[Categories: OAVs, Movies and Full Series]
My Neighbour Totoro
It's something I usually find really, really, difficult. Sometimes though you have to leave all your cynicism, your preconceptions and all your hang-ups to one side to appreciate a movie. My Neighbour Totoro, possibly the most eloquent piece of innocent escapism I've ever seen, is a case in point. It's not exactly the title that you could use to convert unknowing members of the public to the idea that anime is mature, serious and not for kids - it is a children's film through and through. It also has a rose-tinted and childlike (but not childish) portrayal of magic and adventure in 'the good old days' of rural idyll that may or may not have ever existed: those old enough to recall the quaint countryside cottages, winding lanes and picturesque farms as they are shown here will have their memories influenced by personal emotions, so the truth may have been nothing like this at all.
A traditional country cottage
The place that Satsuki and her sister Mei move to with their father when their mother is recuparating in hospital is probably a mixture of history books, picture postcards and Miyazaki's own childhood memories, delivered with flourish and a bit of artistic licence. The conflict and epic sweep that mark many of his other films before and since are scaled down to magical moments found literally in the characters' back yard; the hard-hitting ecological message of Nausicaa for instance becomes a mere statement of finding wonder in your surroundings. I admit that I expected this to be boring or saccharine next to the unflinching violence of Mononoke Hime or the high-flying adventure of Laputa; equally I wasn't sure how a giant, roaring creature named after a troll from Mei's picture book could be endearing.
The cute, fluffy and friendly Totoro...what's not to like?
It's a very simple and straightforward film, which made me all the more surprised when I didn't feel bored once during the entire duration. The simplicity is carried over to the visual style, which combines Ghibli's trademark attention to detail with very pretty-yet-plain artwork that has aged well (it's almost two decades old already!). With only one or two moments sounding a little too familiar, Joe Hisaishi's musical score includes both orchestral melodies and more playful folk-inspired moments; it also knows when less is more. Every now and then the wind, rain and other background noises create a soundtrack of their own.
Satsuki and Mei visit their mother
As it turns out, their mother's illness (autobiographical on the part of the director) is the only source of gloom or upset in this overwhelmingly uplifting tale. Nothing really bad or tragic happens at all, in fact. When you expect someone to get hurt, they don't. When you expect the hidden world of the forest to be frightening, it isn't: Totoro is cuddly and harmless, being the benign forest spirit that he is. This movie was originally intended to be a cinematic companion to Grave of the Fireflies, and considering the 100% tragic nature of that film it's easy to justify why Totoro needs to be so rose-tinted, almost but not quite, to the point of being naive. Sure, bad things happen, the film says. Leave those thoughts for another time, it continues. Because the world can be beautiful, exciting, fascinating, fun...and there's a bus in the shape of a cat heading towards you to take you home.
It's a catbus!
Um, yeah. The catbus. It's pretty weird, actually. Like Totoro himself, it looks large and frightening at first but Satsuki and Mei are not afraid of it at all - it's a fascinating, furry and friendly addition to their adventure. How anyone could come up with the idea of a bus being part-cat, with twelve legs and mice for headlamps, I don't know. It just works. The idea of children being able to see things that adults can't isn't a new one in kids' fiction either - in addition, Mei's tumble into Totoro's den, not to mention the toothy grins of the Catbus and the Totoros themselves, owe a lot to Lewis Carroll as well. It's certainly imaginative but borrows much from traditional children's stories. Most importantly though, it allows the viewer to do what I was trying to explain at the beginning of this review. You can leave all your preconceptions and adult feelings to one side, and enjoy this for the simple and beautiful piece that it is.
Mei meets some new friends
Summary
My Neighbour Totoro, for all its awareness of the natural world, is not an eco-fable or brave struggle against good and evil; it's a beautiful and timeless portrait of the world through a child's eyes, and the lack of cynicism or affectation that goes with it. Yes, it's a kids' movie. It also feels like the innocence, the purity and wonderment of childhood crystallised into an hour and a half of pure magic. We adults can never return there but this movie lets us experience it again, albeit for a short while.
Posted on August 22nd, 2007 @ 2:20 am
My nickname is Totoro and my 6 year old son loves to act like Mei while I have to imitate Totoro.
Posted on November 20th, 2010 @ 12:16 pm
I loved my neighbour totoro!!! brilliant film