A thing of beauty

Rating: 8/10 (5 June 2012)

This is definitely one of those astonishingly high-spirited movies that you can simply sit back and enjoy, mainly due to the heart-warming tale and beautiful animations. Hayao Miyazaki did an amazing job, delivering one of the prettiest pictures that any kid or grown-up can love right from the start. One might even say that it is better than classic Disney pictures.
It doesn't provide a strong and elaborate storyline, like Princess Mononoke or Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, and doesn't imply any moral guidance or specific messages. And that's a very good sign, noting that the movie is supposed to bring out all the positive emotions in the viewer through its magical aura and all those enormously joyful characters and creatures appearing on-screen.
Looking at the two young girls, Mei and Satsuki, jumping freely and laughing about no particular things made me want to be a child again. Miyazaki is able to move our minds and make us see that childhood is the most fantastic time of our lives, and being able to use the full potential of one's imagination should be glorified.
Even though it has an element of sadness, with the girls' mom staying in the hospital, it is so neatly placed in the storyline that it doesn't spoil the tremendous fun of watching My Neighbor Totoro.
It's simply an idyllic tale, accompanied by a taste of magic and fantasy. Tell me, who won't be able to adore those fluffy Totoros and their marvelous abilities? Every time they appeared I wanted them to stay a little longer and mesmerize me with their sparkling glow of glee.
The English dubbing is very decent, the voices were chosen appropriately so that they would seem like they were taken straight out of the Japanese version.
All in all, I must say that My Neighbor Totoro really tickled my dreams of being a child all over again with its hypnotizing beauty. It was able to show me yet again that the fantastic world of Japanese anime genre has so many wonderful pictures to offer. And if you really want to start your adventure with Miyazaki, I bet that watching this picture will be the best possible way to do so.