Review #1758: My Neighbor Totoro.
Cast:
Noriko Hidaka (Satsuki Kusakabe), Chika Sakamoto (Mei Kusakabe), Shigesato Itoi (Tatsuo Kusakabe), Sumi Shimamoto (Yasuko Kusakabe), Hitoshi Takagi (Totoro), Toshiyuki Amagasa (Kanta Ōgaki), Tanie Kitabayashi (Granny), Naoki Tatsuta (Catbus), and Chie Kōjiro (Michiko) Written and Directed by Hayao Miyazaki (#1111 - Spirited Away, #1233 - Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, and #1480 - Castle in the Sky)
Review:
"We need a new method and sense of discovery to be up to the task. Rather than be sentimental, the film must be a joyful, entertaining film. The forgotten. The ignored. Those that are considered lost. Yet I made My Neighbor Totoro with the firm belief that these things still exist."
Sometimes one just has to step back and look at the landscape, whether to touch the grass or to look upon just what lies beneath the seen elements of the things around us. Or hell, sometimes one just wants to look upon the tranquility that comes from a place where the only thing worth worrying about is in the imagination in one's heart. In other words, breathtaking animation and mood can go a long way towards an engaging experience, even when it is a movie that is built on capturing the serenity of what it means to watch a movie that doesn't have to build great conflict to make one of the most curious animated features to come out of Japan. Of course, one would not be surprised to hear that it came from Hayao Miyazaki, who set out to make a heartwarming feature film that would not only stay with its viewers but would also encourage both parents and children. Over the course of a decade, he turned an initial idea of doing a picture book into a film, one that would show ordinary scenery of Japan; he rediscovered the beauty of the country in the time spent working on those ideas (as he moved to Tokorozawa in 1970), and he wanted to make a movie that got kids outside (of course, now a picture book of the movie actually exists, so I suppose if one really wants to they could also sift through that as well). At any rate, it should be noted that this was actually one of two features that Studio Ghibli would release in the year of 1988 in a most unique double feature, since Grave of the Fireflies was released on the same day (the films were funded by different publishers while having stark differences in tone); both features would receive attention for their qualities in later years, although this film only became more successful when it went to television the year after its release, while merchandise for the film (such as a toy of Totoro) later became quite popular.
Admittedly, a movie about two kids living in 1950s Japan that happen to encounter a furry monster could lend itself to a few interested eyes but not exactly the way you think, considering the fact that Miyazaki aimed for a film that looked as normal and as enchanting as one could make in tranquility (i.e. not about guns, action, or speed, as Miyazaki put it). As cliché as it might sound, sometimes one really does need a film kids and adults can like equally as well. The art of making a good film is to make a film worth looking into for the targeted audience, but a great film just tries to entertain everyone at hand without any sense of talking down to folks. In short, animated films obviously can be suited for everyone, and the Studio Ghibli films managed to do quite well with telling a worthy story with fluid animation that makes for a worthy follow up to the company's prior effort (Castle in the Sky, 1986). It manages to do well with its 86 minute run-time in capturing the beauty of its landscapes that balances nostalgia with modern sensibility for a refreshing result (i.e. it is a pretty movie but not merely just a pretty movie to doze by), one that is always alive no matter what happens to be on the screen. Of course, it takes its time for the title character to show itself, but the build-up to that is worth the time, no matter how much one hears about it (i.e. not just looking at the cover) because it manages to be a playful type of patience, much in the same way that one is if they simply walked across some grass to play in the park and wondered if something was on a big tree (or some other scenic view, take your pick). The voices are ideal for the characters present on screen with no distraction, with Hidaka and Sakamoto being a worthy pair to play off each other as a worthy film sibling tandem, while Itoi chimes in with warm charm from bit to bit. The parts spent with the actual creature are sweet and interesting without turning curiosities on one's head, and it helps make the closing sequences all the more worth where it needs to go. As a whole, the best that can be said for the film is that it cultivates a curious world of tranquility with magical charm that bucks the expectation one might see in other animated features as a feature for all ages. Without a dull moment in sight, Miyazaki proves to be one of the masters in crafting a useful story worth checking out with landscapes and rhythm to spare.
Overall, I give it 10 out of 10 stars.
