This was an easy contest prompt by CineTV for me. My Favorite Animated Feature Film.
There's really only one that fits. It's a movie I've watched with all my kids separately, and it was the first movie either of them sat through all the way at a very young age.
It started with my eldest, when she was around 2 years old.
Usually, I'd always watch films by myself to see if it was suitable for my kids, but at the time, she didn't have the attention span to sit through half an episode of Teletubbies, let alone a whole movie.
That changed with this movie...

Made in Canva

She sat there with me, on my lap, and watched the whole thing, from beginning to end, with great interest. Through a movie that was more than
The funny thing was, that we watched it in its original language, Japanese, with subtitles so she didn't even 'understand' any of it. But that's the beauty of a good animated movie: You don't need to understand the words to understand the outline of it.

It was also the time I recognised that I learned more of that language than I initially thought because I knew that some of the subtitles were off. But that's besides the point.
So let's not wait any longer and reveal the movie!

Spirited Away

source

Some might think that watching this movie with a two year old is a bit much. It has some creepy parts, sure. But the whole story is beautiful. I've always told my kids from a very young age that whatever they see on TV isn't real. It's drawings, and made up.
They understood, and I never had any moments with any of them where they'd be afraid to go to bed because there might be any monsters or so. Ever. When I look at how friends handled this with their kids, it was totally different. They'd 'forbid' them to watch, which made these kids curious. They'd watch it anyway, in secret, and then they would have sleepless nights over it.
I think my method was better haha.

The short

Spirited Away is about a young girl, Chihiro, and her parents on their way to their new home. When they stop for a little break, they find a mysterious world in which everything is different from what they know. Dragons, witches, strange creatures, it's all there.
When her parents are captured in a spell that could cost them their lives, it's up to Chihiro to save them. But she's going up against many odds, and against the clock...

The Long

The movie was written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki. I adore all of his work, as he has many movies to his name. Studio Ghibli was where it was created, also famous for many animated movies, in collaboration with Disney Studios.

The animations are very similar to other Japanese movies of the same genre, I know it quite well since I was a child, when I was watching the animated (Japanese) versions of series like Maja the Bee, and Heidi. When it comes to their animations, nothing has gotten much better, or has improved or modernised. Which may sound backwards but I think it's a good thing.
Why fix something that's not broken?

In the movie, Chihiro has to face many obstacles, and some fears.
But she does it all with great bravery and for only one thing: The love for her parents. I love this part the most because even though she is not happy with them for dragging her away from friends and into the unknown, she ultimately knows that the family bond is stronger than that, and she does what she has to do, even though it's not easy or sometimes even downright scary.
She faces corruption, dishonesty, and could have easily taken the high road and used this in her advantage, but she never loses her integrity, even during the most difficult moments.

Why I loved this movie?

I loved it because it's really a movie to watch with the family.
If your children are a bit younger, maybe you want to watch it before they do to judge whether they can handle it or not.

My kids all watched it when they were around 2 years old, and they all love it now. My eldest has made the movie Coraline her favorite when it came out but until then, Spirited Away was the movie she liked best.

I'm a bit biased about this movie, since it is a fond memory I hold, watching this with all of my children, all separately and together. So yeah, I've watched it at least 5 times hehe.

The story is one full of adventure and excitement. Nothing is as it seems so even 'bad' characters don't have to be the way you think they are. It's a lovely story about a girl who is brave and strong against all odds, and one about trust and loyalty.

If you've never seen the movie, now's your time: You won't regret it. If possible, try to find the Japanese version with subtitles, as they have gotten much better over the years. That way you'll have a more authentic experience. As I said: for kids it usually doesn't matter what they hear. They'll understand the story anyway. That's the beauty of movies like this one.

Let me know what you thought of the movie!