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While mom's still in hospital for a lengthy stay, Satsuki and little
Mei have moved to the country with their dad, and they're quick to soak up
the magic of the place, at first virtually, later also literally - when
Satsuki's in school and dad's too busy working, Mei examines the
surroundings and has an encounter with a semi-transparent being - and
following it, she falls down a hole at the foot of the big tree that
pretty much lords over the neighbourhood and has an encounter with a big
furry being she's sure is the benign troll Totoro from one of her picture
books. She falls asleep on the belly of the creature, but when dad and
Satsuki find her sleeping at a clearing, Totoro is gone and the hole Mei
fell through is nowhere to be found. A few days later, the girls await
their dad at the bus station, bringing him an umbrella as it has started
to rain - and they suddenly meet Totoro again, waiting for a different bus
... which turns out to be a ten-legged cat. The girls hand him dad's
umbrella because he doesn't have one of his own, and he thanks them by
giving them seeds they plant the next day and that grows into a giant tree
at night, from which Totoro takes them onto a flight through the
neighbourhood. The next day though, the tree is gone, which doesn't mean
the girls stop believing. Again, a few days later, Satsuki and Mei have
a row, and Mei runs away to God knows where, and all the neighbours help
Satsuki looking for her - but it's Totoro, who calls the Cat Bus, who
really saves the day ... An early movie to come out of now
legendary Studio Ghibli, this is still sweeter than most of the
studio's later output and tries harder to remain family friendly
throughout, but it already has most of the studio's trademarks in place,
like the utter belief in magic, only a passing interest in the laws of
nature, its attention to detail, its dream logic and surreal elements,
allusions to Alice
in Wonderland (especially the Cat Bus looks very much like the
Cheshire Cat), and the sheer ability to keep a childlike sense of wonder
throughout, mirrored both in story and imagery. And the outcome is nothing
short of a beautiful and unusual film for the whole family that on one
hand doesn't talk down to kids but takes them seriously, on the other
really manages to suck grown-ups into its world as well.
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