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Why is spirited away such a loved and awarded movie?

I just watched the japenese (eng subbed) version of it recently because I looked at imdb.com's top 250 list and it was on it. I liked it alot because, I like anime and I like the way they animated it all. In general, I love animes because it reminds me of the classic hand drawn disney's that we're not seeing anymore because of pixar 3D movies (which really aren't that special in my opinion). Anyway, I thought spirited away was as good as any other anime movie (they're all amazing in my opinion) so I'm, wondering why this movie got all the awards and why it's exceptional compared to the rest. Is it some kind of concept in the movie?

Public Comments

1. I think it's the artwork. The only concept I can think of is Chihiro is forced to draw on strength she didn't know she had. It has a great plot and good storytelling. Also, the main character is not someone outstanding or heroic, which makes you identify with her more.
2. I'm sorry I can't give you a straightforward answer, but I can share my experiences with this film. After buying it on DVD, then watching it, I noticed that I could not take my eyes off of it, and I lost track of time (that's when you know a story is engrossing). I fail to remember the last movie I watched that had this effect on me, and I decided to try something out. I brought it into work for my co-workers to watch during lunch. We could watch movies in our breakroom. I studied their reactions. Everyone was quiet, and transfixed. One co-worker was so hooked, that he didn't think to turn his chair around to watch the screen. Instead, he kept his HEAD turned towards the screen for the entire lunch break. These guys usually watch adventure/action/war films in that breakroom, and pull no punches when making comments. If a person doesn't like a film, they leave. NO ONE left, or made snide comments during "Spirited Away".
3. It has an unorthodox main character and intriguing story. Most anime has the same plot lines and same characters. I live in Japan and the market is saturated with anime TV, movies, games, manga, toys, everything, and it is very difficult to find any that are unpredictable and not based on a formula. I've walked down many aisles of anime and there is almost nothing to differentiate any of them. So that's why Spirited Away was so special (at one time (and maybe still?) the highest grossing movie in Japan) because of the artwork and off-the-beaten-path characters and story
4. Its such an abstract film. The artwork, music, humor, and symbolism all make it into one amazing movie. One of my favorites, top 5 maybe.