Animated magic (My Neighbour Totoro (DVD))

Member Name: lady_natalie

Product:	My Neighbour Totoro (DVD)
Date:	04/09/09 (21 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: superb voice acting, story, and animation

Disadvantages: none

My Neighbour Totoro was released by Studio Ghibli in 1988 and was written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki. Although it's over 20 years old this is a timeless movie which is suitable for everyone is can be watched countless times.

Set in the 1950 My Neighbour Totoro is the story of two little girls, Satsuki and Mei, who are moving to the Japanese countryside with their dad so that they can be closer to the hospital that there mum's in. On the day that they move into their new house they see soot sprites scurrying across the floor, and explore further to try to find some more. One day, when Satsuki has gone to school, Mei sees a small white eared creature hopping through the garden. Following a trail of acorns she follows it, although it tries to turn invisible to avoid her. Soon it's joined by another creature of the same kind, and Mei follows them into the trees surrounding the house, where she finds a huge creature having a nap in a tree and crawls onto its stomach to have a closer look. Mei later tells her dad what she's seen and he tells her that Totoro is the keeper of the forest. Later on, Satsuki and Mei are waiting at the bus stop for their dad to come home and Totoro comes to wait with them. However, before their dad's bus can pull up a huge yellow bus made out of a cat comes to pick Totoro up. One day Mei starts to think her mum might be really ill so she sets off on her own to try to get to the hospital she's staying at. Unable to find her, Satsuki goes to ask Totoro for help, so he summons the cat bus so take her on a rather interesting search for her sister.

The film opens with a really cute kids song with an opening sequence of Mei walking around being followed by various woodland creatures. This sets the scene for the film being a heart warming story which will appeal greatly to children. The film has a really simple story line, it basically focuses on the time passing for one family during their move to the countryside. Mei and Satsuki's relationship and really lovely, a typical relationship between two little girls, Mei tries to follow her older sister around and wants to be just like her. When not with Satsuki she's running around the garden meeting the spirits that live in the countryside. Even though the story moves slowly, this film never gets boring; it introduces the audience slowly to the countryside and the creatures living there. I think if I had seen Totoro when I was little I'd of been petrified! But Mei loves him, and I do think he's the best character that Ghibli has ever come up with, they use him for their mascot so perhaps they think so too. The cat bus is also one of the best things in the film. It's a huge bus with the head of the cat, its lights are held onto by rats and the bus's door opens up out of its skin, the seats inside are as furry as they are on the outside. There are lots of little bits of this film that make it amazing, I notice something new every time I watch it.

This film is really sweet and heart warming, children would love it but it's still suitable for adults. The creatures that are created for this film are wonderful and the characters are completely loveable. My Neighbour Totoro is a beautiful modern day fairy tale that I think everyone should watch if they're given a chance to.

Summary: One of the best films from Studio Ghibli