In addition to being one of the earliest films from Studio Ghibli, it is also one of the most iconic and well known. Totoro himself ended up being the image for representing the film studio. Many people have fallen in love with this film. And it’s easy to see why. With great music, charming characters, and great animation, this is a treat. A film that is fun, if not exactly the most engaging, to check out on a lazy day.

A father moves to the countryside and brings his two young girls with him, Satsuki & Mei, ten and four years old respectively. This is to be closer to the hospital where their mom is at, but the two daughters seem to fit in and get to know the people. Including the forest spirits of the area, which includes Totoro. And…that’s really it. This is one of those films that doesn’t have anything driving the plot forward. It’s sort of similar to films like “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”, where you are just supposed to follow the characters as they live their lives. And to this movie’s credit, the characters are charming and very like-able. While also remaining realistic and relatable.

One thing I’ve noticed is that multiple Studio Ghibli films will have supernatural elements and characters and/or creatures. And the response to them within their world is just for everyone else to go on as usual. They acknowledge their existence, and will ask questions every once in a while. But they aren’t left in awe or fear of them. They just treat them as part of their normal life. The same is kind of applicable to this movie. While the adults can’t see the spirits like Totoro, they don’t disbelieve the children when they talk about meeting them. One of the characters – and elderly woman – talks about how she could see such creatures when she was their age. It can be a little weird at first if you haven’t seen multiple films from this studio. But it does make more room for us to focus on the characters and their journey. That is, if the characters have one. Yet I don’t really think this film has one.

The problem with films like this is they run the risk of feeling like they don’t have anything to tell. In the last 20 minutes of this film, they throw in some tension when apparently their mom gets sick and can’t visit them this weekend. This causes Satsuki to yell at Mei for acting like a baby, which gets her to run off and go missing. Not surprised something like this in here, but it does feel a bit forced. It ends up getting resolved and they secretly visit their mom at the hospital. They head back home and the movie just ends. Yea, the movie technically isn’t even 90 minutes long. And it feels like a short movie. But maybe this could be on purpose.

I think the movie is trying to say something about adulthood. Adults in this movie don’t doubt the existence of spirits, but they can no longer see them. There is a line of dialogue of how the father mentions how Satsuki feels like she has to act more grown up since their mom is in the hospital. By the way, they never do mention what illness the mom has. Maybe Cancer or some sort of auto-immune disease? Anyway, even though that’s mentioned, Satsuki doesn’t particularly act like a grown up. She runs and plays around with her little sister as expected. But I think the movie is trying to let us know it’s all right to indulge in some fun and have a little bit of wonder. If that is what’s going on, then I do think that adds a little bit to the movie. Not a whole lot, but still. Regardless, this is still an enjoyable movie to watch. Even though a smiling Totoro is unintentionally horrifying to me. But I feel like I’m in the minority. I’ll still side with everyone else in saying you should check this out.