A portrait of magic in childhood

Rating: 8/10 (22 February 2011)

Another beauty from Ghibli Studios and Hayao Miyazaki.
My neighbor Totoro tells the story of two young children -Satsuki and Mei- who move to the countryside with their father to a new house to prepare the arrival of their mother from hospital.
The script is simpler than Miyazaki's other movies, but it is tremendously enjoyable and captivating despite its flaws. In fact, this is, perhaps, Miyazaki's sweetest movie ever, as it is captures the essence of being a child, with the innocence, naughtiness and magic that surround it. We see the simple things that make children happy: playing with little things, imagining things, the thrill of moving to a new place and making new friends, siblings' relationships of dependence, love and hatred, and the magic that innocence can create. Anybody can remember special moments of his/her childhood when watching this movie.
Much of the appeal of the film are the characters of the two little girls and their neighbor old "grandma nanny" to whom the viewer feels immediately drawn, but also to the quirky plush-ish characters of Totoro and friends. The dubbing of the actors in the Japanese version is excellent and really honors the characters and makes them even more adorable.
Not less important in the movie, is the fantastic drawing of the Japanese scenery, so beautiful and emotionally connected to the story. The landscape, and Nature, play an important part in the movie, and, as in other Miyaki's films, the themes of the magic in Nature and the power of being in harmony with the environment are also explored here.
A delightful movie for children and animation lovers in general.