Starring: Dakota Fanning, Elle Fanning, Tim Daly
With his wife (Lea Salonga) in hospital from a long-term
illness, Professor Kusakabe (Daly) moves with his daughters Satsuki (D.
Fanning) and Mei (E. Fanning) out to the country nearer to the hospital. One
day, whilst out playing, Mei discovers a hidden part of the woodlands where
she, and later Satsuki, befriend a big gregarious beast known as Totoro (Frank
Welker) and the other strange creatures of the woods.
In the acclaimed career of anime director Hayao Miyazaki,
and his studio, Studio Ghibli, it’s hard to pick a masterpiece but My Neighbour
Totoro is often featured on the top of the pile alongside the likes of Princess
Mononoke (1997) and Spirited Away (2001). What makes Miyazaki stand out is the
very strong sense of sentiment and emotional importance in his films and, for
all its fantastic elements (and there are more than a few), My Neighbour Totoro
may be Miyazaki’s most personal work. Miyazaki, much like the two lead girls,
did have a mother who was sickly and this did necessitate a move to Japan’s
more rural countryside, perhaps sparking the distinctive wildlife and lush
surroundings that have been such strong trademarks in his work. My Neighbour
Totoro takes a rather leisurely stance as far as plot’s concerned. The biggest
dramatic moments are towards the film’s conclusion and the film is mostly an
episodic tale with two young sisters capering around and the original creatures
they encounter such as the owl/bear-like Totoro (whose designs, much like those
of one of the girls, Mei, seem to harken back to Miyazaki’s work in Isao
Takahata’s Panda! Go, Panda! (1971)) and Catbus (part-cat, part-bus). With
sisters Dakota and Elle Fanning playing the leads in this version, a Hollywood-ised
phoniness is averted with strong, emotive and realistic performances Whimsical
and wonderful with a bouncing Joe Hisaishi score, My Neighbour Totoro is a beautiful
treat for kids and parents alike.
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