Very Non-Disney. Maybe that's why it's just so very good

Rating: Null/10 (13 May 1999)

Two things always come into my mind when I think of this movie. One is the pacing. And one is the clouds.
Let's talk about the clouds first. They're really amazing. Whenever I look outside and see those same big, puffy, sunny-day clouds, I always tell my kids, "Those are Totorro Clouds." This is of course just one example of the amazing drawing and animation in this movie. Beautiful interior shots with amazing detail. Great drawings of people, although I'll never understand why anime always includes the huge round eyes and the cavernous mouths. There's the one scene where the tree grows all the way up to the sky. All hand drawn, it compares favorably to the best computer-assisted animation by Disney, Dreamworks, or the rest. It's just simply beautiful.
Now on to pacing. The thing that really amazes me about this movie (and the thing that makes it superior to the other movies by this director) is that it is such a small, simple little story. Two young girls, ages about 4 and 7 I'm guessing, go out to the country with their father to be near their seriously ill, convalescing mother. Because of their stress, it seems, they meet some comforting mythological creatures who give them a ride around and then take them back home. That's about it.
There are long, drawn-out scenes in the kitchen and in the family bath that you'd never catch in a Disney film. The most beautiful scene of all is that of the two girls waiting at the bus stop for their father to come home from work. They must wait on screen for at least a few minutes. It's astonishingly shocking and effective in its lack of activity. American filmmakers, who are always claiming that their animation is not just meant for children, still feel the need to pack every second of their movies with nonstop noise and action. Totorro, on the other hand, has the pacing you'd hope for if you moved out to the country. It's a simple, melancholy little film that just strikes me as so damn true to life.
I've got plenty of younger friends who are totally into the more hardcore anime, like Akira and Ghost in the Shell. I always tell them to watch this movie. Now they're all fans as well.