miyazaki’s My Neighbor Totoro

for some reason, i have been feeling sluggish lately. i had this sudden feeling that maintaining this blog is more trouble than it's worth — that's the sloth in me surfacing once again. still, rather than let this whole thing go to waste, i'm delving back in my past files to post something here — just to see some progress…

The other day, while I was rearranging my CDs, I stumbled across an old anime favorite (Hayao Miyazaki’s My Neighbor Totoro) that got mixed up in the pile by mistake. Without further ado, I popped it in my player

As the familiar strains of the upbeat opening song wafted into my tiny living room, I was once again reminded why I (and thousands of other viewers) like his films so much. suitable even to young children, although it does deal with the threat of loss and pain as only a child can sense it. The film teems with childlike wonder, discovery and ready acceptance of extraordinary incidents. Basically, it’s one anime title that I’d be pleased to recommend to anyone regardless of his/her age.

Among Miyazaki’s animated films, I’ve always found My Neighbor Totoro (Tonari no Totoro; 1988) the easiest to relate to because, notwithstanding the supernatural element of old forest spirits, the story is essentially grounded in reality (with subtle autobiographical brush strokes) and takes place in a sleepy rural setting.

The movie has no overt violent scenes, which should make this animated feature fairly suitable even to young children, although it does deal with the threat of loss and pain as only a child can sense it. The film teems with childlike wonder, discovery and ready acceptance of extraordinary incidents. Basically, it’s one anime title that I’d be pleased to recommend to anyone regardless of his/her age.

The animation, as expected for a Studio Ghibli (founded by H.M.) offering, is top-notch, and the characters are well delineated. The story focuses on two young girls who, along with their father (a college professor), move into an old country house — a quaint, rustic structure complete with cobwebs, rotting posts and rattling windows — in order to be near the hospital where their mother is being treated. In one of her rambles, 4-year-old Mei (and later, along with the her older sister Satsuki) stumbles into the slumbering guardian spirit of the forest — a huge, cuddly, bear-like creature called Totoro, who’s apparently only visible to young children…

Without giving away the rest of the story (I really don’t want to spoil the experience for those who still haven’t seen it), there are several items in this film that should be fairly obvious to a Miyazaki enthusiast. The main protagonist is a young girl (or in the case, girls) who’s learning to grapple with the complexities of life (a recurring theme in many Studio Ghibli films such as Spirited Away, Kiki’s Delivery Service, Laputa Castle, Porco Rossi, etc.). There’s also an endearingly clumsy young boy, Kanta, who shows an abiding interest in planes/aviation (Kiki’s Delivery Service, Laputa Castle), a trait that Miyazaki shared as a child. This movie likewise highlights, in unobtrusive but touching instances, the way the Japanese show respect for their old and the ‘natural’ spirits around them.

I don’t know how much of what is shown in My Neighbor Totoro actually reflects Miyazaki’s childhood, but I’ve read somewhere that he was quite close to his grandmother and that his mother had also suffered from a serious ailment (TB) which required a lengthy hospital treatment. He’s known to care deeply for his female relations and I think it shows in the way he presents his female characters, even those who are initially perceived as the villainess of the piece.