My Neighbor Totoro

If I had a dollar every time I either said 'Awww' or 'Cute' I would be filthy rich by the end of this movie.

Yes, this week I will be reviewing three films from the Steven Spielberg of anime, Hayao Miyazaki, first starting off with My Neighbor Totoro. This is probably the cutest and most wonderful anime I have ever seen. The story follows a family who has just moved into a new house and the two little girls encounter and befriend a group of forest spirits. It's kind of a hard film to explain, in fact a lot of Miyazaki's work is, you really just have to experience it for yourself. And that's the perfect word I would use to describe Miyazaki's work: An experience. You feel everything the characters feel in the movie, and the characters despite being animated feel absolutely real. This is how real little kids act, this is how real kids talk, this is how people react to certain situations both good and bad. I cannot praise the characters enough. Another thing I can praise forevermore is the animation. Sweet Christmas, this film is beautiful. The attention to detail is staggering, the atmosphere is rich, the backgrounds are deep, some of the shots in this movie I want framed on my wall! This is art. Japanese animators are unreal to the extent of making worlds, it is amazing how much depth and beautiful use of color they use to create the surroundings. The story, although very simple has a lot of power, it gives you a sense of wonder and happiness. The music could not be any better, in fact I am going to leave a link to the best song in the movie that really sums up the whole feeling of the movie. And...this film is absurdly cute. I cannot watch this movie and not gush into happy giggling and big smiles, the joy is infectious. Now the cast of this movie, especially the two little girls played by Dakota Fanning and her real sister Elle Fanning playing the two sisters is the heart of the movie, really I don't even think they were acting they were just being themselves and it works so well, it's very real and very natural as to how two sisters act together. The film, what can I say? It is a wonderful, heart warming family film that everybody should watch together. My Neighbor Totoro is truly enchanting, and I hope you find it to be so too.

 Huge Tree In Tsukamori- http://youtu.be/o427T3gNUFA