My Pet Monster, MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO.

My Neighbor Totoro (Tonari no Totoro) (1988)
Directed by Miyazaki Hayao

This delightful film was a box office failure; it did not break even for two years, until the release of the King Totoro dolls.  Yet it has become one of the most popular kid's movies of all time, and ranks 250 on IMDB.com's Top 250.  Why did it do so poorly, and why has it endured?

The story is of Satsuki (Dakota Fanning) and Mei (Cheryl Chase), two sisters, 8 and 4, who move to the country with their father, Professor Kusakabe (Tim Daly).  Their mother (Leah Salonga) is in the hospital. 

Their house is older, a little ramshackle, and said by the neighbor boy to be haunted.  Mei and Satsuki (both their names mean ‘May") do see soot gremlins; harmless little black puffballs who scurry from the light.

The adults in their life do not mock or discount their stories; just offer what insight they have and reassure the girls that nothing will harm them.

The house is near a huge sacred camphor tree (a notorious spirit hang out), and Mei sees a strange bunny like creature that can become invisible, if not reliably.  Mei follows it and a slightly larger one to a secret grotto within the roots of the camphor tree.

There she meets a huge fuzzy creature with big claws, but a bigger smile.  She calls it Totoro (the Japanese word for troll is Totoru, so it is probably a mispronunciation on the part of Mei).

Totoro proves himself to be a good neighbor; helping the girls sprout their acorn garden, and watching over them.

There is no conflict in this story; there is no adversarial relationship between the generations, you can't even tell if Dad believes in Totoro or not.  He accepts that real or imagined, he is a part of the girl's life.  The only problems for the girls stem from mother's illness, and it is handled very matter of factly.  The major emotional upset of the movie comes from a telegram for the father to call the hospital, and Mei's reaction to the worry, trying to walk to the hospital, and getting lost.

There are no mean kids, no callous adults, or wicked spirits.

And yet it works.

Part of the problem I have with many children's movies is the pacing is similar to action movies.  Things happen, and they happen quickly, and then something else occurs before the little darlings can get bored, or before they can even process what has gone before.

Not this movie; it takes a leisurely pace.  Having no huge epic quest that must be accomplished, it moves at a child's pace through a child's life.  The parents are not the enemy, or a stumbling block; Totoro is not a substitute for any lack in their existence.

This is delightful.  The fact that Miyazaki is a genius who has perfectly captured the spirit of two healthy little girls only makes it more worthwhile.  A true family classic.

This review, like the movie, gets a lot done with just a little.  It is Lean-N-Mean at 500 words exactly.

Check out my reviews of all things Japanese:

My Neighbor Totoro
Across the Nightingale Floor
Grass For His Pillow
Brilliance of the Moon
Onmyoji II
Onmyoji
The Hidden Fortress
Hellboy: Storm of Swords
Vexille
Sanjuro
The Hidden Blade
Yaji & Kita: Midnight Pilgrims
Princess Mononoke
Spirited Away
Gay Tales of the Samurai
Howl's Moving Castle
Ghost Dog
Memoirs of a Geisha (Book)
Memoirs of Geisha (Movie)
The Last Samurai
The Sword that Cut the Burning Grass
Taboo
Forbidden Colors