"My Neighbor Totoro" - Film Review

My Neighbor Totoro looks like a lovely painting. There’s a watercolor, impressionistic quality to the film that lend it a richness that is missing in many other animated films. And what the film often lacks in the way of plot, it makes up for with gorgeous, naturalistic animation that’s color palette is warm, soft, and inviting, and whose imagery is often impressively intricate and detailed. The film is filled with depictions of wildlife and nature that have painstaking anatomical accuracy.

Totoro is also great for being a film about kids that doesn’t feel childish or pandering. There are no talking, anthropomorphic animals and a lot of the darker elements never get fully resolved. 

This isn’t to say the film is completely dark; in fact, the film is carried by a childlike whimsy and a sense of wonder. However, it’s a commendable how the film slips in subtle, darker elements into the film, notably an ailing mother with (what appears to be) a terminal disease. 

Part of the film’s charm comes from grounding the more imaginative, marvelous facets amongst a world that feels incredibly realistic. It’s like finding the wondrous amongst the mundane. Indeed, the film‘s plot centers around a father and his two daughters moving to an old house out in the countryside; a story that in of itself holds nothing special until the story peels back layers to reveal forest spirits and soot sprites hiding in the rafters. 

Much of the film early on has little interest with establishing a plot (surprising for a film that clocks in at under a hour and a half). Rather it meanders and builds up a world worth exploring and draws us in through its beautiful imagery. The film seems more concerned with creating a particular tone, and allowing us to appreciate the artistry at hand.

Outstanding animation and a fantastic visions all its own make My Neighbor Totoro a great animated film and one of the best from writer-director Hayao Miyazaki.

Grade: B+