Hayao Miyazaki Movie Review - My Neighbour Totoro

Release date

16 April 1988

Starring

Tim Daly as DAD Dakota Fanning as SATSUKI Elle Fanning as MEI Pat Carroll as GRANDMOTHER

Director

Hayao Miyazaki

Rating (10 is highest)

7

Review

“My Neighbor Totoro” tells a touching story of two young girls named Satsuki and Mei who move into a new home with their father. Their mother is sick and in the hospital, so the girls have to help their dad move into the new house by themselves. As they move in, they discover some ghostly spirits in the house and the woods around it. These spirits are somewhat mischievous. They take the forms of gremlins that scurry around playfully. Mei, the younger sister, wanders into the woods and discovers more spirit creatures living there. One of them is named Totoro, and he’s basically an enormous fat squirrel type creature who sleeps under a tree. Totoro and his friends can only be seen by the eyes of a child, and he soon makes friends with Mei and Satsuki. One day, Mei disappears, trying to look for her mother, and Satsuki must ask the forest spirits for help in finding her. The beauty of “My Neighbor Totoro” is its innocence. It’s a warm and friendly story that just made me feel good after watching it. The world is presented with the sense of wonder that a child has, offering amazing, fantastic things. Because it’s told from a child’s point of view, these fantastic elements make complete sense and don’t seem out of place. While Mei is the headstrong one who believes unquestionably in the forest spirits, the more interesting character is Satsuki, who is on the verge of growing up. However, the warmth and friendliness of Totoro and his friends keep her grounded in child-like fantasy. I fell in love with the characters, and I fell in love with this movie.

Tags

Hayao Miyazaki     Anime     Japanese Subculture