My Neighbor Totoro (1988)

Directed by Hayao Miyazaki. Starring (voices) Chika Sakamoto, Noriko Hidaka, Shigesato Itoi, Tanie Kitabayashi, Toshiyuki Amagasa, Sumi Shimamoto. [G]

Benign, gentle fable from Hayao Miyazaki with an environmental message—two girls arrive in the country in postwar Japan and make the acquaintance of friendly forest spirits, including the big, lovable creature whose wordless sounds cause the youngest to dub it “Totoro”. Small and relaxed and beautiful, capable of making the heart soar without resorting to melodrama or triumph over perilous adversity. Indeed, there are no bad guys or threats of violence or overwrought crises, as the wonder of discovery and the thrill of magic and the unknown can be just as interesting (and enthralling and worrisome and engaging and…) as any good vs. evil parable or chase/fight scenes. Not as complex or moving as some of Miyazaki’s other work, but Totoro (later a mascot of sorts for Studio Ghibli) is a real charmer, as is the twelve-legged “Catbus”. Plus, the girls behave as curious children do, their father is sometimes distracted by his work but devoted to his children, Granny is compassionate and wise…in short, it’s cozy, like lying on Totoro’s warm, soft belly for about an hour-and-a-half. Re-released by the Walt Disney Company in the mid-2000s with an English-language voice dub featuring, among others, Dakota & Elle Fanning and Tim Daly.

90/100