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Film Title: My Neighbor Totoro

 Best for ages: 3 and up.

Movie Website: Click Here

Year Released: 1988

Rated: G (US)

The Review

    From the creative mind of Hayao Miyazaki the award winning Japanese director who bough bought us the Oscar award winning animated film Spirited Away; comes one of his first great films My Neighbor Totoro.

   Two young girls, Satsuke and her younger sister Mei, move into a house in the country with their father to be closer to their hospitalized mother. Satsuke and Mei discover that the nearby forest is inhabited by magical creatures called Totoros.  Soon the girls get to know Totoro and he begins to show the girls the magical world around them that no one ever gets to see. However, when Mei goes missing, and no one in the neighborhood can find her, Satsuke enlists the help of Totoro to help find her sister, and along with a cat shaped like a bus, Satsuke goes on a journey to find Mei who only was trying to get her hands on something special for their sick mother.

   Why I don’t think many of the children of today would enjoy this film as they would other Disney and Studio Ghibli films such as Ponyo. I still think this film has a great story that some older children and adults who grew up watching cartoons in the eighties would enjoy. The animation is not as good as today’s films is, but I looked at this film as what one may call a precursor to what inspired the Pokemon franchise. Many of the creatures in the movie have unique features and powers that make them special. These fantasy like elements and the adventures the children go on in this film are what I think will attract kids to watching the movie, only if they can get past the plain looking animation.

   The DVD has a few special features which include The World of Ghibli feature where you can visit Totoro in his imaginative interactive world. You can Enter the Lands where you can meet the characters and hear the story of the movie, you can also go Behind the Studio and discover the films inspiration though documentaries and interviews with the films creators. There is also a storyboard presentation of the movie on the disc as well.

   My Neighbor Totoro is a fun film that was created back in 1988 by acclaimed director Hayao Miyazaki.  The film may not have the glitz and glamour of the computer visuals and realistic looking animation, but it’s got a great story.  I think the film is best suited for children over the age of three as some of the fantasy elements can be scary, but I think it’s safe for children of all ages to enjoy and would recommend that parents check it out before showing it to their young children to see if they would like it or not. It is a fantastic little film full of great imagination and some mystical creatures.   

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