- Totoro looks like a cross between an owl, a cat, and a bear. His enormous size, booming voice, and sharp claws should be terrifying, but any semblance of a threat is immediately nullified by the beast's absurdly exaggerated grin. His two companions, miniature versions of Totoro himself, follow along on his adventures, which include riding a living "Cat Bus" and flying over the countryside on a spinning top. Much of Totoro's time also seems to be devoted to napping inside the roots of an enormous tree. That is basically all you need to know about Totoro.
- Totoro's new neighbors, the Kusakabe family, are excited to move into their new home. The children, Satsuki (Dakota Fanning) and young Mei (Elle Fanning), tear through the house, screaming like banshees to drive away any "soot-spirits" that might be lingering. It's obvious from her behavior that Mei absolutely worships Satsuki, and much of her dialogue consists of loudly repeating whatever her older sister has just said. Through all of this, Tatsuo (Tim Daly), remains surprisingly calm and optimistic, considering that his wife (Lea Salonga) is in the hospital and that his two daughters are such a handful. Still, Tatsuo is an adult, which means that he can't see Totoro and the other spirits that live in the nearby woods.
- Surprisingly, there's not much more to the plot of My Neighbor Totoro than what I have described. There is, however, considerably more to the film. As always, Hayao Miyazaki's work is absolutely beautiful to watch, and the film contains several scenes that are simply magical. My favorite scene involves a dreary wait at a rainy bus stop that, as it happens, is serviced by more than one type of bus. That said, I have trouble evaluating the film as a whole. None of the scenes are unpleasant and many are thoroughly enjoyable. It is also immensely creative, both in the way it infuses an otherwise familiar world with strange spirits and in its avoidance of a conventional narrative. This last aspect is particularly unique since any other children's film surely would have had the spirits cure Mrs. Musakabe. In My Neighbor Totoro, however, nothing is that predictable. Instead, the goings-on are memorable, amusing, and strange, much like Totoro himself.
- This was distributed by Troma Films?
- As usual, I saw the Disney rerelease from 2006.
