Do we like them?

Do we like Chihiro?

A character from Spirited Away (2001)

Our score: 9 out of 10. Absolutely. She starts out scared and sulky, but she works hard, shows kindness to everyone and keeps going for the people she loves. We'd happily follow her through the tunnel.

Chihiro Ogino is a ten-year-old girl who is moving to a new town and isn't happy about it. On the drive there, her family takes a wrong turn and finds a tunnel leading to what looks like an abandoned theme park. It turns out to be a place where spirits come to rest. Her parents are turned into pigs, and she is stuck in a world she doesn't understand.

Chihiro begins as a moody, timid kid who clings to her parents and doesn't want to do much. The story's charm is watching her change. To survive, she has to ask the witch Yubaba for a job at the bathhouse, and she keeps asking even when she's turned down. From then on she works hard, learns fast and treats the odd customers and co-workers with respect.

That's why she scores so high. Her bravery isn't a superpower. It comes from deciding to help others even when she's frightened. She is loyal to her friend Haku, patient with the strange spirits, and sticks to the job in front of her. She isn't a perfect hero, because she is still a kid and she's often scared. But she is exactly the kind of person you'd want next to you.

By the end she has gone out of her way to help Haku, including a long journey to apologise to Yubaba's sister Zeniba. She also passes Yubaba's final test, which wins back her parents and her freedom. She leaves the spirit world braver and more capable than she arrived.