looks great, but...

Rating: 7/10 (11 January 2000)

in the end i was disappointed. too much focus on satsuke and mei running around the countryside and not enough focus on the relationship between totoro and the girls.
but visually, my neighbour totoro is stunning. the style of the characters is pure miyazaki and it was nice to look at.
but the story lacked any sort of real cohesiveness. this movie could have been made just as easily without totoro, with a focus on the effect the mother's extended illness has on her two children.
on the other hand, this would have been a much better movie if the focus was on the girl's adventures with totoro and his friends inside the giant camphor tree and around the countryside.
worth a look either way.