![]() My Neighbor Totoro is always there for you when ya need it. And yeah, it can’t be overlooked how the lush hand-drawn animation adds a certain tenderness to the whole thing, that makes watching the movie feel like coming home. There’s no villain, there’s no great adventure, there’s not even really any explicit conflict – just two kids in a world that won’t be able to keep them safe forever. The story is so simple: Two young sisters move with with their father into an old house in rural Japan, and promptly start palling around with the lovable local forest spirits while waiting for their ailing mother to be released from the hospital. The Amblin fare speaks to certain generations of Americans, especially on an experiential level (if you have any memories of riding a bike around suburbia, it’s hard not to be a sucker for that stuff), but Miyazaki’s serene masterpiece nails the infinite possibility of growing up, the sense of wonder, and the life-or-death urgency that comes along with it. My Neighbor Totoro is the truest film ever made about childhood, it bridges the gap between what it felt like to be a kid, and what it is like to be a kid. When my sister asked what her 3-year-old daughter’s first movie should be, I reflexively went with this one – later, when I saw photos of the little girl sitting in front of the screen (a stuffed Totoro clutched in her little arms), it all clicked into place. My Neighbor Totoro isn’t the best of the Studio Ghibli films (that would have to be The Wind Rises), but recent experiences have made me realize why it deserves its reputation as the most important. Well, people are super wrong (as they usually are). It’s like the anime equivalent of Sleeping Beauty, in that it’s an “old-fashioned” entertainment that people assume it’s easier to revere than it is to enjoy. One of the most popular and beloved animated movies ever made (especially in Japan, where its characters are as ubiquitously ingrained in the culture as Mickey Mouse or – shudder – the Frozen princesses are here), the 1988 classic cemented Hayao Miyazaki as the Walt Disney of the Eastern world and paved the way for a generation of iconic entertainment. “Do you like spirits Mommy? Even fuzzy ones?”ĭavid Ehrlich: My Neighbor Totoro is an easy film to take for granted. Each section begins with a quote from the film. It is also available online for free through many websites that all seem very sketchy. Film critic David Ehrlich from IndieWire is our guest, and he chose My Neighbor Totoro, currently available at video stores. With Jeff Bayer’s Remedial Film School a notable film critic or personality will assign me (and you) one film per month. I am a film critic, but almost all of the movies I watch are new releases. This month’s Remedial Film School with guest critic David Ehrlich.
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