Totoro understands magic, not umbrellas.
If you don't like My Neighbor Totoro, you're wrong. As far as movies geared towards children go, this classic brought forth from the mind of the great Hayao Miyazaki by his Studio Ghibli is by far my personal favorite. The story follows two sisters who move to an old house in rural Japan with their father in the 1950s. They soon discover magic all around them in the form of friendly and curious forest spirits. Totoro is one of those films that is close to perfect for its genre. It's absolutely beautiful, well acted, covers the entire spectrum of emotion (from the girls dealing with their mother's terminal illness to midnight flights through the countryside with loveable giants) and has a story that will stick with the viewer for a lifetime.
Unless you are completely lacking a soul (like a third world dictator or the editor of a mildly successful geek pop culture website), you'll find a place in your Mei, Satsuki, the soot sprites and, of course, Totoro. Even if just for an instant, the story inspires you to remember what it felt like to be five years old and unsure of the big world around you. The innocent mannerism and perspective of young Mei transcend cultures and allow each of us to relive the sense of adventure we once had while in our own neighborhoods. This DVD is a must have for any collection. It works for dates, nights in alone, movie night with the friends, movie night with the family – all around, it just works.
Special Features
* Enter the Lands
Enter the Lands is pretty much a well-designed interface for letting the viewer see trailers for other Studio Ghibli movies (sold separately).
* Behind the Studio
Like the other Disney Studio Ghibli DVDs, this is the real meat of the bonus features and they do not disappoint. There are small featurettes about the production ranging from about 3 minutes to over half an hour. These cover everything from the initial concepts for My Neighbor Totoro to the redubbing by American actors. The piece that I found the most intriguing is the scenery and landscapes behind Totoro – the real life places, many found just an hour outside of Tokyo, that inspired the beautiful painted scenery of Totoro. If I ever make it out to Japan, I'll use this special feature as my virtual tour guide (But don't worry, I'll never make it to Japan because that requires money WHATAMIDOINGWITHMYLIFE?!).
* Storyboard Presentation of the Movie
I figured I would give this a quick glance prior to reviewing and found myself completely engulfed in the original storyboards of the film. I could not reach to shut this off; each frame was too captivating. The hand drawn sketches showcasing each shot from the movie were spectacular and really gave me a feel for the thought process and hard work put into the film. Each sketch of the storyboard is an essential blueprint for the feature, showing just enough to lay the groundwork for the final artwork.
Overall
This is one of the handful of films out there that is a “must see”. I rarely tell anyone that they “need” to see a movie and even more rarely do I tell them to go out and buy it. But seriously, buy My Neighbor Totoro on DVD, you won't regret it. Hell, buy a few for your friends and family. I'm going to go watch it again.
ComicsOnline gives My Neighbor Totoro on DVD 5 out of 5 “srsly best movie everrrrrr”s.
Buy My Neighbor Totoro (Two-Disc Special Edition) at Amazon.com now.
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