Skip to main content

My Neighbor Totoro (1988)

 I have seen My Neighbor Totoro before but got the chance to see it at the cinema. Having seen Spirited Away and liked it more after seeing it at the cinema, I thought/hoped that the same would happen to My Neighbor Totoro. It’s one of the weaker of Miyazaki’s films. The story sees two sisters move with their father to a new house in the country whilst their mother is recovering in hospital. Whilst exploring they come across a Totoro which is a spiritual being. As much as I want to love this film I simply don't and that is because the plot isn't the best. It never feels like its building up to something it just sort of ends which is disappointing. 

Something else that I didn't notice the first time I watched this film is just how annoying Mei is. I get that her mother is in hospital and she wants her home but the way that she throws a tantrum at Satsuki just ruins to nice vibe that the film had managed with these two throughout the film. If Satsuki had done something bad then I could understand the mood but as it stands, she just comes across as unreasonable. Now I know she is a young child but it just is a big negative for me as far as enjoying the film is concerned.

On the plus side, The animation, like all Studio Ghibli’s stuff this film is beautiful. It puts a lot of computer generated animation to shame and shows why Studio Ghibli is held in such high regard. I would love to live in this world because it seems like a nice place to work and live in. I also think that the soundtrack is lovely. Its another film when I have gone home and brought the soundtrack.  

This is one of my least favourite Miyazaki films but I still think its worth your time. The animation is worth the 90 minutes of your time and even with the weak plot, you’ll still finish the film in a better mood than when you started and thats what all films (apart from horror) should strive for.


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Jurassic World Dominion (2022)

I really enjoyed the first Jurassic World film, yes some of the things were a bit silly and it was a bit of fan service but I still enjoyed it and thought it worked quite well. The second one took a bit of a dip in quality and the whole idea that there is a secret lab underneath a massive house did seem a bit silly. It did end with a cliffhanger and the potential for this final could have been about how we were dealing with the dinosaurs. This final part of the trilogy (whether it's the final Jurassic film is doubtful) was delayed because of the pandemic although how much of that is why this film was a huge disappointment is probably going to remain a mystery. The main problem with the film is that it feels like three movies in one. You have the Claire/Owen storyline then there is the original trio’s storyline with the return of Dodgson and then the meshing of the two. This means that it feels like they are throwing a lot at the wall to see what sticks. Dodgson is portrayed as some...
Post a Comment
Read more

Elio (2025)

Elio is a film that seemed like it could be a lot of fun based off the trailer which is a mistake as a trailer has more often than not made a film to look better than it is. The trailer didn’t suggest that Elio had lost his parents (deceased parents is such a typical Disney move) and he now lives with his aunt who works on an air force base. He gets interested in space and then wants to be abducted by aliens and gets his wish and ends up in the communiverse with a variety of different aliens. This includes a warmongering Lord Grigon. Elio is mistakenly thought of as the leader of Earth and soon finds himself trying to broker a peace with Grigon. In the middle of all this He makes friends with Glordon who is the son of Lord Grigon. Elio plans to use Glordon as a bargaining chip and when he comes to pick up fortis then things go wrong and that is when the plot really kicks in. The animation is your typical Pixar sort and it’s nice and can work in any type of story. It’s weird to think th...
Post a Comment
Read more

Hallow Road (2025)

Hallow Road stars Rosamund Pike and Matthew Rhys who are Maddie and Frank who are woken up in the middle of the night by their daughter Alice (Megan McDonnell) who has been in an accident and the movie is basically Maddie and Frank driving to the location talking to their daughter and it all takes place in the car.  The film is basically led by Pike and Rhys. Maddie wants to call the police and use a sympathetic police officer to help their daughter and yet Frank wants to take the blame and this leads to conflict between the two. One of the reasons why the film works in the way that it does is that these two work well together despite their characters being polar opposite. The fact that the film takes place inside the car apart from the opening couple of minutes and the final few minutes and still manages to be entertaining and gripping shows how good the performances were and also the writing. Credit has to go to director Batak Anvari for keeping things ticking along and never le...
Post a Comment
Read more