"My Neighbor Totoro" is a Japanese animated film that is great for young children do to it's enchanting characters and positive story plot. "My Neighbor Totoro" tells a story
of two young sisters that move into a new home with their father who
takes on the role of a single parent do to the absence of their hospital
ridden mother. In the midst of the sisters being curious and
adventurous at their new home they discover a friendly monster named
Totoro and find comfort in his presence.
The movie starts off with the arrival of the family to their new home in a Japanese oriented setting. At first the house seems mysterious and even a bit creepy because of little black dust bunnys that occupy the old house. The two sisters soon find out that the dust bunnys called "sprites" are harmless and the movies positive vibe is quickly restored. Among the sprites they find a the mythical creature Totoro. He is a big fluffy creature who resembles a bear and a bunny. Totoro takes the sisters on adventures and helps keep their spirits up. At one point in the movie the two girls were waiting at bus stop for their dad to return from work in the rain. While waiting for him, Totoro shows up with a small leaf to cover his big body from the rain, this instantly brings a lighter and humorous vibe to the girls gloom situation. Totoro also helps in the crisis part of the movie when the younger sister runs away after finding out that their mother had fallen ill again by helping the older sister find her.
The background and setting of the movie has a very unique and artistic look, much different from American animation. The background is much more realistic than the actual characters though, it took a while for my eyes to get adjusted to contrast of the characters and the detailed setting.
