way out into the night sky. A cheer goes up from the spirits who had been
watching from nearby, but Yubaba is the most cheerful. Embracing Chihiro, she
commends the girl, reassuring her that they just bathed a rich and powerful
River spirit. The rest of the workers are given the night off, but have to
return any of the gold they picked up. Nearby, the white-faced spirit watches
the commotion. Later, relaxing on the women's quarters balcony, Chihiro asks
Lin some more questions about Haku. Lin says that some think that Haku does
Yubaba's 'dirty work.' As they both look out over the water surrounding the
bathhouse, a train rides through the water, heading toward distant city
lights. Lin promises Chihiro that someday she'll get out of the bathhouse and
go there.

  As they talk, Chihiro looks at the herbal cake that the River spirit gave
her. Taking a small bite, she is startled by how bitter it tastes. Later,
after everyone is asleep, the little frog who greeted Haku at the bridge
returns to the big tub, hoping to find traces of gold. Suddenly, he notices
the white-masked spirit sitting in the tub. The spirit offers the little frog
more gold. Suddenly, the spirit grabs the frog and swallows him whole! Out in
the corridor, the bathhouse manager looks in to see what's going on. In the
bath, he finds the spirit, who now has a pair of frog legs and the voice of
the frog as well. Offering the manager gold, he demands lots of food and a
bath. The next day, Chihiro returns to the 'pig pen,' to show her parents the
herbal cake the river spirit gave her. Happily proclaiming it can turn her
parents back to normal, Chihiro is frightened as all the pigs crowd around
her, making her lose sight of her mom and dad, as all the pigs squeal and
crowd in a horrifying frenzy for the herbal cake.

  Chihiro suddenly wakes up, realizing the pig incident was a bad dream. As
she looks around, she notices that Lin and all the women are gone. As she
looks out the nearby window, smoke can be seen billowing from the furnace to
the bathhouse. Chihiro makes her way to the main floor. There people are
scurrying about, bearing large portions of food. At a stairwell, Chihiro
encounters Lin. Lin excitedly tells her that a rich customer has arrived and
is giving away lots of gold. Chihiro tries to ask Lin more questions, but Lin
runs off with some other workers to get more gold. With nothing else to do,
Chihiro returns to the room, and looks out over the balcony railing. As she
watches the water, she suddenly spots the dragon from the day before. Flying
through the air, she notices that strange 'birds' are attacking it. As it
struggles with the birds, Chihiro suddenly finds herself yelling out "Haku,
hang on!" Why did she suddenly call Haku's name? As she watches, she notices
that the dragon is struggling pretty badly. Calling the dragon, it responds by
flying in through the open doors to the women's quarters. Chihiro quickly
tries to close the doors as the birds dive towards the room. As they make
contact with her, Chihiro is surprised to find that they are all just made of
paper. Pretty soon, the floor and doors are littered with the torn remains of
several hundred paper birds. 

  The remaining paper birds that can fly leave out the door and fly back over
the water. As Chihiro turns, the dragon struggles to get up, blood dripping
from it's mouth. Chihiro asks it if it truly is Haku, and offers to help him.
Suddenly, the dragon flies out the nearby window, flying towards the top of
the bathhouse: Yubaba's quarters. Chihiro runs down the halls, intent on
helping Haku before he dies. As she runs, a damaged paper bird quietly stows
away on her back. In another part of the bathhouse, the manager and the
employees are singing and ddancing for the white-masked spirit, who has grown
excessively larger from his gluttony. As the workers all beg for tips, Chihiro
tries to use the elevator. The attendant stops her, and panics when he sees
the blood on her hands (from trying to help Haku). As Chihiro runs away, she
finds herself face- to-face with the now overgrown spirit. Holding out it's
hands, it happily presents Chihiro with gold. She thanks him, but insists she
doesn't need any. 

  Running off, she leaves the spirit feeling dejected. Irritated, the spirit
grabs the manager and a female employee and swallows them! This causes the
other employees to flee in a panic. Chihiro climbs out a window to a small
shed on the back of the bathhouse. 20 ft away is a ladder going up, but the
only way to reach it is to cross a long metal pipe. Taking a chance, she runs
onto the pipe, just barely making it to the ladder. As she ascends the ladder,
Chihiro looks around, and sees a bird-like shape approaching the building:
it's Yubaba! Quickly climbing the ladder, Chihiro hides on a ledge under an
overhang. The ledge she is standing on is right next to a locked window.
Finding it locked, she puts all her weight into trying to open it. The little
paper bird secretly opens it for her, and Chihiro runs through Yubaba's
backrooms, til she finds herself in a giant nursery. Suddenly, Yubaba's voice
is heard nearby.

  Going to the nursery door, Chihiro hears Yubaba tells someone over her phone
that she knows what the white- masked creature is: "He's a No-Face!" Hanging
up the phone, Yubaba remarks that Haku is 'bleeding all over the carpet, ' and
tells her three disembodied heads to get rid of him. As she turns away, she
begins to head to the nursery door. Shocked, Chihiro dives under a mountain of
pillows. Yubaba notices the movement, and begins to pull pillows away. What
she uncovers is Bou, her enormous baby, hiding in the pillow-pile. Giving him
a kiss, she leaves him to sleep while she takes care of No-Face. Once Yubaba
is gone, Chihiro tries to move, but a large hand grabs her arm and pulls her
in. Chihiro finds herself face-to-face with Bou. Bou tells her that he's never
left the room, for fear of germs and getting sick. Chihiro scolds him for
thinking that way, and pleads with him to let her go to help a friend. Bou
wants Chihiro to play with him, and threatens to cry and break Chihiro's arm.
In a struggle, Chihiro shows Bou her blood-stained hand, causing him to loosen
his grip.

  Bursting through the nursery doors, she sees the three heads trying to push
a silent Haku down a dark pit in the center of the room. Shooing them away,
Haku is still silent. The three heads and Yubaba's pet bird (whose head
resembles hers) try to stop Chihiro from saving Haku. Just then, a noise is
heard and Bou walks into the room, threatening to cry if Chihiro doesn't play
with him. Suddenly, the paper bird that had been hiding on Chihiro's back
begins to talk. As it touches the floor, a a transaparent image appears.
Strangely, it looks almost exactly like Yubaba. Bou mistakes it for his mom,
but the transparent woman turns the enormous Bou into a tiny mouse. Turning to
the others, the Yu-Bird is turned into a tiny crow-fly, and the three heads
are transformed into a copy of the enormous Bou. Chihiro bravely asks who the
apparition is. It reveals itself to be Zeniba, Yubaba's twin sister.

 Thanking Chihiro for leading her to the dragon, she demands that he be handed
over. Apparently, Haku stole Zeniba's gold seal. Demanding it back, Chihiro
defends Haku, claiming him to be a nice person. But Zeniba is still cerain
that Haku is no doubt a thief. She then tells Chihiro that her gold seal
contained a curse that will kill anyone who takes it. Just then, the
transformed 3 heads begin making a racket. As Zeniba tries to calm them down,
the transformed Bou & Yu-Bird climb up on Chihiro's shoulder. Suddenly, Haku
jumps up and slices the paper bird to pieces. The transparent Zeniba then
evaporates. But what strength Haku was able to muster, slowly disintegrates,
and he suddenly pitches backwards, falling along with Chihiro into the dark
shaft in the floor. Holding onto the transformed Bou & Yu-Bird, Chihiro clings
to Haku.

  Calling out his name, Haku suddenly pulls himself together, and flies
through the darkened chambers under the bathhouse, before finally bursting
into the boiler room. Collapsing into a heap on the floor, Chihiro tries to
help Haku, but is unsure of what to do. Kamaji thinks that something is eating
Haku from the inside. Thinking quickly, Chihiro pulls out the herbal cake that
the River spirit gave her. She tries to get Haku to open up, but he refuses.
Forcing open his dragon jaws, she takes part of the herbal cake and forces him
to swallow it. Haku struggles violently, but eventually, a black blob flies
out of Haku's mouth. As the blob melts, it reveals Zeniba's gold seal. sitting
atop it is a black slug, that quickly tries to get away. Chihiro runs after it
and eventually steps on it. Picking up the seal, Chihiro turns to see that
Haku has transformed back to his normal form. But he's still very weak. 

  As Chihiro lays Haku down to rest, Kamaji tells her a bit about Haku.
Apparently, Haku came to the bathhouse a long time ago to become Yubaba's
apprentice. Kamaji warned him not to, but Haku had told Kamaji that he had
nowhere else to go. As she listens, Chihiro explains to Kamaji a plan she has:
she'll return the gold seal to Zeniba and get her to help Haku. Kamaji
cautions her, but Chihiro wants to help Haku because he helped her before.
Realizing the situation Chihiro is willing to put herself in, Kamaji realizes
Chihiro will need a little help. Kamaji then runs over to a chest of drawers
and begins to dig around for something. As he searches, Chihiro asks the soot
creatures to bring her 'human clothes' and shoes. Suddenly, Lin enters the
room, and is shocked to see blood spattered on the walls. She tells Chihiro
that Yubaba is furiously looking for her.

  Apparently word has gotten around that Chihiro let No-Face into the
bathhouse. Just then, Kamaji comes over to them, and shows Chihiro what he was
looking for: train tickets, which he saved for 40 years. Kamaji explains to
Chihiro that Zeniba is at the 6th train stop, called Swamp Bottom. As she
prepares to leave, Chihiro kneels by Haku, promising that she'll help him. Lin
is wondering what's going on. "Don't you see? This is love...love," explains
Kamaji. Chihiro eventually makes her way to the main floor, where the
employees are panicking about being eaten. Chihiro wlks past them with the
transformed Bou & Yu-Bird on her shoulder. The assistant manager shows them to
Yubaba. Bou greets his mom, but she only sees him as an 'ugly rat.' Yubaba
then quickly shoves Chihiro in the room with No-Face. The room is a mess, food
and more litter all the corners. Chihiro observes N- Face, who is now sporting
a large mouth, and multiple legs.

  Chihiro sits quietly, as the No-Face offers Chihiro anything she wants. Her
response to leave unnerves the No-Face, even moreso when Chihiro asks if he
has any family or friends. He sadly declares he's lonely and wants 'Sen.'
Walking up to him, Chihiro takes the herbal cake she had been saving for her
parents and gives it to him. Swallowing it, the cake surprises both No-Face &
Chihiro. No-Face suddenly turns, and vomits a large amount of sludge onto the
floor. Angered at what 'Sen' has done to him, No-Face chases after her. Always
staying severa steps ahead, Chihiro leads No-Face through the labyrinthine
building. As he chases after her, No-Face eventually purges himself of his
'excess,' eventually throwing up the female employee, the manager, and the
little frog. Outside the bathhouse, Lin helps Chihiro make it to a nearby
train platform, where Chihiro discards her work clothes for her 'human
clothes.' 

  Seeing them, No-Face follows after Chihiro. Eventually, the train arrives at
the station. As Chihiro gets ready to board, she notices No-Face, and asks if
he would like to come along. Agreeing to, he boards with her, Bou & the
Yu-Bird. The 4 of them sit down and watch as the landscape goes by. At several
stops, transparent people disembark. Chihiro and her friends continue to ride
the train as night settles in. Back at the bathhouse, Haku wakes up and asks
Kamaji where Chihiro is. When Kamaji asks Haku if he remembers anything, Haku
says that all he can remember is that he heard Chihiro calling his name in the
darkness. Kamaji is amazed that Haku could know her true name: Chihiro. "Can't
beat the power of true love," remarks the Boiler Man. In Yubaba's quarters,
the manager, his assistant and the little frog hold conference with Yubaba.
Yubaba is still angry with what happened. The gold that she was able to have
collected still won't cover everything. Blaming 'Sen,' Yubaba calls for quick
punishment.

  The little frog points out that Sen did save them, but Yubaba will have none
of it, ordering that maybe Chihiro's parents should be slaughtered at once.
Just then, Haku appears, and explains to Yubaba that 'something precious to
her is missing.' Yubaba is a little taken aback by this: Haku never talks back
to her. Looking at the gold in front of her, she suddenly becomes aware of Bou
in the corner. Using her magic, she suddenly comes to the conclusion that it's
the three heads disguised as her baby. But when the gold on her table
disintegrates into sand (No-Face just created the illusion of gold), Yubaba
frantically runs to the nursery trying to find her baby. Seeing Haku, she
furiously demands to know where her baby is. When Haku mentions Zeniba, Yubaba
thinks that Haku is black-mailing her. Haku promises that he will bring Bou
back, if Yubaba will send Chihiro and her parents back to their world.
Meanwhile, the train has finally arrived at Swamp Bottom. Chihiro and her
friends embark through the swamp, and are greeted by a hopping lantern. It
leads them to a large thatched roof house.

  Inside, Zeniba calmly welcomes them. Chihiro hands back the gold seal and
asks Zeniba to forgive Haku. Zeniba examines the seal and notices that the
spell she cast on it is gone. Chihiro apologizes for squishing the black slug
that was on the seal. Her apology is met with laughter by Zeniba. Apparently,
the black slug on the seal was put into Haku by Yubaba to control Haku. As
Zeniba motions for everyone to sit down, Chihiro asks that Bou and the Yu-Bird
be returned to normal. Zeniba assures the two that the spell wore off awhile
ago, and they can change back on their own volition. However, the two decide
to use their more managable size to their advantage at the moment. Sitting
down to cake and tea, Zeniba relates stories about Yubaba, but also insists to
Chihiro that due to the laws of the spirit world, she can't do anything to
help her; Chihiro must take care of her parents and her 'dragon boyfriend' by
herself. But Chihiro is still puzzled. It seems to her that she and Haku met a
long time ago, but she can't remember. Zeniba tells her that eventually she
will. As the night wears on, Bou, the Yu-Bird & No-Face help Zeniba crotchet
and sew.

  Watching them, Chihiro tells them that she should leave soon, fearful that
Haku may be dead and her parents eaten. Zeniba assures her to wait, and hands
Chihiro a glinting purple hairband. Zeniba then explains to Chihiro that it
was made with the love of her friends and will protect her. Chihiro thanks
Zeniba and puts on her new hair band. As she does so, a rustling at the
windows sends Chihiro to open the front door. Standing outside the house is
Haku in his dragon form, healed and well. Chihiro excitedly runs over to him
and hugs him, grateful he's all right. Zeniba explains to Haku that she'll
forgive him, but only if he promises to take care of Chihiro. bou and the
Yu-Bird say their goodbyes, but Zeniba politely allows No-Face to stay and
help her around the house. Chihiro runs to Zeniba and thanks her. It is then
that Chihiro finally reveals her true name to Zeniba. Zeniba commends Chihiro
on her own name, claiming that it is very important.

  Chihiro and her friend get on Haku's back and take off into the early
morning sky, waving back to No-Face & Zeniba. As Haku climbs higher itno the
sky, a memory suddenly forms in Chihiro's head. As they ride, it becomes more
clear. Chihiro then begins to describe to Haku a story her mom told her. When
Chihiro was very young, she lost her shoe in a river, and when she tried to
retrieve it, she fell in. Soon afterwards, the river was drained and
apartments were built in it's place. She had forgotten the name of the river,
but now she knows. The name of the river was: the Kohaku river. Upon hearing
this, Haku's dragon scales suddenly fly away, revealing his boyish-self. As he
and Chihiro freefall through the sky, Haku happily thanks Chihiro. He now
remembers his full name: Nigihiiyami Kohakunis. Chihiro is so grateful that
Haku saved her when she was little. As they fall towards the Earth, Haku uses
his powers, and Haku, Bou & the Yu-bird all find themselves flying.
Hand-in-hand, Chihiro, Haku & their friends fly toward the bathhouse.

  In the early morning light, the batthouse employees are scanning the sky for
Chihiro & Haku. Lin spots them, as Haku & Chihiro land at the entrance to teh
bathhouse bridge. As Yubaba watches, she is angered that Bou isn't back.
Suddenly, the Yu-bird carries the transformed Bou before her, and Bou returns
to his normal form. Overjoyed, Yubaba hugs her baby, to which Haku reminds her
of her promise. However, Yubaba is not going to let Chihiro go so easily. Bou
then scolds his mom for being so mean, telling her that he had a fun time with
Chihiro. Yubaba tries to explain that it is the law of the spirit world that
she give Chihiro a test, but Bou says he will hate her if she makes Chihiro
cry. Chihiro then walks confidently up to Yubaba, telling her that Haku
explained about 'the law.' Yubaba, with Chihiro's contract in hand, leads her
over to a group of pigs. The test is simple: Chihiro gets one chance to choose
which of the pigs are her parents.

  If she succeeds they're free. Chihiro looks over the pigs, but can't make
the decision. "None of these pigs are my parents," she says. "None of them?
Are you sure of that answer?" asks Yubaba."Mm-Hm." Suddenly, Chihiro's
contract disintegrates and the pigs turn into the employees who were
disguised. The others cheer Chihiro on. Yubaba turns away, irritated that she
was beaten. Chihiro happily thanks Yubaba for taking care of her, before
taking Haku's hand and running off through the deserted village. As they reach
the edge, the ocean-like river has subsided, and the grassy plain now
stretches far into the horizon.

  Haku explains to Chihiro that he can't go any further. But he plans to go
back and talk to Yubaba about quitting his apprenticeship. Now that he's got
his name back, he is his own person again. Promising Chihiro that they'll meet
again, he lets go of her hand and tells her not to look back until she's
reached the end of the tunnel she came through. Chihiro walks along the plain
until she sees her parents.

  They scold her for running off, and head back through the tunnel. Chihiro is
a bit unsure, but follows along, keeping a tight grip on her mom's arm. As
they near the end of the tunnel, Chihiro's father is shocked to see their Audi
covered in leaves, and the interior is dusty. Chihiro looks around. The area
is knee-deep in tallgrass, and the red building entrance is now just a tunnel.
As her parents start up the car, Chihiro quickly looks at the tunnel, before
heading back to her parent's car. Getting in, Chihiro's father backs the car
around, and they head off to their new home.

THE END