MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO
TONARI NO TOTORO
1988,
Studio Ghibli,
86 min,
Japan,
Dir: Hayao Miyazaki
The third Studio Ghibli feature from former Toei animator-turned-writer, producer, director and entrepreneur Hayao Miyazaki tells the story of two young sisters, Satsuki and Mei Kusakabe, who move into a new house with their father near a vast forest to be closer to their ailing, hospitalized mother. Discovering wondrous forest spirits and dust bunnies, they also encounter Totoro, a giant lumbering bunny-esque creature. "Here is a children's film made for the world we should live in, rather than the one we occupy. A film with no villains. No fight scenes. No evil adults. No fighting between the two kids. No scary monsters. No darkness before the dawn. A world that is benign. A world where if you meet a strange towering creature in the forest, you curl up on its tummy and have a nap. MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO has become one of the most beloved of all family films without ever having been much promoted or advertised." - Roger Ebert, The Chicago Sun-Times.