My Neighbor Totoro
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Movie Reviews of My Neighbor Totoro
Movie Review: Marvelous Miyazaki masterpiece (regardless of whatever language it's watched in).
Summary: 5 Stars
What more can be said about MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO? Get this movie. Immediately. Without a doubt one of the best animated features ever made, Japan or otherwise, TOTORO is an outstanding original creation from Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli. It's about two sisters -- Satsuki and spunky little Mei -- moving with their somewhat scatterbrained but loving father to a new home in the Japanese countryside. But the place isn't just deserted; wonders galore lie within their household. Tiny, fuzzy black balls of soot ("Soot Gremlins") scatter every nook and cranny of the walls, frightened away only by laughter. A tall, luscious camphor tree towers above the other trees in the back yard. And, lastly, the Totoros themselves, absolutely adorable little creatures who look like a cross between a raccoon, rabbit, owl, and guinea pig (a personal bias here, since I used to own one who reminds me so much of the Totoros here), live in this very forest, carrying acorns, making huge trees grow at night, and playing ocarinas on the branches of the trees. There is even one really BIG Totoro who sleeps under the tree, so cuddlesome and gentle that you'll swear that he's the equivalent of your pet. Of course, he doesn't just allow Mei to snuggle on his chest. He lets out thunderous roars, shake the ground by jumping with full force, grins as wide as a Cheshire cat (albeit with warmth and generosity), helps others when they're in trouble, and gives acorns wrapped in bamboo leaves in return for gifts.
The story isn't all hearts and flowers, however. An emotionally charged subplot involving the sisters' ailing mother (shades of Miyazaki's personal life here) gives TOTORO a dramatic edge. This is particularly evident in the third act, when the girls receive a distressing telegram about their mother. Both Satsuki and Mei are extremely traumatized by this as any real child would be if such a situation occurred in their lifetime. What follows is a tearjerking sequence that builds to a truly happy ending. This mixture of real-life situations, emotions, and magical discoveries found in your nearest back yard make TOTORO feel authentic (even with its fantasy elements). One cannot help but find this quality in any of Miyazaki's films, this one included.
MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO was not a box office success in either Japan or America, but the film has won over millions of children around the world as well as animation buffs for its gorgeous animation style; the backgrounds are lavishly detailed and imagination is galore in much of the sequences. (It was KIKI'S DELIVERY SERVICE that would catapult Miyazaki's animation company, Studio Ghibli, into box office success status.)
The movie was originally dubbed into English by Carl Macek and his infamous company, Streamline Pictures in 1993. Believe it or not, this was one of the "best" dubs they've ever produced. As Disney has acquired the rights for Ghibli's movies, though, it was inevitable that they would produce their own version. This has infuriated many, but as someone who fell in love with TOTORO with the Mecak version, I have to say that this new Disney production is entertaining in its own right. The script is a fresh new translation from the original Japanese (clarifying the origin of Totoro's name), and remains faithful to the meaning of Miyazaki's screenplay, despite a few line changes here and there (nothing major, though).
At first, I was a little worried about hearing Dakota and Elle Fanning as Satsuki and Mei, but both ended up captivating me from the start; personally, I think it was great for Disney to cast two actual sisters to play the young girls--it helps their chemistry come alive. The other actors, including a warm, understated Tim Daly, and delightful Lea Salonga provide similarly top quality work. My favorite performances? Pat Carroll, displaying maternal charm and whimsy as Granny (not sounding anything like her most-famous role, Ursula from THE LITTLE MERMAID), and Frank Welker, who does outstanding vocal foley for both Totoro and the Cat Bus.
The OP and ED songs retain the same lyrics, but are sung by someone else (Sonya Isaacs), which may please some and annoy others. (The new OP is a little bit off-color at times; the ED is fairly well handled.) I'm sure that there will be many who will draw comparisons between the two dubs to the very bitter end, but I think it's great to have more than one adaptation of a beloved story, especially when done by folks who obviously love Miyazaki's works.
As far as the long awaited 2-DVD set from Disney goes, the widescreen visual transfer is absolutely gorgeous--Miyazaki's visuals really shine with pristine clarity on the screen, and the Japanese language track features literal subtitles, too. The extras are the same-old voice talent featurette, storyboards, and trailer we saw on most of the other Disney-Ghibli DVDs; sparse, to say the least, but better than nothing.
Folks who want the old dub will obviously flock to the FOX pan & scan DVD, but personally, I'd suggest getting both the FOX and Disney releases--the former for nostalgia, the latter for a more professional sounding upgrade. Either way, however, MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO is far from just another kid's story. With a little bit of luck, grown-ups (and those who consider themselves too "sophisticated" for cartoons) will enjoy it too.
Movie Review: wonderfully spirit rooted animation puts one in awe.
Summary: 5 Stars
Looking forward to this updated version I share with you
my views experienced so far from past versions that make me
so excited about what this might bring. Though admittedly
hoping as I am, that this newest offer of a long awaited
2disc version does do this honorable masterpiece
the justice it has prooven itself to desearve...
admitting my doubts for that outcome though
as my experience indicates
a quick decline in WaltDisney's ability to
stick with the standards
I have always expected to be able to attribute to them
as they are (fortunately or unfortunately) the leeders
in these forms of presentations for our current and
future generations. I anticipated and assumned (possibly
and likely wrongly) that they would adhere to and even
make strongly better in quality these standards,
but for which in the past 15 years I have been sadly
dissappointed and upsetted by actually, when the exact
opposite started to become to be being allowed to occur.
But getting back to sharing with you
WHAT I KNOW ABOUT "My Neighbor Totoros"!,
I will never get enough of this film.
I have been privileged to view & LISTEN to it,
both... in its
original version
with English-word translation Subscripted,
and also luckily in the superbly done
proper-British/English dubbed-in Voices version,
which to my surprise, brought the quality of the movie
appropriately upward towards a full perfection,
so that it could then
COMPLEMENT !JUSTLY! the animation
that was already so beautifully well done
in its
intricate, warmly-specialized detail;
(possibly enlightened
through my wondering mind)...
I was surprised to find that THE FIRST FILM,
the version using the language of origin
DID NOT PUT even half AS MUCH EFFORT/TIME/or ENTHUSIASM
INTO THEIR VOCAL ENHANSMENTS, as what the later version did,
and for which it truly deserved that attention as it
despite correct original language lacked greatly in feeling
and authenticity of ages or emotions required.
I expect that that will not happen again though after people
come to realize the quality offered in his animations.
This is a decent film with deep substance that any person
can feel good about taking the time to en-corporate and allow it
to become an integral part of themselves in their own lives and furthermore
to even share with others
and be delighted as well to watch over and over with close friends and family
during the years to come.
It shares realities of the world's good qualities and horrors,
and also how the spirits within us and the world around us do help heal
and grow together in harmony.
It was a great justice, to the film, to re-due it with the voice-overs made into
its animated-English-Voice version.
Grateful to those who had the ability and
took the time/money/and trouble to the tweaking of
such an irresistible masterpiece...
I will be happy and proud to share with any child or adult,
now and in the future, this film...
and I am myself looking forward as well, to seeing it
over and over again;
*giggles*~ with a sense of fondness
and pride, for the film, while doing so*.
Movie Review: An enchanting viewing experience: gentle, sweet, humane, amusing, MAGICAL!
Summary: 5 Stars
I had heard good things--great things--about MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO for years. I still avoided it. (I tend to avoid anime. My husband puts some on: I leave the room.) Plus, it looked as if it were for kiddies.
I am an idiot. I could not have been more wrong.
To summarize it--well, look around. The reviews are full of that: Father and two daughters of the Kutsakabe family move to countryside in Japan (circa 1950's) while their mother is recovering in a hospital (from some unspecified ailment, maybe TB?) and the girls discover they are neighbors to magical "trolls"--totoros--three of them, small and medium and very large! They learn the wonders of their new environs with the Totoros and they get a happy ending regarding their family situation, but in a way that will make you both smile and get moist in the eyes.
Nothing complex. It's what the writer/director/artists do with this simple premise that adds up to much more.
This film taps into the warmest, most human, most loving, gentlest, dreamiest bits of my young self that still hides inside my middle-aged self. It reminded me of what it was like to
~have a dad I adored and who cared selflessly for me
~ be young and see enchantments in the world
~explore and be carefree physically
~have fun with the simplest, new things, like a fresh bit of produce from a a plant in a pot or from someone's garden--which seemed like magic to me when I was young), or from a bath or from climbing a tree
~be young and lost and afraid without family nearby
~worry a beloved parent might die (as I feared when I was very, very young, like Mei, and my Papi was hospitalized.)
I understand some of the critique about the vocals, but, geesh, get past it. It's hardly an issue in light of the amazing animation (just watch the girls, the little things, the details, that so absolutely prove that the artist(s) have observed young kids very, very carefully), the playfulness, the delights of the Totoros (I can't watch Chibi Totoro and not giggle. Physically unable to stop myself from just letting loose with a cascade of heeheehees!).
It's a movie which opens with slow, establishing scenes of this new place for the family, but which soon utterly enraptures you with these darling girls and the weird but lovable Totoros and the kind, distracted Papa. The scene with Mei on Big Totoro's furry tummy is pure perfection. Watch her legs, the way she lays there and plays with Totoro's face. The way she scoots. The gorgeous bonding the ensues. The restfulness.
And the scene at the bus stop/catbus stop: Wow. Look at the way the shadows and light are done. The hilarity of O Totoro and his leaf hat. The joy of raindrops on an umbrella. The sweetness of sleepy Mei and the unselfishness and kindness of Satsuki.
The scene with the night ride: Oh. Who wouldn't want to be five or six again and ride on a Totoro's tummy through a moonlit night, over rice fields and camphor trees?
If you have high BP, this movie will settle it down, it's such a bit of grace pouring on you. If you want something beautiful that fills you with a sense of nostalgia: This is it.
Feel young again. Feel magic. Feel joy. Watch MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO.
Movie Review: Spirits of the forest
Summary: 5 Stars
Nobody captures the magic of childhood and bottles it into movie form quite like Hayao Miyazaki -- and one steller example of this is "My Neighbor Totoro," an enchanting little film about two little girls who encounter strange, wondrous things in the woods. There's not much actual plot, but the journey is the truly lovely part, and the lush animation and weird creatures (catbus! CATBUS!) finish off the perfection.
Satsuki and her toddler sister Mei move to the countryside with their father, so they can be close to the hospital where their mother is being treated (apparently for tuberculosis). The girls are immediately taken under the wing of an old lady, and discover that the countryside is filled with strange and magical creatures -- especially little balls of soot that dance through uncleaned rooms in their house.
What's more, while waiting for a bus Satsuki ends up standing next to a giant grinning bunny-creature -- whom Mei learns is called Totoro -- who boards a giant leaping cat-bus. The girls soon befriend the trio of Totoro, who take them on magical adventures involving giant fast-growing trees, flying with umbrellas, and riding in the cat-bus. But after the girls learn that their mother has become ill and can't visit, Mei vanishes without a trace -- and Satsuki may need Totoro's help to find her.
"My Neighbor Totoro" is sort of a fantasy slice-of-life story -- it's basically a few days in the life of two chipper little girls, who happen to be living in a Japanese countryside filled with genial spirits and magical happenings. There's no real plot at the center of it, but such is Miyazaki's skill that you never really care. You just want to see if things will turn out all right in the short term, and revel in the innocence of being little kids in the countryside.
To that end, Miyazaki spins up a magical little world -- houses are filled with bug-eyed sootballs, a tunnel in the bushes may lead to a Totoro's lair, and a vegetable garden can sprout into a vast towering tree. It's all painted in lush, vibrant colors and great detail, and Miyazaki does a good job emphasizing the little moments of everyday life (Mei showing up at Satsuki's school) and interweaving them with the more fantastical stuff (Totoro flying across windswept fields with an umbrella).
But he never forgets that real life has its bumps in the road -- there's a genuinely touching subplot in which the girls hear that their mother is ill again, and there's a genuine sense of fear. It's not too harsh (it's a kid's movie, after all), but it taps into a very primal fear that every little kid has.
The characters are all rather simple, but they're still quite likable, with upbeat personalities and loud laughter. Satsuki is particular is a realistic kid, staying positive most of the time but occasionally blowing up at Mei or crying out of fear that her mother will die. The only character I didn't understand was the boy in the cap, who seems troubled and shy, but who is never fully explored.
While it's more obviously aimed at kids than many of Miyazaki's movies, "My Neighbor Totoro" is an enchanting little story with a warm heart, and Hayao Miyazaki perfectly captures the innocence of childhood. Plus, it has a big, furry, grinning bus.
Movie Review: The Beauty of Simplicity
Summary: 5 Stars
Miyazaki's films always amaze me with the grasp on scenery, detail and the depiction of human nature. Everything is just so well orchestrated in this film, right down to the catchy music that plays white the Totoro is flying.
I have to admit something however. For years I hated most anime and foreign animation in general. It was just in the last few years that I've opened up to more of it. This was mostly out of my desire to appriciate all forms of animation (myself an aspiring cartoonist). I discovered in this time that the reason I wouldn't give any of it a chance was not the fault of the cartoons or their animators, but rather of the fanboys. Not fanboys in general, but the ones that hate all other forms of animation other than anime simply because other animation isn't anime. I'm sure if you went to high school in a heavily populated area, you know exactly what I'm talking about.
Please, don't let annoying people keep you from enjoying the animation of other cultures. Almost every area of the world has great animated features that get overlooked (Triplets of Belleville is good for example). You will be amazed at how much more enjoyable a great cartoon is once you have seen the different ways it is utilized for storytelling. It's very inspiring.
And inspiring is the word that I think best suits how I feel about My Neighbor Totoro, This was the second full length anime movie I ever sat down and watched (Spirited Away was first). Immediately I was blown away at the attention to color, atmospheric sounds, just everything. The film really conveys the feeling of the world it depicts. What really impressed me was the depiction of people. They aren't vicious or melodramatic or stupid for the sake of comedy. The little girls are portrayed as two happy, laughing kids enjoying life. The kinds of kids you might yell "settle down" to. The problems they face in the film affect them in ways that they might affect normal kids.
Then there's the Totoro's. I swear, the animators this an amazing job of making the main Totoro look lovable and warm and fluffy, yet intelligent somehow. You don't really get too much background on the Totoro or the wonderfully designed catbus, but the characters all fit very well in their respective scenes.
The story itself is kind of different. It follows the standard hero arc in a sense, but in a much more subtle way. This movie follows a few days in the lives of two girls, in which they experience a kind of growth (as symbolized by the growing of plants, etc. in the movie). There is no physical villain or epic battle to speak of. Just a sweet and good hearted story. If you don't really get it while you're watching it, don't worry, it will grow on you in the days to come.
All of this said, while this film is definately a really good one, it's not Miyazaki's best. But it's a great start if you're looking for an introduction to his style or even just a good movie you can watch with the kids or by yourself or whatever.
Five out of five in any case.
-Matt