My Neighbour Totoro

Releasing 16th April 1988, My Neighbour Totoro follows two girls who have moved into a house in rural Japan, a house neighbouring a vast forest inhabited by several mystical creatures. As the film that secured Studio Ghibli as an anime juggernaut, does it still hold up? To start with, Chika Sakamoto & Noriko Hidaka are fantastic as Mei & Satsuki respectively – they really sell the youth of their characters and the subsequent energy and innocence. Tanie Kitabayashi provides the necessary compassion and warmth towards the girls as Granny; my only real qualm with the cast is Shigesato Itoi as Tatsuo, the girls’ father. His delivery is very monotone regardless of the scenario and it sucks you out of the dramatic tension of the story.

And its quite unfortunate because this film completely soars with emotion and atmosphere; Studio Ghibli is arguably the best when it comes to artistically driven, vibrant environments. With the exception of character integration into their environments, My Neighbour Totoro is perhaps the best example of this with the layered shots of the family’s house, extensive farms, Totoro’s tree and the subsequent forest. My thoughts of this are shared by James Berardinelli of REELVIEWS as stated in: “Visuals have always been one of the great strengths of Miyazaki’s films the look of Totoro – richly colored painted backgrounds and anime-inspired characters – is among the most distinct of the legendary director’s efforts. “

This is aided by the tranquil, hopeful soundtrack which enables you to find the headspace to enter the sceneries. The soundtrack also helps to elevate the emotional moments where the young characters become overwhelmed with their physical and social surroundings. Another impressive feat of the film is that there is no antagonist; there are only personal obstacles that we all face in life, including our youth. Overall My Neighbour Totoro is certainly a classic but there are a few petty obstacles which hold it back from being a masterpiece.