Untapped Imagination

Rating: 7/10 (18 February 2015)

I think everyone can enjoy a good family film every once in awhile, especially when it's directed by the genius Hayao Miyazaki. He always finds the right mix of fantastical imagination with real heartwarming material. While I think My Neighbor Totoro is a good film, it's nowhere near his best. It explores the relationship between big and little sister, but also people dealing with a difficult situation in life. And sometimes that's when your imagination is at it's highest.
It starts off pretty slow, and we don't actually get to see Totoro for about 20 minutes, but when we do the film takes a big jump in quality. A child's imagination is something that is only understood if you have had the same imagination at some point in your life. I remember the days of pretending I had other friends and creatures who would join me on my own adventures. So I can definitely relate to Mei and Satsuki. I think a better film for this would probably be Spirited Away, but it's nonetheless an enjoyable ride. The last 15 minutes or so are really touching. I loved all of the family moments, including their forest family.
So Miyazaki has another heartwarming animated feature to his repertoire, but it falls short of the greatness of Spirited Away or even Howl's Moving Castle.
+Touching
+Imaginative
+Totoro is so welcoming
-Slow start
-Could have been even more fantastical
7.0/10