My Neighbour Totoro (1988)

My Neighbour Totoro follows the story of two young sisters who along with their father have just moved to a new home in the countryside where they are closer to their mother who happens to be hospitalized. One day, the youngest sister, Mei, starts discovering spiritual creatures wandering around their garden who unintentionally lead her to a furry white giant by the name of Totoro.

What may put some viewers off with My Neighbour Totoro is that there is almost no plot whatsoever. There’s no antagonist, no obstacles to overcome, not even an actual goal! The closest we are ever going to get to an actual story in this film is probably near the end. But what lets this movie get away with an extremely shallow plot, is the two main characters themselves. The whole Idea of this movie is to do with their imaginations as well as their adventures with Totoro. These two aspects alone make this film an easy recommendation for younger audiences below the age of 10. The film respects their intelligence and doesn’t dumb anything down to the lowest denominator. Older audiences might even get some enjoyment out of this! The reason why I say this is because whenever Totoro isn’t around and the girls are off exploring or discovering new places, it will bring them back to an easier time of their youth. Everything that happens in this film is from the point of view from these two characters and it really shows. First of all, we don’t exactly know what is up with the girls’ mother until the end. We never knew whether she had a disease, infection or anything for that matter! Secondly, since they are children, they don’t exactly think much about the people around them and even though it does lead to many one-dimensional characters, it can get away with that aspect because this is how these two girls see these people!

My Neighbour Totoro is the definitive representation of an excellent children’s film! This is a film that not only makes you feel like a child again but also teaches many life lessons. It teaches you to enjoy life while you’re still young while at the same time giving you the opportunity to let out your inner child. I couldn’t recommend this film enough!