>>715529715Chihiro started to movie (understandably) complaining about a major life change, but made a point to ham it up and take her friend's gestures of kindness for granted because there wasn't larger gestures. She starts working out of necessity, like we all do, and instead of whining about her situation, she approaches her challenges earnestly, and shows growth in caring for others, and not just herself.
Again, I agree that there's a lot to jumble that message up, and can be missed, but it the message is there.