The age of innocence

Rating: 6/10 (25 November 2019)

"Tonari no Totoro" or "My Neighbor Totoro" is a Japanese animated movie from 1988, so this one is already over 30 years old and it was written and directed by the legendary Hayao Miyazaki for Studio Ghibli and the fact that it is one of his most known works, given his tremendous body of work, shows you how well-received it is to this day. So does the fact that this is in the imdb top250, actually top150 even, as at this point it is at 133. I can't really say anything about the voice actors and actresses here. Probably only Japanese can if at all. However, I watched the German dub anyway and I thought it was good. Just heard a really brief moment of the Japanese original because I was a little late and rewatched the first 5 minutes at home and I thought the dad's voice sounded a bit older than he was in the movie. But maybe that is just me. At 85 minutes approximately (including credits already), this was not a long film by any means, but that is perfectly fine because honestly, while I totally think that grown-ups should see this film and enjoy it as much as I did, this is still one of the Studio Ghibli movies that felt more for children, even very young children, than most other works from the production company. And going over 100 minutes really could have hurt the kids' attention span, actually 85 seemed too much already for the ones I watched it with. So fittingly, there were several really young people in the audience during my screening. Glad I got to see this on the big screen now and it was actually the very first time ever I watched it. Also comedy-wise, it is all so harmless and innocent in here really and it fits nicely that there are two girls at the center of the story here, one young and the other very young. So they are the human protagonists. Then there are also of course the fantastic (in the sense of fantasy) protagonists. Early on we have a bit of an introduction to the house and scenery that does not feature the title character yet, but instead shows us tiny little cute black round creatures. Also ghosts or spirits, but definitely not in a malicious way. One character described them as something along the lines of creatures where as long as you smile at them, there is nothing to worry about. But i am sure that even if you don't, there isn't. Just smile more :)
Now then there is of course Totoro, who has a really deep voice when we hear him on one or two occasions. Actually there are like three Totoros you could even say, the big one at the center who is apparently Ghibli's equivalent to the Lorax as we find out he is the protector of the forest, but also the two smaller ones (the smallest one being white, but no explanation why), who are seen first by the very young character and they lead her (not entirely intentional) to the big one. But it is alright. They make friends quickly. When she followed them down there, it almost felt like Alice following the white rabbit. The sleeping moment fits as well. This was by the way also one reference that showed me how harmonic everything in this world is. When the tiny girl mentions how she met Totoro, neither her sister nor her father say something like "oh don't be stupid it was just a dream and you dreamt of him because you saw him in the book earlier that day" No, they completely believe her and also do not just act this way. The other girl says or writes in her diary or so that she really wants to meet Totoro too and soon it happens. By the way, you can see Totoro here on the imdb photo on the right obviously. He looks like an XXL version of a mix between cat, owl and mouse somehow. Very interesting creation. Anyway, back to what I said before, namely the scene in the rain. That was a really funny scene, actually the one when the older girls run into Totoro for the very first time. And how she really tries so hard to not look at him, although she is genuinely curious, definitely also a bit anxious, is hilariously awkward to watch. Also what follows with the umbrella and the huge amount of rain pouring down after Totoro stomps on the ground. Maybe the best scene of the movie. But there are others, also smaller less significant scenes. I think Studio Ghibli always manages so well to show authentic kids behavior. Disney does not always manage this well. Let me mention just two examples. The first moment would be right at the very start when we have the kids in the car and they mistake a mailman for a police officer and they hide although they obviously have done nothing wrong, but it is what kids do because police officers have the power to punish people. And then seeing it is a mailman, they wave at him and he waves back. very sweet beginning. The second scene would be the one when we have the small girl play outside the house and she says it is already lunch time or so and then the father says it is still pretty early for that and then there is a moment of silence and briefly the girl just shows up at the table where the father is working and brings him some flowers she collected. This felt so real. It's just very difficult to describe why. You have to watch it.
For drama purposes, but nothing too serious, there is the sick mother. We don't find out what she has exactly., but she needs to stay at the hospital for a long time apparently and when she has a cold near the end, the girls are worried she might be dying. Also kids' fantasy and exaggeration, this time in a bad way. The small girl runs to the hospital then and goes missing (honestly she was such a whirlwind that I wondered why it took so long till they lost track of her) and there is another dramatic moment when they find a small sandal in the water indicating maybe she could have drowned, but of course she hasn't and she is fine and is found again and in the end the two girls take a look at their parents inside the hospital and they see everything is alright. They got there by the way with the help of their new friend Totoro actually or I should say thanks to this cat bus (you know what I mean when you see it) and it was really hilarious when we heard "Next Stop: Little Sister" and also afterwards "Next Stop: Hospital". Even if the cat bus looked so weird that it also could have been an antagonist if they had wanted it like that. Then again, the tiny girl also has a moment here and there when she looks slightly evil, even if this is not meant to be. Or when the three are having a bath together and the dad starts laughing to basically laugh the scare away, he felt so evil to me. Haha maybe just my perception. More cute kids moments and references by the way include the younger girl and how she keeps saying she is not scared and tries to act all grown-up at times, but sleeping and cuddling with her mother is a completely different story. Of course they clearly miss her. Okay I think this would be all then. Overall definitely an enjoyable watch. Visual side is as convincing as always for Studio Ghibli, nothing to criticize here. Soundtrack did not blow me away this time really, but it is still fine. I don't think this is my favorite Ghibli/Miyazaki work, but this is just because some of the other stuff they/he made is so amazing and definitely not because this one here is bad or anything. It's a good film. No hesitation for me in giving it a thumbs-up and positive recommendation. Go see it if you haven't already unless you hate anime. Still if you do, then this could be a film that breaks the spell for you to open up.