#such a sweet hug from Zeniba...

[starzie]

In Spirited Away one of the first scenes that was storyboarded was the one with the river spirit's bath. I think that was the basic skeleton of the entire movie (and why it's the best one)

The only concept they would have at the time, would be that the movie takes place in a bathhouse. So they have Lin and Chihiro in a day of work.

You got the servant's quarters, clocking into work, cleaning the bath, etc

(Miyazaki loves worldbuilding)

Even the little mention of Kamajii feels like it could have been elaborated on later* "He's the boiler man" (*If you didn't see the first scene with him)

There's concept art that shows Chihiro and Lin working with more spirits I think it's interesting

There's a lot of concept art that ultimately never got used. Although some of it would be to establish character's personalities. (character design!)

Like how Chihiro is annoyed with Yubaba's son, despite the fact she's not one to complain about her ordeal at the bathhouse (It's more to characterize Bou as spoiled)

I always wonder about the concept art around Zeniba. If I had to guess, a potential hour got scrapped from the final movie.

In The Art of Spirited Away, there's an interview where "Zeniba's Confrontation" is mentioned, but ultimately being at the end of time, budget and schedule

I've seen this movie so many times, don't recall the first time I've seen it, so I can't really imagine it going any differently.

Thinking about it, Zeniba does have a quick change of heart at the end