Review: "My Neighbor Totoro"

My Review of “My Neighbor Totoro”

Everyone must see the movie “My Neighbor Totoro”, at some time.  I enjoyed this movie and all of its imagination.  The movie is about two young girls, Satsuki, a nine year old and her little sister, 4 year old Mei.  They live with their father, Tatsuo, and their mother is being cared for in the hospital with some kind of illness.  The girls and their dad relocate so they could live closer to the hospital.  Their dad was gone a lot, because he had to work and he visited his wife at the hospital as often as he could.  This means that Satsuki and Mei were usually home alone.  There was elderly woman who the girls and their dad called “Granny”.  Granny lived nearby in another home with her grandson, Kanta.  Kanta wasn’t very welcoming of the new little girls in the neighborhood.

Satsuki and Mei had the wildest imaginations that were full of surprises.  You’ll enjoy the little adventures they went on.  During one of Mei’s adventures she met her new friend, Totoro.  Totoro was a large cuddly animal, who sort of resembled a big giant monster.

What helps this movie come alive is how you can relate to the real circumstances they deal with.  The fact that their mother is ill and they miss her.  Especially Satsuki, she is the older sister and she has to take care of her little sister most of the time.  Satsuki is only 9, but it seems she has to grow up before her time.  At the same time, even they are going through some things, they still have their imagination to keep them young and this reminds you that they are still very young. 

Imagination played a very big part in this movie.  The girls have their imaginary friend, Totoro, and they catch a ride on a “catbus”.  Imagine waiting at the bus stop and a large cat pulls up with centipede feet and windows on his body so you can see the rows of seats inside.  Wouldn’t that be a wild ride?  Another thing that blows your mind are the trees that grow over night.  The girls planted their acorns in hopes of growing trees.   The next thing you know Totoro comes and makes them grow over night, literally.  You get the feeling that it was just a dream, but then again, you can’t tell.  That’s just another example of the imagination that spreads throughout this movie.  From dust sprites to a catbus, this film will definitely grab your attention because you can’t wait to see what will happen next.

On a scale of 1 to 10, I give “My Neighbor Totoro” an 8.  Please see this movie before it gets lost in the old movies file room.