Yay for the first review! Anywho....
I watched 'My Neighbor Totoro' just a few days ago, and I've noticed it's a well known movie (by word of my close friends.) Originally written in 1988 by Hayao Miyazaki and produced by Studio Ghibli (Japanese animation film studio.) Studio Ghibli was founded by Hayao Miyazaki and his partner, Isao Takahata, in 1985.
Being a fan of Hayao Miyazaki, I love all of his work, but this movie has to be one of my favorites. The plot of the movie is dramatic, yet comedic in the way it accentuates the problems of a young family. Two sisters, Satsuki (the oldest) and Mei (the youngest) move from their home, along with their father, in order to live closer to their mother, who is in the hospital. Their father is referred to as 'Father' or Kusakabe. The parents do have names (Tatsuo as the father and Yasuko as the mother) but I don't remember hearing their names mentioned in the movie.
The beginning of the film follows them as they drive to their new home, all of their things piled onto one small truck/car/thingie. Once they make it to their home, they find a surprise as they explore their home. As their father helps unload their possessions, Satsuki and Mei run around, trying to find more of the black puffballs that Granny (the housekeeper) refers to as Susuwatari. She tells the girls she could see them when she was little and they're harmless little fellows who breed in old, abandoned houses.
But, when Mei first meets Granny, she gets scared and attempts to run away, but the house is like a maze and she ends up running into her again (please note that she merely runs around a wall) and hides behind her sister. When her sister, Satsuki, looks down, she notices the floor is dirty, as well as Mei's feet and hands. She then realizes her feet are dirty as well, courtesy of the Susuwatari. This is the point where she explains what they are and how they are finding another place to live, so on and so forth!
As they settle into their home, their bond with Granny deepens and they become very close. As school comes around, Satsuki leaves Mei (who is four years old) home alone with their father as she goes off to school with her new friend (Mit-chan.) Being only four years old, Mei dresses up in some of Satsuki's things and sets off into the garden, her curiosity peaked by a little white bunny-like thing. At first the bunny (we'll call it a bunny) is translucent and seems ghost like. As the bunny, which Mei calls a Totoro after meeting the big gray bunny, notices that Mei can see it, it disappears for a moment and then pops up again, now a "solid." Soon after, a blue Totoro helps the white one attempt to get away, holding a large bag of "magic acorns". Mei follows them though a small, overgrown pathway and down a hole, where she lands on a large, gray Totoro who is the "main" Totoro.
When Mei tells her father of this, he explains that they are the keepers of the forest, which is situated right next to their home. The small family goes to the shrine and prays that the keepers of the forest keep them safe and that the good fortune would help Mei somehow, someway. Later in the movie Satsuki meets Totoro (the gray one) and he helps her when Mei goes missing.
In this movie, Miyazaki channels Alice in Wonderland in small ways. The "bunny" Mei followed, the "rabbit hole" Mei fell down where she met Totoro, the "cat-bus" (yes, "cat-bus".) The "cat-bus" is a lot like the Cheshire Cat in the way it smiles and its slightly creepy, mischievous eyes.
The movie is one of the best I've seen from Studio Ghibli, but that's just me. The fact that Miyazaki connected to another well known movie and popular story (Alice in Wonderland, whether he realized he did or not) makes it stand out amongst many other films I've seen. The Japanese culture comes through, throughout the entire plot in a multitude of ways. The storyline behind the movie captivates your interest till the end and the artwork of the animation is amazing (all Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli films are amazing in my opinion.)
There are other, major tidbits that happen, but I'll let you find out for yourself. All in all, I give this movie a solid 9 out of 10.
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~ Tuesday
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