On the surface, this movie appears to be
just a cute family film. The presence of the spirit creatures takes on a more
significant meaning as the movie slowly progresses. The dust creatures exemplify
the children’s reluctance to adjust to their new surroundings. Later, it
represents the fear of their mother’s passing, compounded with the late arrival
of their father at the bus stop. Ironically, the majority of the
film’s cuteness and warmth comes without the use of the loveable Totoro. This
is seen by their absence for the first fifteen minutes of the film.
The movie was partially autobiographical. As a child, Miyazaki and
his brothers suffered from a mother ailed with spinal tuberculosis. He once
said that two male protagonist would have been too painful. Miyazaki
originally created the movie with one girl in mind, but wanted to add suspense
to the latter half of the film and felt one girl wouldn’t get the job done.
I viewed the 2006 dubbed version featuring
Dakota Fanning and her little sister, Ellie. The giggling and natural ease of
conversation between the two sisters made for a brilliant companion to the
beautiful canvas of rich colors and signature character design of Hayao
Miyazaki.
In 1988, My Neighbor Totoro was released as a double feature with Grave of the Fireflies. Grave of the Fireflies (Hotaru no haka) was
considered to be too much of a financial risk to be released on its own because
of its strong subject matter. Surprisingly enough, both films deal with similar
themes in drastically different ways. While it can be interpreted that everyone
lives happily ever after at the end of Totoro, it can also be said that the
mother and two daughters suffer an unfortunate fate.
My
Neighbor Totoro is easily one of the most touching and
enjoyable selections out of the Miyazaki catalog. It’s a personal and unique
movie that fails to follow many of the ordinary conventions of family films.
Meanwhile, it manages to capture the spirit and essence of what it means to
care for and lose someone you love.
Rating: A
Did You Know: The name Totoro actually comes from a
mispronunciation of the Japanese word for troll, Tororu.
Anime 3000 reviews anime, manga, and
games based on specific criteria designated by each medium's respective editor.
Anime is reviewed on a scale from F to A+. Series or movies that receive a
score of A- or above are considered outstanding, B- to B+ recommendable, C- to
C+ average, D- to D+ unrecommended, and F terrible.
