My Neighbour Totoro, a review by dfmorgan
MOVIE / DVD INFO:
Title: My Neighbour Totoro
Original Title: Tonari no Totoro
Year: 1988
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Rating: G
Length: 88 Min.
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85:1
Audio: English: Dolby Digital: 2-Channel Stereo, Japanese: Dolby Digital: 2-Channel Stereo, French: Dolby Digital: 2-Channel Stereo
Subtitles: English
Stars:Noriko Hidaka
Chika Sakamoto
Shigesato Itoi
Sumi Shimamoto
Hitoshi Takagi
Plot:Critically acclaimed as one of the most delightful and charming family films ever, My Neighbor Totoro is a stunning animated treat full of magical adventure from Hayao Miyazaki.
Follow the adventures of Satsuki and her four-year-old sister Mei when they move into a new home in the countryside. To their delight, they discover that their new neighbor is a mysterious forest spirit called Totoro, who can be seen only through the eyes of a child. Totoro introduces them to extraordinary characters -- including a cat that doubles as a bus! -- and takes them on an incredible journey.
Full of wonder and heart, this spectacular film features the voice talents of Dakota Fanning and Elle Fanning. My Neighbor Totoro is a magical experience for the whole family!
Extras:Scene Access
Feature Trailers
Featurettes
Multi-angle
Storyboard Comparisons
Closed Captioned
My Thoughts:
OK I won't beat about the bush here this is my favourite Miyazaki film. I first saw it in 1995 on the Fox laserdisc release. This was a Pan & Scan release and was also dubbed, I'm not too sure but it may also have been slightly cut, but even with that hardship I fell in love with the film. I managed to tape a version that Sky Movies showed, still dubbed but now in widescreen. Finally Disney released a proper DVD in 2006 which was widescreen and subbed. Apparently Disney had their own dub created and the only components to remain from the Fox release was the opening and closing songs.
Satsuki and Mei, two young girls, move to the country with their father to be nearer to the hospital where their mother is recovering from an undisclosed illness. The first magic occurs when the girls open various rooms and we see dustbunnies, also known as soot spirits, leaving the rooms from the light in the trademark way that Miyazaki has with small creatures and insects. That evening we see another of the Miyazaki trademarks with the wind blowing the fields and trees. This leads to what I understand was a slightly contentious scene with Disney. We see Mei and her father in the bath and Satsuki beside the bath washing herself and then after completing her washing she jumps in the bath with Mei and her father. The wind is still blowing so they laugh to show that they are not scared. My understanding is that Disney, as a "family" company, didn't like the idea of young children sharing a bath with adults, let alone just their father. However, when they asked Studio Ghibli if they could remove that scene, Disney were reminded that one of the clauses in the contract they had signed was that Disney could not cut any of the films that they agreed to distribute for Studio Ghibli. As an aside there is one film from that original agreement that Disney still hasn't released
Only Yesterday, I will cover my understanding of the reason for that when I reach that film in this marathon. When Satsuki is at school Mei wanders off following a couple of small creatures eventually finishing up in the nearby forest under a tall camphor tree with a giant creature Mei calls a Totoro, the Studio Ghibli logo.
There is more in the film but if I carry on as I was above then I would be writing the complete story so I'll stop here. It is magical and even has pathos when they receive some news from the hospital.
This is a magical and wonderful film a double 5
.
Dave
ETA original title
(From dfmorgan's Studio Ghibli Marathon on June 23rd, 2010)
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May 13, 2024, 07:27:34 PM
