-Written by John Cajio.
My Neighbor Totoro is a film that definitely does not suck. Writer and Director Hayao Miyazaki creates a fun, playful, and whimsical film with a lot of heart. There’s not much throughline to the film’s story. Instead, Miyazaki sets out to make us all smile and laugh simply by reminding us what it’s like to be a child full of innocence, grace, and compassion. This film achieves that goal in spades through the fun, curious, and quirky antics of two young girls and the forest spirits they encounter.
In post-WWII Japan, a father (Shigesato Itoi/Tim Daly) and his two daughters, Satsuki (Norika Hidaka/Dakota Fanning) and Mei (Chika Sakamoto/Elle Fanning) move to the rural Japanese countryside to be closer to their mother (Sumi Shimamoto/Lea Salonga), who is battling a long-term illness in a nearby hospital. While ten-year-old Satsuki spends the day at school, four-year-old Mei whiles away her day in nearby yards, fields, and forests. She stumbles upon a small, translucent creature. She follows it and eventually encounters the massive Totoro, a giant spirit that is as shy and as friendly as he is huge.
Miyazaki’s hand drawn landscapes and expressive characters shine throughout the film. This is a children’s film first, and it is told from the perspective of the children. It is a remarkable testament to his vision and direction that he easily captures so many aspects of childhood, such as the way young Mei looks up to her older sister and insists on following her around and attempting to do whatever it is the older girl does. Or the way that Mei frequently stumbles while running around. Or the way that Kanta (Toshiyuki Amagasa/Paul Butcher), a boy about Satsuki’s age, clams right up whenever Satsuki approaches. Or the way that Satsuki gets jealous of Mei because the younger sister found Totoro first. Or the way that Satsuki demonstrates how mature she is to her father by preparing breakfast and lunch one day, or waiting at the bus stop in the pouring rain to meet her father with his umbrella so that he wouldn’t have to walk home in said rain (except that she eagerly gives his umbrella away to Totoro in her first encounter with the great creature in a scene that manages to be awkward, heartwarming, and hilarious all at the same time).
The titular creature, Totoro, is perhaps the most iconic creature in Studio Ghibli’s vast bestiary. After all, the great beast with a greater maw and the greatest roar now serves as the studio’s mascot. Totoro and the other spirit creatures the girls encounter, including two smaller forest spirits that follow Totoro around like Mei follows Satsuki in an obvious parallel. The prize for most outlandish design easily belongs to the Catbus, which is more or less exactly that: a bus in the form of a cat. It is this weird, bizarre, freaky thing with a constant Cheshire grin. Yet, it too, is a friendly spirit, whisking those in need to their destinations at absurd speeds—sometimes even before its passengers know exactly where they want to go.
Totoro and the other spirits have their jobs, and they love doing nothing more than their jobs. But if shown a bit of kindness by a kind person, they will return that kindness and then some. A great example of this is the scene I previously mentioned wherein Satsuki gives Totoro her father’s umbrella. The massive spirit only had a leaf serving as protection from the rain, and he delights in the umbrella in the most wondrous ways. In turn, he gives Satsuki and Mei a bundle containing acorns. The girls eagerly plant the acorns but become frustrated when the trees do not immediately burst out of the ground. One night, however, Totoro and his fellow spirits arrive at the future grove and begin a ritualistic dance. The girls not only witness but participate in the affair, in a magnificently magical scene. They are ultimately thrilled to see that the sapling trees have finally burst forth from the ground. It’s a great example of how a small act of kindness can beget more kindness.
The story in My Neighbor Totoro focuses less on plot and more on the situations that the girls find themselves in. The film is ever present. It is less concerned with connecting one scene to the next and more with keeping the girls (and the viewer) in the present. I think this makes sense considering we are viewing this film through the perspective of young children. Children have an astounding and, perhaps, maddening ability to forget the past and to not worry about the future. They focus on what’s in front of them and often forget that something is supposed to be a somber or serious affair. In the scene where the girls’ father takes them to the hospital on his bike to visit their mother, Mei is just happy to have the wind in her hair and Satsuki is just happy to be seeing her mom again. Miyazaki captures so well in that moment—and in many others—all the things that make childhood wonderful and fantastic.
And, so, while this is first and foremost a children’s film, My Neighbor Totoro can also be an amazingly nostalgic experience for adults, too. The way that Writer-Director Miyazaki keeps everything in the present, even when things do get a little dramatic in the third act, is masterful. And Composer Joe Hisaishi once again elevates an already-elevated film even further with delightful music containing themes that are at home in both joyous and melancholy situations is a testament to his talents. My Neighbor Totoro definitely does not suck.
Written and Directed by Hayao Miyazaki.
Starring: Norika Hidaka/Dakota Fanning, Chika Sakamoto/Elle Fanning, Shigesato Itoi/Tim Daly, Sumi Shimamoto/Lea Salonga, etc.
9/10 = DROP EVERYTHING AND WATCH IT NOW (IT DEFINITELY DOES NOT SUCK)
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