Most people with any knowledge of Studio Ghibli’s history know the story of Totoro’s release: after the success of Nausicäa, Ghibli was formed and released the moderately successful Laputa. Miyazaki wanted to direct something cuter after this, a little pet project about children and big, friendly ... Read review
While their mother recovers from an illness, Satsuki and her little sister Mei (voiced in ... more
English by Dakota Fanning and Elle Fanning) get away from it all in an idyllic rural retreat. Far from the bustle of the city, they discover a mysterious place of...
Production Year: 2004 - Drama - Director: Nick Cassavetes - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over, 12 years and over - Starring: Rachel McAdams, Ryan Gosling, Gena Rowlands
Production Year: 1995 - Drama - Director: Ang Lee - Original Language: English - Classification: Universal - Starring: Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman, Kate Winslet, Hugh Grant, Greg Wise, Hugh Laurie, Robert Hardy
Advantages: One of the most heartwarming films ever made Disadvantages: Don't look here for a thrilling storyline
Most people with any knowledge of Studio Ghibli’s history know the story of Totoro’s release: after the success of Nausicäa, Ghibli was formed and released the moderately successful Laputa. Miyazaki wanted to direct something cuter after this, a little pet project about children and big, friendly animals in the vein of his earlier Panda Kopanda. But financing the project was difficult for the fledgling studio, so they decided to couple the film with ... ...believed to be a safer option. Hotaru was a success, but it was Totoro that made the real cultural impact, causing Miyazaki to (for better or for worse) eclipse Takahata, furnishing Ghibli with its mascot and bringing the studio their first real fans in the West.
And while I don’t think the film superior to Hotaru, I can’t deny that it is more enjoyable. I’ve compared Miyazaki’s style to Hollywood and Takahata’s to arthouse before ... more
Most people with any knowledge of Studio Ghibli’s history know the story of Totoro’s release: after the success of Nausicäa, Ghibli was formed and released the moderately successful Laputa. Miyazaki wanted to direct something cuter after this, a little pet project about children and big, friendly animals in the vein of his earlier Panda Kopanda. But financing the project was difficult for the fledgling studio, so they decided to couple the film with Takahata’s Hotaru no Haka (‘Grave of the Fireflies’), which was believed to be a safer option. Hotaru was a success, but it was Totoro that made the real cultural impact, causing Miyazaki to (for better or for worse) eclipse Takahata, furnishing Ghibli with its mascot and bringing the studio their first real fans in the West.
And while I don’t think the film superior to Hotaru, I can’t deny that it is more enjoyable. I’ve compared Miyazaki’s style to Hollywood and Takahata’s to arthouse before now, and I think that’s exemplified by these two movies, and their relative levels of success. But just as Hollywood is popular because it does what it does extremely well, undeniably Totoro does what it sets out to do magnificently. And that one man can write something like this and then go on to create Mononoke-Hime speaks volumes about his talent and versatility.
Two sisters, 11-year-old Satsuki and 4-year-old Mei, move with their father to a new house in the countryside of 1950s Japan in order to be close to their sick mother. There they encounter various supernatural creatures, the largest and most powerful of which Mei calls ‘Totoro’ (probably trying to say ‘Torouru’, or ‘troll’) but life goes on as ever, the girls playing, exploring and on occasion getting lost. There’s not much in the way of drama here, but that’s not the point. It’s a slice of life, in the common anime territory of little girls being little girls, and Miyazaki writes children very well – Satsuki is incredibly sweet but occasionally a little self-centred, Mei likes to follow her sister about and can be very headstrong, and the boy next door, Konta, has difficulty talking to Satsuki in anything but grunts but his real feelings are betrayed by his deeds and his body language. What makes Totoro really shine is the little moments – the way the father’s hat is almost blown off at the beginning, how Konta rides a bike that’s too big for him, the way Mei reacts to finding tadpoles. It’s also worth remembering that the Totoros, Nekobasu and the Susuwatari are only onscreen for a very short period of time; the majority of the film is taken up by the daily lives of the little girls – going to see their mother, Mei coming to school, getting caught out in the rain. The magical elements are iconic and thrilling layers added to a heartwarming, solid and extremely well-sketched core. The owl/bear/tanuki creature may be what sticks in everyone’s mind, but it’s the likeable little girls and their very ordinary interactions that make the movie so likeable.
Totoro isn’t about being clever or being funny or being exciting. It’s about sweetness and strangeness and happiness. Luckily for us, Miyazaki is a master of all these things, and several more. A film everyone should see at least once, and most will watch time and time again.
Advantages: Good details, cute and lovely images Disadvantages: sometimes the story goes too slowly
...have a totoro living in the hole of the biggest tree in my coutyard?' That's why i love his animation so much.They nourish our imagination, teach us lessons like in old myths. Children should study but sometimes we adults forget the lessons from the childhood also should study again. ...
YoMoron 20.11.2006 (21.11.2006)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of My Neighbour Totoro (DVD)
Advantages: Beautiful, imaginative, lovely Disadvantages: Doesn't give a full idea of the genius of Miyazaki
...Castle, there is Totoro and my personal favourite - the Catbus - which is essentially a kind of furry bus-like cat complete with seats and an awful lot of legs. The popularity of the Catbus is evident by the fact that in Japan in the Miyazaki museum there is a Catbus for kids to play on and after John Lasseter (of Pixar fame) worked on Spirited Away, the head of an old Catbus was presented to him as a gift for his work on the English dub of Spirited ...
lwa04lh28 16.03.2009
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of My Neighbour Totoro (DVD)
Advantages: A beautiful and imaginitive tale of fun and adventure! Short and sweet. Disadvantages: None!
...but rather wonderful and simple. My Neighbour Totoro is certainly one of my favourite Studio Ghibli films and is guaranteed to make you laugh, smile and really let your imagination wander. I certainly admire Hayao Miyazaki and his ability to resonate with children's imaginations. It is a must have alongside many of the warming disney classics such as Bambi and The Lion King. The music is well matched to the themes of the film and certainly helps ... ...style meets the high standards set by many other Studio Ghibli films before it. The film runs for a total of 86 minutes which is ideal for this simple story. I found that this was just the right length of time, short and sweet. To summarise, I highly recommend this wonderful film for children and families. Although I thoroughly enjoyed it at the age of 18 :] ...
Jonny5Review 16.07.2009
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Advantages: lovely graphic, cute story line, something that makes you smile Disadvantages: sometimes it makes you chuckle
My Neighbour Totoro (Tonari no Totoro) is one of my all time favourite Studio Ghibli films. Two little girls and their father moving to the countryside while the mother staying at the hospital. The two found out that there were something strange in the house and there were actually ghosts and spirits like in the picture books exist! Basically, it was about how they were getting on with their daily life and there was nothing extraordinary except the ... ...me. But sometimes, simple is good, you know.
And the spirits were very cute.
Totoro is the big grey spirit living in the forest. There are two more "totoro", a smaller blue one and the white, smallest one. To make a Totoro, basically you draw and egg and put on it something like rabit ears. But it's definitely fatter than a rabbit and its feet are like chickens. One more remarkable character is the Cat Bus. Bigger than Totoro, it's a 10 legs cat ...
seasalt 22.11.2006 (23.11.2006)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of My Neighbour Totoro (DVD)
* My Neighbour Totoro *
This is such a cute movie , all ages will love it , it's very cute.
This is a Studio Ghibli movie who also created ' spirited away' among many other movies. * The Story *
Very cute Story line , My Neighbour totoro tells the story of 2 girls Satsuki and mei , who are voiced by Dakotta and Ellie Fanning. Their mother is ill and to take their mind of things they play in the nearby woodlands where they discovery mystical creatures ... ...2006 over here.
* My thoughts *
I love this movie , I was bought it as a present as I had some Totoro stuff but I didn't know it was a movie. I think everyone should see this movie once it's very sweet and it is slightly weird but it's so watchable for every age group *Info*
This runs for 86 minutes and is a U . On dooyoo and ciao. ...
DrRoberto 28.10.2008
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of My Neighbour Totoro (DVD)
A "Grimm-er" Live Action (PG) Take on This Classic Brothers Grimm Tale, Directed by the Screenwriter/Co-Author of Edward Scissorhands (Caroline Thompson)
Possibly Not Suitable for Younger Children (not Disney Animation "Pretty-Pretty" version) - Miranda Richardson dominates the action and steals the show as the stepmother. (*)
![My Neighbour Totoro [DVD]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/78248760.jpg)
