Beautiful, That's all there is to it

Rating: 8/10 (9 September 2010)

Satsuke (Dakota Fanning) and her little sister Mei (Elle Fanning) are moving into a new house with their father, so that they can live closer to their mother, who is in the hospital. Mei soon discovers that creatures called Totoros are living in the nearby forest, and Mei and her sister become friends with the Totoros.
The family's struggles in My Neighbor Totoro were extremely realistic, and even though for the most part it was not a very serious film, I think the problems that the family faces could really appeal to more than just children. The English voices for this film I thought were very good, but I definitely prefer it to be in Japanese, so if you are faced with that choice, I would suggest Japanese with English subtitles. Now, Spirited Away is the only other Miyazaki film I have ever seen, so My Neighbor Totoro was not quite as good as Spirited Away, but by all means still a great film. The story, like Spirited Away, was very creative, and I am quickly becoming a huge fan of the Japanese animation master, Hayao Miyazaki.
I was surprised to find that there was no villain in the story. Unlike Spirited Away where the hero of our story is against certain characters in the film, My Neighbor Totoro is basically just about the life of the children, and often has things about both the parents in the movie. The animation was beautiful. It was absolutely stunning. Which is one of my favorite things about Miyazaki's films, or at least the ones I have seen. The animation is so incredible, even if someone was to not like the story, I don't see how anyone could complain about the visuals.
Overall, Hayao Miyazaki yet again shows us a wonderful world of imagination, and storytelling, in his film My Neighbor Totoro. While it has its flaws, it is still worthy of multiple viewings.