2001 Animated Film Was Just Ranked 'the Most Perfect Movie' of the Last 26 Years

There's been plenty of amazing films released over the past 26 years. Colliderrecently released a list of the eight best films that premiered after 2000. The ranking included beloved movies like Shutter Island from 2010, 2023's Poor Things, The Grand Budapest Hotel, released in 2014, and Parasite from 2019.

The animated film, Spirited Away, from 2001, secured the list's number one spot. The publication reported that the Hayao Miyazaki-directed film should be considered the most perfect movie since 2000 due to its beautiful story, incredible animation, and the fact that it snagged the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature in 2003.

Spirited Away has a score of 96 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. The movie grossed a total of $360,187,480 world-wide, per Box Office Mojo.

Hayao Miyazaki Shared Behind-the-Scenes Details About 'Spirited Away'

Viewers of Spirited Away watched a girl named Chihiro navigate a confusing spirit world. In a behind-the-scenes interview, Miyazaki confirmed Chihiro was inspired by his friend's child.

"She's kind of a lazy bum, which is how my favorite 10-year-old girls are. 'You are a lazy bum,' I want to tell them, but there inner resources are as rich as Chihiro," said the director, who also wrote the film.

Chihiro is not the only Spirited Away character grounded in reality. According to the film's producer, Toshio Suzuki, No Face is based on actual men.

"In my experience, many of the characters portray and contain positive elements of the men Miyazaki saw. No Face is desperate to enter somehow into the hearts of others, but really doesn't have the ways or means to do so," said Suzuki.

Miyazaki also said children have a deep understanding of the film, despite its fantastical nature. He pointed to the scene wherein Haku instructs Chihiro not to breathe on the bridge to remain hidden.

"This film is fantasy. It is a complete fabrication. But within that context of the fabricated reality, I feel like I didn't lie to the kids. These arbitrary, imaginary rules, like holding her breath and her life depends on it, you know, it rings terribly true to children, but not to adults," said Miyazaki, now 85.

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This story was originally published April 20, 2026 at 10:04 AM.