Meu Amigo Totoro

My favorite Miyazaki's movie is "Princess Mononoke" on a graphical scale. But on a "charming scale", this one is really the best.

Even the Disney movies are not so charming than this movie. Poetic, charming, cute, I can't find the words to describe the good this movie made to me. Miyazaki brings us into the wonderlands of the children, better than "Alice in wonderland" or "Peter pan".

In fact, Miyazaki makes us loving children. In the movie, the children run, shout all time, laugh, cry, and so on. In the real world, I hate this. In normal movies I hate this too. But, here, every actions of the two little girls touch us deep in our heart. We learn to love children's world.

Every one of us will have a smile on this face, from the beginning to the end of this movie.

My favorite scene is the first encounter between Mei and Totoro. It's fun, poetic, and charming. Miyazaki succeeds to make a movie enjoyable for the very little kids (4 y.o.) and for the adult audience. It's very rare to succeed doing that !

Really, a masterpiece !

10/10 !

A phenomenally, enchantingly crafted piece of animation that will restore your faith in just about anything. Take a look at a world through the eyes of two young girls, Satsuki and Mei who are both desperately missing their hospitalised mother and coming to terms with it in their own unique way and, with a bit of help, from some interesting friends they find in their neighbourhood. As honest as the day is long, there's something in here for everyone if you can find a way to open your mind to it.

There is no compulsory villain in this wonderfully animated film, no moral lessons, no standard blue print story, and the characters will definitely not break out in a song. Thank God! It's simply a great film for all ages. Don't mind if the soundtrack isn't dubbed to your native language, my kids (4 and 6 years old) could easily follow the story with just a few helpers. Japanese is a wonderful language. The film has great direction, beautiful backgrounds and a mystical, pleasant aura throughout. There's nothing like this, I promise you. It's idyllic, for the most part, but still with an exciting story that unfolds into something very unexpected.

From the brilliant "Walt Disney of Japan", Hayao Miyazaki, comes a wonderful soothing film that everyone will simply embrace. Featuring stunning animation, endearing personable characters, and a heart-tugging storyline that's simple, enchanting, and even dramatic.

Sometimes you feel like you're not watching an animated children's movie, because the characters (particularly the children) and the storyline seem so realistic. There's no bad guy, no song numbers, and no references to pop-culture. Most cartoons (especially Disney) feature these and it gets old and routine. Here we have a break from all of that and get a real masterpiece.

Miraculously, Totoro doesn't talk, and yet you can still understand what the lovable furry creature is thinking with his endearing actions. And the six-legged CatBus is undeniably one of the most imaginative characters in animation history. And the human characters are also remarkable. Mei and Satsuki act like little girls, not like kids who are smarter than adults (a routine toons today are guilty of).

I loved Totoro when I was a small child and I always will. When I have children of my own someday, I will show them Totoro instead of toy commercials like Dora and Elmo's world.

BOTTOM LINE: A masterpiece... pure and simple.

I'm a big fan of Hayao Miyazaki's work and was rather disappointed that this movie did not have the Japanese language/English subtitles option. But, I've finally seen it and must admit that it is incredibly cute. One does NOT have to be a child to enjoy this movie or any of Miyazaki's movies. The story line was good and and the characters were really touching. The totoros were so adorable that I want a plushie of one. I also loved the artwork. I finally know what some of the scenes are from in the AMVs that I've seen. I would definitely recommend this to families as well as to those who are Miyazaki fans. A definite thumbs up. Though I do wonder where Miyazaki gets some of the ideas for his characters such as that cat bus.