"My Neighbor Totoro" Talkback (Spoilers)

[Lord Dalek]

Release Date: April 16, 1988 (Japan); May 7, 1993 (US Streamline Dub)
Studio: Toho/Tokuma Shoten/Studio Ghibli/Nibariki
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Starring: Chika Sakamoto, Noriko Hidaka, Shigesato Itoi, Sumi Shimamoto, Hitoshi Takagi (JAPAN); Dakota Fanning, Elle Fanning, Tim Daly, Lea Salonga, Frank Welker (US 2004 Disney Dub)

Plot Summary: Two young girls, Satsuke and her younger sister Mei, move into a house in the country with their father to be closer to their hospitalized mother. Satsuke and Mei discover that the nearby forest is inhabited by magical creatures called Totoros (pronounced toe-toe-ro). They soon befriend these Totoros, and have several magical adventures.

COMMENTS?

LD Talkback #173

One of HM's greatest achievements. If you don't like this movie you have no soul.

[Foggle]

I have no soul tbh.

[Avaitor]

Really? I think this is the one that Miyazaki haters need to see before they make up their mind. It's such a perfect kids flick.

[Foggle]

Really? I think this is the one that Miyazaki haters need to see before they make up their mind. It's such a perfect kids flick.

I found the characters and voice acting to be flat-out grating and annoying and outside of the great animation on a technical level I found nothing of interest in the entire production.

It's worth nothing that I've only seen the sub (we watched it in my Japanese class on a couple off days), so if the dub is less obnoxious, I might watch it again and ending up disliking the film less.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I actually haven't ever seen this one, to be honest. I'm not a Miyazaki hater, though. I do respect the guy and his work. Its just that most of this stuff doesn't really appeal to me. Would you say that this film is still worth checking out, though?

I still plan to give Spirited Away another chance, one of these days,  since my brother convinced me to (he's also going to get me to watch a few Tarantino movies again, for that matter), but I think my main problem with Miyazaki films is the way he writes his characters. I don't know how to describe it, but they feel a bit too impersonal at times, or rather I have a hard time relating to any of them, and I know its a kids film, but I can relate to a character in a good Disney or Pixar film (or Disney and Pixar, for that matter), but I haven't found a Miyazaki film where I really like the characters that much (I don't dislike them, I just can't really get behind them, most of the time), which I think has always kept me from really getting into and appreciating his work. But then again, maybe its not all about the characters with Miyazaki. I'm not really sure, but I'll maybe try this film sometime this summer.

[Avaitor]

I honestly have only seen the Disney dub (although I might have watched the old-school dub as a kid and don't remember; I saw the VHS around a bunch back in the day), so I can't really tell you how it compares to the original Japanese version.

It's decent though, like most Disney Ghibli dubs.

[Foggle]

I actually haven't ever seen this one, to be honest. I'm not a Miyazaki hater, though. I do respect the guy and his work. Its just that most of this stuff doesn't really appeal to me.

I still plan to give Spirited Away another chance, one of these days,  since my brother convinced me to (he's also going to get me to watch a few Tarantino movies again, for that matter), but I think my main problem with Miyazaki films is the way he writes his characters. I don't know how to describe it, but they feel a bit too impersonal at times, or rather I have a hard time relating to any of them, and I know its a kids film, but I can relate to a character in a good Disney or Pixar film (or Disney and Pixar, for that matter), but I haven't found a Miyazaki film where I really like the characters that much (I don't dislike them, I just can't really get behind them, most of the time), which I think has always kept me from really getting into and appreciating his work. But then again, maybe its not all about the characters with Miyazaki. I'm not really sure, but I'll maybe try this film sometime this summer.

Wow, this is exactly how I feel. To a T.

[Avaitor]

I think it's that Miyazaki tries to write strong, embodied young females in all of his movies, which is more strange than anything, since Miyazaki isn't a female, and doesn't seem that strong to begin with. Even Whedon, who I'll admit has some problems with this trope himself, I can understand why he goes back to it multiple times, since he just likes channeling Kitty Pryde in all of his work.

I think that Chihiro and the girls in Totoro are his best protagonists since they aren't meant to be anything more than they are- little girls. These are also what I consider to be his best movies, so that's probably why I think so.