Comments on: Anime Feature Film Review – My Neighbor Totoro (1988)

By: Helen

Helen — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 18:11:05 +0000

I know how Amy feels. I didn’t get to see my first Miyazaki film until I was out of college, when Princess Mononoke was given a US theatrical release. It’s a great thing to be able to catch up with the earlier films on DVD.

Miriam is right that our identification with the childrens’ pov means we can only speculate about the nature and seriousness of the mother’s illness. Mei and Satsuki’s fear at the news that their mother’s scheduled visit home has been called off seems primarily a nervous emotional reaction to the circumstances surrounding the delivery of the message (circumstances that would work anyone’s nerves into a fever pitch). The girls’ longiing for their mother is an important element of the story, but it does not define the film.

By: miriam

miriam — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 22:26:34 +0000

Wonderful, charming, beautiful… one runs short of superlatives. I particularly admired the simplicity of the story and the evocation of childhood and family relationships. I’ve seldom seen the world of childhood so convincingly conveyed. The human part of the story is so grounded that the appearance of the spirit characters seems as ‘natural’ as their supernatural world layered within our own. The spirits are absolutely real, not imaginary friends helping the children cope. I did wonder about the seriousness of Mother’s illness, too, but I think we can’t know it because the children don’t. The ‘cold’ might be any evasion or partial truth along the scale of seriousness. Children seldom really know what is going on around them either because they can’t understand or are being protected. The girls do have an attack of fright at the abrupt and mysterious (to them) delay of the visit, but I think they’ve been living day to day without serious worry.

By: Nir Shalev

Nir Shalev — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 02:44:23 +0000

Personally, this is the best family film ever made. And nothing cuter than Totoro has ever landed on this planet, save for Wall-E.

By: Cathy

Cathy — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 23:24:44 +0000

I had a very different take on the film. You write that Mei & Satsuki’s mother is ‘recuperating’ in hospital, but I don’t think that is true at the beginning. The children, particularly the older daughter, are frightened that their mother might die (she is likely suffering from TB) and I felt that the story arc was about these spirits, Totoro in particular, helping them deal with this fear in an imaginative way. I do agree with you that the film, despite all the obivious markings that it is set in Japan (shrines, traditional houses, etc.) is certainly universal in its themes and has a wide appeal.

By: Amy

Amy — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 20:30:22 +0000

I watched Totoro not long ago, and I don’t know how I survived without it in my childhood. LOL’

Totoro is definitely a classic animated film, and it should be enjoyed by anyone – btw, Mei reminds me of my niece. xD

By: » The Japanese Cinema Blogathon 2009 » Wildgrounds

» The Japanese Cinema Blogathon 2009 » Wildgrounds — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 17:42:28 +0000

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