Toon Zone Talkback - "My Neighbor Totoro" - A True Masterpiece from a True Master

[Classic Speedy]

This is the talkback thread for "My Neighbor Totoro" - A True Masterpiece from a True Master.



I just watched this for the first time last night (yes, I know). I really enjoyed it, although not quite as much as Ponyo. But it had the same kind of observational nature about kids that was well done. I particularly like how Mei frequently imitated her older sister Satsuki, and Mei's ill-conceived but determined plan of walking to the hospital herself.

EDIT: Also, there's something neat about a movie that spends a good 20 minutes just setting up the girls moving into the new house and exploring its nooks and crannies. No major action set pieces, just wide-eyed wonder from having a new place to play.

[Ed Liu]

As I say in the review, I can spend pages talking about this movie, so I think I will . Some random, unconnected observations about the movie:

- I will say that Ponyo is probably the movie that comes closest to Totoro in its sensibilities the Ghibli lineup, but even if there is no CGI in it, Ponyo still benefited from computers during the production process. Literally everything in Totoro was still done by hand, which makes it comparable to the kind of animation achievement of Akira.

- When Mei shows up at Satsuki's school, freeze-frame on the Mei close-up and marvel at the kind of hand-made coloring job that can capture the barely-visible streaks on her face that show us she was crying not too long ago.

- When Mei decides to go to the hospital and see her mother, the movie lingers for just a few frames specifically to zoom in as she puts her shoes on before she leaves. If you were paying VERY close attention to that scene, you'd realize that the shoe Granny is holding isn't Mei's just a few microseconds earlier than everyone else on screen. It's a tiny, little miniscule thing, but I am positive that Miyazaki thought that through.

- And speaking of that scene, I love the tension it creates through just a little pause and intercutting between anxious faces before Satsuki declares, "It's not hers." It is exactly the same cinematic trick that they used at the end of Casablanca ("...round up the usual suspects").

- This is something Japanese audiences and Japanophiles would pick up on, but American audiences wouldn't. When Mei is sitting by the side of the road because she's lost, there's a row of statues behind her. Those statues (and the one in the shrine that Mei and Satsuki take refuge from the rainstorm in) are Jizo, a Buddhist bodhisattva who is regarded in Japan as the protector of children. It's the movie's subtle clue to the audience that Mei is not in any real danger because Jizo's got her back.

- And speaking of that last third of the movie, pay attention to the soundtrack during those scenes. Joe Hisashi's music completely vanishes for most of it. It only comes back in force when Totoro gets involved, and it's a big reason why I think those scenes have so much tension in them compared to the rest of the movie.

- That's one point where I'll say Totoro has it over Ponyo: I always found the music of Totoro to be unforgettable, even from the first time I saw the Fox dub on VHS all those years ago. While I remember loving Joe Hisashi's soundtrack for Ponyo (as I love all his soundtracks for Ghibli movies), I don't think I can remember a single tune from it now. This is not a criticism (I can't remember the music from many other of the movies other than Porco Rosso), but it's just another point in Totoro's favor in my mind.

[defunctzombie]

I took my Japanese culture class before I saw this movie, so I understood the Jizo statues and some of the other little things. That's not to say you need a class to enjoy the movie. I think a good number of people twig out unnecessarily at the bathtub scene or scoff at the condition of the house in the beginning, so a class would help, but little kids have no trouble at all enjoying the movie and older kids can understand the message.

[adoptedBatpuppy]

I love this movie as well, I believe this is your second review of this great film

There is a definite time spend on writing about every single detail of what happens in the film.

What I absolutely like about this movie is that the viewers are placed in a great family situation that can happen to all of us and eventually will happen either with us or our kids. All of us live at least once through experience that Satsuki and Mei did when we were kids.
There are no evil villans in this story, no crazy action, just pure, honest joy of childhood! :anime:

I can remember wondering off and going to a new place such as school by myself when I was a kid, causing my mom to look for me and worry.
I'm sure most of us got lost at least one when we were little.

I understand that both My Neighbor Totoro and Ponyo have kids, and deal with childhood, growing up, liking boys/girls, building friendships with others, respecting elders...etc But these two films are different like night and day! I don't see much resemblence storywise and there are huge difference besides the ones I have listed!

Disney's animated fairy tales such as Little Mermaid are fantasies, and can't happen to us in real life. What I like about Miyazaki's work is that some of his films such as My Neighbor Totoro are written more realistic, with some of the fantasy in them.

[Beat]

Not very objective, is it? The review comes across like a propaganda piece, with one half expecting to see the word "ADVERTISEMENT" written on the top. I appreciate the enthusiasm and the definitive passion for the subject, but nothing negative? At all?

[Ed Liu]

Not very objective, is it? The review comes across like a propaganda piece, with one half expecting to see the word "ADVERTISEMENT" written on the top. I appreciate the enthusiasm and the definitive passion for the subject, but nothing negative? At all?

If I had anything negative to say about the movie, it would be there. I think you can inspect my track record of reviews for the News to know this is true. I don't, so there aren't.

Yes, really.

EDIT: FWIW, I would be pretty hard-pressed to come up with any serious criticism of the other movies I cite at the top of the review as well. At best, I could say that Seven Samurai and The Godfather are quite long and too often stymie my attempts to just watch "a few minutes" of them or "just this scene," so they will distract me for a bit too long from other more important things that I should be doing, and that Casablanca has some pretty notably bad effects shots and that famous gaffe where the letters of transit are signed by "General DeGaulle."

[Leaping Larry Jojo]

I guess the strongest criticism you could level against the film is that the final act feels a bit manufactured in its melodrama, especially considering the naturalistic tone of the rest of the film. But it certainly isn't a really big low point.

[jph139]

Love the movie. Love the characters. Love the music. Love the feel. Not a single thing I can say bad about Totoro. It really, really is that good. The blending of the mundane and fantastic... I think that's my favorite part, really. Miyazaki's gift - he can make the most realistic and human characters around, and puts them in a world of magic and fantasy without ever making the two seem incongruous. True skill, there.

[Eleanor Hugbees]

No arguments here. The first Miyazaki I ever saw as a kid and my personal favorite hands down. There's something ..otherworldly about it. It was one of the few movies where I was just completely captivated as the characters discovering Totoro or even running through their house for the first time.

Very few people can pull of children really just acting like children without it being sappy,boring, or the kids just being mini adults with annoying dialogue. None of the drama is forced and you really feel for the characters because of it.

Also, who didn't want a Catbus after seeing this movie?

[defunctzombie]

Also, who didn't want a Catbus after seeing this movie?

They have a catbus at the Ghibli museum, but only children can go on.