Week 1 Blog - My Neighbor Totoro

For my first post for this class, I felt like it was fitting to start with one of my all time favorite films. I'm an avid Studio Ghibli fan, and this is my favorite piece of work the studio has done. I mostly watch the films for the art, and the story line to this film is very short and simple.

My Neighbor Totoro

Image Source: Wikipedia

The original Japanese version of the movie was released in 1988. It is written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki, and produced by Studio Ghibli. After gaining popularity, an English version was released by Fox. However, once Fox's license expired in 2004, Walt Disney Pictures took over the rights to the film and recorded a new English version using the voices of more prominent actors and actresses. The two main characters, sisters, are actually voiced by Dakota Fanning and her younger sister, Elle. Tim Daly voices the father. Lea Salonga (who is probably most known for providing the singing voices for Disney Characters Mulan and Jasmine). Pat Carol (the voice of Disney's Ursula) voices "Granny".

    The plot of the film, which is set in the late 50's in Japan, is actually fairly simple. Satsuki and Mei have had to move into a new house with their father. We later learn the move is in order to become closer to their mother who is in the hospital with an illness that is never revealed. The girls befriend Forest Spirits who reside in a camphor tree near their house. Totoro is the largest of the spirits, and it seems he tries to watch over the girls. The whole family goes to visit their mother in the hospital one day, and get good news that their mother is doing very well and may get to come home soon. Unfortunately, a short time later, they get an emergency telegraph asking them to call the hospital. Their mother has fallen ill again and she won't be able to make it home. Highly upset, the two sisters get into an altercation, and the older sister, Satsuki, ends up yelling at Mei and upsetting her. Mei, a very little girl not even of school age, storms off and goes missing. Satsuki discovers her sister is missing and begins searching with all of her neighbors. They fear the worst, and Satsuki gets so desperate she goes back to the camphor tree to beg for Totoro's help with the rest of the Forest Spirits. Another spirit, Catbus, comes and picks up Satsuki to take her to find Mei, who has tried to walk to the hospital all on her own. Catbus then takes the two sisters to the hospital, where they overhear that their mother was only being held in the hospital because of a minor cold. They leave with peace knowing everything is okay, and head back home.

The film is presented chronologically. There is not one instance of a flashback or really ever any mention of the past at all. We never find out anything about the family's history, like what caused the mom to get sick, or where the family moved from. We never learn where the Forest Spirits come from, or why they have chosen to befriend this family. I think this gives the viewer the best chance of focusing on what is currently going on in the story. The movie is supposed to give you a warm, anthropomorphic feeling about nature, and I think if they had complicated the storyline it would not have had this same effect. Even with character development, only enough is shown to get the viewer to identify most closely with the two girls. You get a feel for their innocence, so that you feel truly heartbroken for them when you learn their mother is in the hospital. Overall, if the anything changed in the movie, about how the plot was revealed, or how the characters were introduced, I really believe the movie would lose its "touch." I think children can watch this movie because of its simplicity, and adults can watch this movie and feel a little nostalgic about their childhood.

Below is a fan-created trailer, so you can view a few clips:



References:
"My Neighbor Totoro." Disney. Accessed from: http://movies.disney.com/my-neighbor-totoro
"My Neighbor Totoro." IMDb. Accessed from: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0096283/