Watching this movie made me think what an old retired mouse would think if
he fell in a large puddle of cheese.
Story
The story bids shotgun in this title, because while it's not a particularly
bad story, the focus is off it and instead shines on the characters and
their adventures.
Satsuki and Mei are two young girls, sisters in fact, and they have moved to
the country along with their father, with their mother being sick in
hospital. The girls find an adventure in every activity and spend their days
giggling and running. They soon realize their house is no regular home and
sports puffy black dust balls which they are told are magic creatures that
name any abandoned house as home. Then upon an unsupervised exploration Mei
sees a semi-translucent creature walking down a road, she follows it, and
this creature doesn't seem to appreciate that. After some attempts of escape
it eventually delivers Mei to it's hidden home where she discovers an
enormous furry creature sleeping, she names it Totoro after some children's
story's character I think, and he is very friendly despise his enormous
frame. To make matters more magical only children can see this creature. So
clearly this isn't Masamune material but then again this is a kids story
people, but the whole story is portrayed in a very realistic way, as in what
could really happen to people in real life when they move to the country
(except meeting magical creatures of course). This is the first Hayao Miyasaki movie I have seen and I plan
|
|
to see many others because of it, you have to admit, the man has style, an iconoclastic
ability to deliver. And as I will mention later on in the review, the
artwork is beautiful, if beautiful means so good that when you look around
the room you wonder what low budget studio designed it.
Animation & Sound
|
The animation seriously took my breath away, for one this movie is over 14
years old but sports a very high frame rate and super slick animation, that
equals, nay, surpasses many recent titles. It is just absolutely
exceptional! The backgrounds are also very detailed with the occasional
painting used. The artwork is remarkable and it really feels you are out
there with them, exploring their large backyard forest.
The sound, well, for one I don't know how to judge sound, sound is 'sound'
you know? But when you realize that sound doesn't make the untrained ear
take notice then you know that it's not doing anything wrong, and clearly
that means it's doing something right, so I watched it again focusing on the
audio and I was quite pleased. The music was very well suited for this
title, with a simplistic structure but catchy tune. The ambiance was well
created with sounds of rustling trees and wind and insects, it really
brought the forest to life in its full glory.
|
Characters
The characters are what make this an explosion of joy and wide-eyed
enthusiasm; if I were a less creative writer I would say nostalgia. The two
girls Satsuki and Mei are always so happy and excited that it makes me feel
I missed out on the simpler pleasures as a child. The father character was
also extremely friendly and you can really imagine him as a super dad,
always ready to help with a happy smile. The mother appeared much less often
but shared her husband's affection and caring nature. Then there is Totoro,
the big bear/rabbit looking creature.
|
|
|
Enjoying my own cats company I have
never been able to lie on him and enjoyed his fur to it's full glory so when
Mei was sleeping on Totoro I felt kinda jealous for her being able to lay on
such an enormous fur ball. There's also a strange Cheshire cat-bus-thing,
and he seemed very friendly and was a very cool character, Miyazaki is a
surrealist and he doesn't know it!
89%
My Neighbor Totoro is a cute movie that should appeal to all, not just
children. A very effective antidepressant and a timeless classic, which I
know, I will be able to show this to my kids and they to theirs and so on.
But if you are the type who likes gore and violence then stay away, stay
very far away.
|
Additional Info
Type: Movie
Length: 90 minutes
Voices I heard: Japanese, with English subtitles
Director: HAYAO MIYAZAKI
Music: JO HISAISHI
Writer: HAYAO MIYAZAKI
|
Sections
