Fascinating ...

Rating: 10/10 (6 June 2018)

Tonari no Totoro is an animated film which tells the story of Satsuki, Mei and their father Tatsuo who just moved into a new place, a little house in the Japanese countryside, so that the girls are closer to their mother's hospital. The little house is surrounded by fields and forest. In the nearest forest, Mei and Satsuki are going to create strong ties with the forest spirits called Totoro. The forest spirit is really powerful in the way that, in a certain angle, he can represent the hope of the two young girls toward their mother's health and the wish that it gets better. What is interesting in this movie, is that it is different from the classic outline when the lead character has to fight/ win over an enemy which is another character. There is no enemy in this story, the main problem that hooks viewers is the disease. In this way Tonari no Totoro is different from most of animated movies putting forward the enemy and his/her fall as a goal. Moreover, the magical atmosphere of the movie, halfway between the real and the imaginary, plunges the viewers in a particular mood and way of thinking and incents them to feel more concerned about the problem while still not being too worried. Indeed, the movie is far from being a tragedy and the magical atmosphere debunks the stress of the disease in a way. From its deep content to the way it is structure, Tonari no Totoro is a really beautiful movie that I would definitely recommend watching!