The book itself is a beautifully presented hardback, and scattered throughout are gorgeous illustrations, that I think really add to the overall experience. It also shows us that in times of need, the person who you can turn to is not quite so far away. Totoro takes us into a magical world where he invites the reader to remember what it was like to be a child again with all it's wonder and imagination. I have watched the film version of "My Neighbor Totoro" many times, and it is certainly a firm favourite of mine, although, I must admit, this time the film wins over the book. This is very much a children's story, but I think it is an important one for adults to enjoy, too. I own a Totoro handbag, keyring, pillowcases, socks, pens, an umbrella and even a nightlamp. Well, love may not be a suitable word obsession fits better. The overall message of this flic-actually very much a kid's film-is that the World: be it the Natural World, Academia or Human social World, isn't as scary as kids might think & kids viewing this film will be left feeling it can be fun-"out there".If you are unlucky enough to know me well, you'll be well aware of my love for Totoro. In the end, Totoro gets to be the nominal hero-resolving a family crisis, provoked by the precocious, yet insecure Mei. The kids' involvement with the spirits deepens from there. Far from it Dad aids his kids in dealing with Totoro, by relating old Japanese legends & talking his daughters through a short "Spirit-befriending" ceremony. The animators jump the viewer into the eerie World of the Nature-Spirits, in several easy steps & (interestingly!) Dad is there, to legitimize Mei's "first contact"- with Totoro & his little friends-by not judging, or disparaging #2 Daughter's experience.
That includes the titular Totoro-who patronizes a VERY unique, decidedly other-worldly, transit system-the cat-bus.Yeah, seriously. It bespeaks a misty-eyed society, of indeterminate era (post-WWII? ), where motor-tricycles are used for hauling cargo, personal computers are unknown, even telephones aren't ubiquitous & many folks commute by train & bus. The overall story-arc is kind of mild-yet edgy in places-& as convoluted as any contemporary adult-film. T" & his much smaller fellow spirits, seem to be addicted to acorns & use these to forge a bond with the girls.
Totoro sleeps a lot, plays the ocarina-or some basic woodwind night & occasionally provokes gale-force winds. Turns out, creatures are part of a group-headed by the huge, bear-like Totoro-who live in a nearby, ancient Camphor-Tree. One afternoon-while academician Dad's marking papers, or working home, on his next book-Mei connects with 2 sprightly, big-eared, um, creatures. I'm thinking T.B.-but, as story's told from kids' perspective-viewers never know what's up with that. They seem to have relocated so as to be closer to Mom, who's nearby in hospital. The Kusakabes: elementary-school aged daughter Sasakai, pre-school aged (can't wait to grow up) daughter Mei & university professor (Anthropology?) Dad are moving to an empty cottage in the forested, agricultural hinterland of some city. The story-like all good Sci-Fi & Fantasy-originates & is (somewhat) grounded in reality. It just so happens there's a picture of a furry, not very dangerous-looking ogre-an awful lot like Totoro-in the younger daughter's illustrated story-book. It's a fantasy: 2 kids-the preschooler first, then the elementary-school aged older sister-encounter a "Forest Spirit" in the form of the large, furry, bear-like Totoro. For me, it's one of the best choices of "Japan-imation" films, to serve as a "late-Sunday-evening", feel-good, winding-down the Week movie. I've screened this Anime before-several times-in rental.