KeTasha Johnson
English 1301
Dr. Childs
2 October 2012
My
Movie Review: My Neighbor Totoro
A
good family film will appeal to a variety of ages and teach a lesson of some
sort. It seems that a lot of the Family film directors lately are more
concerned with filling seats at theatres than spreading a
positive message. Miyazaki strategically used diegetic to gain my attention
and had me engulfed me into the mystical world that Mei and Satsuki so confidently believed
in. What better way to see the countryside than on a Cat bus that moves swift
ly through the hills like the wind. Or Better yet! What about being friends with cute furry tree
spirits that protect you and look out for you in your time of need. Hayao Miyazaki
was able to create the ultimate family fantasy film by exceeding the expectations
of a family film.The movie is family oriented and displays a very strong family bond. The girls are moving to the country with their College professor dad to be closer to their Mom who is in the hospital with an unknown illness. The illness has kept her hospitalized for long periods of time and left the family longing for her presence. Instead of dwelling on Mrs. Kusakabe’s absence they moved to be closer to her. It is the summer time so the family is able to go and visit Mrs. Kusakabe a lot but the distance to the hospital is hours away on a bike so they take the time in between to do things together. Satsuki valiantly steps in her mother’s footsteps and takes up the slack to make it easier for her father Mr. Kusakabe while her mother is away. She cooks, takes care of her household chores and takes care of herself and her little sister Mei. She enjoys being able help out her dad.
The use of Kiyazaki’s creative imagination made way for some very interesting anime characters. In My Neighbor Totoro there are no villains. There are no scary monsters in the closet, Evil men or women trying to kidnap kids or puppies, or big bullies picking on smaller children. It’s a family movie you can watch with your kids and not have to share your bed space with them once it’s over.
The scariest thing about the whole movie is that the old dilapidated house in the country that the family is moving into is rumored to be haunted. The girls encounter dust sprites while trying to open all the windows in the house. The dust sprites are only seen in dark shadowy places and run from light. Occasionally there was one or two that linger but, the caretaker Granny, calms their fears by letting Mei and Satsuki know that laughter will drive them away to the next empty house. They put their ghost busting skills to the test and Grannies remedy works and sends the dust sprites on to the next empty house.
Mei is left at home with her dad while Satsuki goes to school and notices a small, furry, rabbit looking, creature collecting acorns in her yard. The creature notices that it can be seen and it fades into its surrounding like it disappears. This puzzles Mei and now she is determined to catch another glimpse of what she thought she saw. The furry friend reappears minutes later and gets chased by Mei underneath her house. She is fearless now so she waits at what she thinks is the only way out from under the house. As she repositions herself she notices not only the little rabbit that she was chasing moments earlier but there is another one and it’s a little bigger than the original one. The two trolls eventually lead her through the forest and down the hole in the Camphor tree to Totoro, the biggest of the three. He is ten times the size of the other trolls but he is portrayed as a big, fluffy, comforting snuggle bunny. Mei is not scared at all she is actually comforted by her new forest friend and falls asleep on his fluffy belly to his soothing, rythmic, deep breathing.
