My Neighbor Totoro
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Movie Reviews of My Neighbor Totoro
Movie Review: A Beautifully Imaginative Masterpiece
Summary: 5 Stars
In my mind, there are only two films that truly capture the essence of a child's imagination. One is Danny Boyle's vividly beautiful Millions, and the other is Hayao Miyazaki's sweet, tender, and utterly gorgeous My Neighbor Totoro.
The story is of two young girls who move to the Japanese countryside with their father while their mother is being treated in the hospital. After settling in, these two children discover that where they live is anything but ordinary. They find a hidden path into the forest, and soon meet Totoro, a giant, furry, and loveable creature.
The film is told strictly from the point of view of these two children. What adults may see as harmless and silly, the children see as amazing and very much real. When the children go on about how they can see "Soot Gremlins" and "Totoro", the adults simply say that they saw them when they were children as well.
This formula is certainly one we've seen before, but thanks to the genius of Hayao Miyazaki, My Neighbor Totoro takes on a feeling of unbridled imagination never before seen on celluloid. The world he creates is an intimate yet expansive one. The fact that this is one of Miyazaki's most beautifully animated features certainly doesn't hurt this. Everything is gloriously vivid, colorful, and bursting with life.
The manner in which Miyazaki presents the narrative is nothing short of brilliant. The whole time watching the film, we as an audience realize that the girls' mother is suffering from some kind of serious affliction, but this is never really addressed directly. The children don't think about it that way, so the film doesn't approach it that way. This subplot never really develops at all until a sequence near the very end of the film, and this is a very powerful sequence. In order to avoid spoilers, I won't reveal the details, but it certainly struck me with its bittersweet honesty. However, this is still a tender family film through and through, and the ending is one that is sure to bring a smile to your face. And unlike most family films, My Neighbor Totoro is sweet, but never reaches the point of being saccharine. It's an honest, beautiful masterpiece, and I give it my highest recommendation to anyone who can still manage to keep in touch with their inner child from time to time.
Movie Review: Another miracle from Hayao Miyazaki
Summary: 5 Stars
I absolutely agree with Roger Ebert who called "My Neighbor Totoro", "One of the most beloved of all family films". Its colorfully bright and sparkling animation is enchanting. It is incredibly realistic and at the same time makes us along with two main characters, the young sisters ready for a miracle to happen any minute. The gentle story is touching, uplifting, funny, and tender without being overly sentimental or didactic. The film takes place in the early 50s, when 10-year-old Satsuki and her baby sister, curious and energetic 4-year-old Mei spend one summer in an old house in the country side with their University professor father while their mother recovers from a serious illness in the nearby hospital. The great master Hayao Miyazaki remembers well what it is like to be a child, to see magic in the everyday life and be always ready to encounter it. This ability usually disappears as the child becomes adult but it stays forever in a few chosen, and they become the visionary Artists - just like Miyazaki himself. The film is partially autobiographical for the writer/director/storyboard artist. "When Miyazaki and his brothers were children, his mother suffered from spinal tuberculosis for nine years, and spent much of her time hospitalized. It is implied, yet never revealed in the film, that Satsuki and Mei's mother also suffers from tuberculosis. He once said the film would have been too painful for him to make if the two protagonists were boys instead of girls." (From the IMDB film trivia)
Totoro of the title is an adorable funny blue forest spirit who lives in the nest beneath a huge tree and makes the trees grow and the winds blow. Totoro becomes the friend and protector of the sisters and one day he sends them on the bus journey that is like nothing they and the viewers could ever imagine. I wish I could ride that cat bus. What a wild and kind imagination an artist should have to create it. How much happier we all are knowing that Hayao Miyazaki exists and makes his amazing films at the Studio Ghibli for which King Totoro is the mascot.
Movie Review: magical tale of discovery
Summary: 5 Stars
the first maybe 15/ 20 minutes of this movie are really annoying and just seem like these two girls are running around trying to be cute and carefree. those few minutes made me acutely aware that i was an adult watching a child's movie, in the most unpleasant way possible. thankfully it improves. in fact, if you play the movie again right after you've seen it once, you'll most likely still have the happy/ magical feeling and will still feel a connection to the characters, so can pass of the annoying as...... endearing.
the girls take us on a journey, seeing the world through their eyes. the story begins when the girls and their father move to a new house in the country. when they get there they start bumping into spirits, and continue to do so throughout the movie. the story itself is a very plain story about two girls living their regular lives, waiting for their mother to come home from the hospital, but this magical world that only the girls can interact with and see takes the story to a whole other level. the magical beings the girls interact with can easily be rationalized as the imaginations of these two girls as they make more of their surroundings than is actually there (for example the soot gremlins could be just dust balls), but even if that is the case, it makes the story that much more fantastic. a child, who is already prone to accepting the fact that magic can exist, will accept this story as it is presented, two girls who meet forest spirits. an adult however, much more skeptical than a child, may not do so and will look for instances to rationalize away the magic (soot gremlins = dust balls), and to that adult this story has the wonderful lesson of seeing the extraordinary in the ordinary. that's also why it helps to watch the movie twice as an adult to enjoy it, you get over your inhibitions and desire to make it fit into your own life after seeing it the first time, for those who don't need the first time i salute you.
it's a wonderful movie, and as it's a myazaki film, definitely worth the watch.
Movie Review: A MUST Buy, especially if you have young children
Summary: 5 Stars
I have loved this movie for years. It's probably my all-time favorite film, and is perfect for anyone, of any age.
There are two releases of this film to American audiences. The first company to have the license was Fox and the DVD they released only has an English dub track. Generally this is a huge turn-off for me, HOWEVER it is a very good dub, especially considering how often Fox butchers anime. They didn't mess it up at all, and the voice actors on that version are actually very very good.
The second US release is from Disney. They obtained the rights to the original film and re-released it with a new dub track and two discs, the original Japanese, etc. etc. Lots of fancy extras. This DVD listed for sale here is the Disney Release. Once again, good voice actors were chosen, so even the dub track is done well. (Dakota Fanning and her younger sister play the two sisters in the film so they have good chemistry together).
My daughter is almost two years old. I first popped in Totoro (the fox dub) in her in-car DVD player when she was about 16 months old, during a very long road trip to visit her grandparents. SHE LOVES THIS MOVIE. OMG I cannot emphasize how much she loves this film. She brings the DVD case to me all the time at home now asking for me to put it on the TV for her.
She loves the early sequence when Mai and Satsuki first explore their new house; running around wildly and laughing. She loves Totoro, she loves the Catbus. She loves it all. She'll watch the whole thing too! Which is incredible considering that no other movie or TV show tends to hold her attention for more then a 10 minutes.
For young children, either version of the US release is good because both have very good dub tracks. For any anime enthusiast the new release from Disney is a must. It includes a very accurate subtitle translation, original music, lots of special features including the entire movie in storyboards on disc 2, and even the dub track is still done very well.
Movie Review: Grady P. is right-THE DISNEY VOICEOVERS STINK!!!!!
Summary: 5 Stars
Totoro is my fav movie, hands down. I first saw it in the first dub, which Grady P. says was by Fox. Later, I saw it at Best Buy, and got it.(All the other times I rented it) I was extremely disappointed!Totoro sounded like an evil monster!! The new actors pronounced the language ALL WRONG!!!! It drove me NUTS to hear the plaintive American "TOE-tuh-roe" through the whole thing! It should be pronounced "TO-to-ro" just as spelled, and you're supposed to roll the r's. The Fanning sisters did make Satsuki and Mei sound like real kids- but I don't like how Disney has become such a sinful company. Walt would turn in his grave if he knew! That's why I am ENRAGED to find my favorite Hayao Miyazaki movie turned into DISNEY-STEREOTYPICAL MOVIES!!!!! SAME WITH THE OTHERS!!! At least I never saw the first English dubs on the others! Disney's nauseating changes and now this- it pains me deeply...
I must tell you why I gave this movie 5 stars. I will not give up on it just because DISNEY MESSED UP BIG TIME! It has breathtaking artwork. This is where I found my love of summer. It is a heartwarming story and it hurts me when others make fun of it. Miyazaki makes beautiful movies and I love them. This flick does have a scene where the family takes a bath together- but that's just Japanese culture, no harm intended.
It's a cute film, and I love it so much, it's a dear piece of my life that I cling to...and no I will NEVER, EVER,EVER let anyone take it away from me!!! This is a good film and BY ALL MEANS BUY IT!!!
...But I wish Hayao wouldn't have given the keys of these enchanting works of art...
TO THE IRRESPONSIBLE HANDS OF DISNEY!!! They turned it into another cheap, moneymaking scheme and replaced the first dub actors with "stars". When you're working with these people, it doesn't make much of a difference. Please, consider what I have said, customers. I wish for nothing ....
BUT JUSTICE!!!!