Anime Club

My Neighbor Totoro: Great Childhood Story

Hello everybody! This week on Anime Madness I reviewed a 1988 classic, My Neighbor Totoro.

MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO

TITLE: My Neighbor Totoro

DIRECTOR: Hayao Miyazaki

STARRING: Chika Sakamoto, Noriko Hidaka, Hitoshi Takagi

GENRE: Fantasy

YEAR: 1988

COUNTRY: Japan

My Neighbor Totoro is a 1988 fantasy film that follows a university professor Tatsuo Kusakabe and his two daughters Satsuki and Mei. The family moves closer to live near their mother, Yasuko, who is suffering from a long term sickness. Their new house is inhabited by tiny animal creatures called “susuwatari” who are little spirits that infest the darkness. Over the course of the film, Mei and Satsuki discover all of these other creatures that give them escape from reality.

While I don’t want to tear apart My Neighbor Totoro, but I will for you readers. My main issue with the film is that the film is very slow moving. In all consideration, not much actually occurs throughout the film. My Neighbor Totoro is just about two girls trying to deal with a bad situation. Also, I wish there was more variation in the “susuwatari”. I mean we have the shadow susuwatari, three Totoros, and the cat-bus. It would be so much cooler if there were at least a few more.

My Neighbor Totoro is one of Miyazaki’s finest films. The film allows the children to escape into a world of fairy tales and magical creatures so they can get away from the troubles of real life. The catbus is simply amazing, how it overpowers the landscape just defies reason. But hey, its a magical wonderful world. Totoro serves as an inspiration to many children that were growing up in the late 80s and early 90s. my Neighbor Totoro will remain one of my favorite anime films to date.

Check out this fan made trailer below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TuLX50_5UAI

 

PROS:

  • Great tale about growing up.
  • Escapism at its finest.
  • One of Miyazaka’s finest.

CONS:

  • Slow moving.
  • Lack of variation of monsters.

SCORE: 8.0 / 10

If you have any suggestions for films/TV/Games/Music for me to review, drop me a comment!

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Brandon Stuhr

Who am I? Just some guy who decided to start writing on the Internet years ago and now operates his own brand and site. Owner/Operator of Modern Neon Media, I make all kinds of niche content to suit my interests at the time. DIY Enthusiast, Brewmaster extraordinaire, and avid freak for geek culture. Follow on my socials for a more "on" version of me.

0 thoughts on “My Neighbor Totoro: Great Childhood Story

    • I would definitely suggest it. I used to watch it when I was younger and my sister (who is turning 9 this year) loves it. One of the few she watches and likes, she also watches Kiki’s Delivery Service and Spirited Away.

      Reply

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