Yet another Miyazaki champion

Rating: 9/10 (26 December 2017)

The Music Box Theater not too far away from my house was playing this movie as part of a week long celebration of Studio Ghibli. Being the opportunistic animation watcher that I am, I decided to make today a suitable view for this film, which was on my watchlist. So, what be my thoughts?
The animation, as with anything spawned from Studio Ghibli, can only be described with rather bombastically high quality language. While the humans look familiar in style to other Ghibli films (not that it's a fault), Totoro and the other spirits have a design that I really enjoy. It's no wonder that Totoro ended up becoming the Studio Ghibli mascot. The environments are lush, which is a pretty major compliment to pay an animated film from 1988 given how Oliver and Company had really only one OK setting. The story is captivating, although there are some points in the script that I will say weren't done too well in the 2005 dubbing (Mei's cries don't sound like actual 4-year-old cries). The humor, however, blasts full force from both the script and animation, including the infamous Totoro jump scene. I was laughing a lot of the time and a smile remained on my face when the movie ended. As we go for music, it's surprisingly memorable for a movie that isn't a musical; I swear that I could get the main background theme stuck in my head if I watch this one more time. And for characters, I appreciated how Satsuki kept by Mei's side even when their relationship roughened based on their mother, which was a very great message. Most people would probably find Totoro cute (since his merchandise is EVERYWHERE), but I find him more hilarious and fascinating than actually adorable. I don't have much to say for the side characters except that they, like in previous Studio Ghibli movies, succeed in what the script has provided for them.
Like almost every film Studio Ghibli has produced, this is a film that I can recommend to any family, otaku, or just the common audience. Just keep the volume down when you watch it, though; some parts of the film nearly slit my eardrums. Children may find Totoro somewhat scary at times, let alone too loud. Regardless, this is a premier family film, and no family deserves to miss it.