film: My Neighbor Totoro

This is a very odd children's film, and as I watched it with Destiny I was worried she'd get scared or upset at some of the parts. Totoro roars loudly to communicate, and there's a nonexplicit naked bathing scene, neither of which are encountered in a Disney movie.

It turns out, though, Des loved it, and I did too. Like most anime, there's a different sense of what's expected in a film, what's allowed and what's required. This one offers no explanation for Totoro, no 'backstory' that American films love, and instead focused on the children's fantasy-life. The family is a realistically loving family, unlike American films which require a dysfunctional family that hopefully fixes itself in the end.

My Neighbor Totorois a very visual, cerebral film, yet amazingly accessible for young schoolchildren. Kids are all too often underestimated when creating entertainment, and it's nice to find a film that doesn't second-guess them. This is helped by the fact that the english transation (readily available in video stores) is of unexpectedly high quality.