'Spirited Away'

I'm going to be honest: I put little credence or hope in animated films and probably less in Japanese animated films. It's a prejudice that I may never, ever get over.

However, I completely enjoyed "Spirited Away." If I were to create a list of the best 10 films I've seen the last five years, "Spirited Away" would make the top six.

How is it that animators can create these extremely likable, deep, empathetic characters that 90 percent of all live-action films or TV can not do no matter how hard they try. If they made Anne Frank into a cartoon, the sympathy level for Holocaust victims would go through the roof.

Maybe the key is not having to deal with real people, who generally mess up feelings -- fake or otherwise -- no matter what. People are the worst.