At the end of Spirited Away, the little girl must pass a test if she wants to leave the magical world. She succeeds right away, which is not immediately apparent to the viewer. The creator of the anime explains what lies behind it.
What kind of test is it? The scene in question comes at the end of the film. The witch Yubaba gives the little girl Chihiro a test. Only if she passes it may she and her parents leave the spirit world they have fallen into.
Yubaba presents Chihiro with a group of pigs. The little girl must find exactly the 2 animals that are her transformed parents. If she is correct, they are free; if she guesses wrong, she must remain in the spirit world forever.
Chihiro examines the group of pigs closely and confidently answers that her parents are not among the pigs. This gives the only correct answer, and the spell that holds her captive breaks, allowing her and her parents to leave the magical world again.
For the viewers, it is not clear how Chihiro knew that so precisely. All the pigs look the same and behave similarly. However, Hayao Miyazaki, the director of the film, had a clear answer to that.
Miyazaki solves one of Ghibli’s greatest mysteries
How did she recognize her parents? About 12 years ago, Miyazaki gave an interview and answered questions about the film’s grand finale. He admits that it was never explained why the parents do not belong to the group of pigs. Many find this illogical. However, Miyazaki does not consider such things important:
Those who constantly seek explanations often say that it is illogical. However, I do not consider such things important. After everything she has experienced up to that point, Chihiro simply knows that her parents are not there. You ask why she knows it, but knowledge is human life. That is all.
Hayao Miyazaki, as seen on Soranews24
Thus, Chihiro has simply gained so much life experience and has grown up so much that she has attained this knowledge.
Miyazaki added: If it bothers the audience that some explanations are missing here and there, they should fill in those gaps themselves. He doesn’t want to waste time thinking about such things.
Spirited Away is considered a timeless classic in the anime field. When looking at all the films from Studio Ghibli, Chihiro lands in the top 5 of the best movies. What position it holds exactly and who might be above her, you can see in the following list on MeinMMO: All Ghibli Films Ranked by IMDb
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