My Neighbor Totoro [DVD]

Absolutely loved this film! Super charming and a great watch as I was eating dinner :))Story isn't super sophisticated or anything, but it really does encapsulate child-like wonder.

We watched this as a family for movie night, and it was a beautiful experience. The movie is age-appropriate, heartwarming, and truly tugs at your emotions. My 7-year-old daughter was completely immersed — she ended up sobbing and deeply worried about the sick mother, which shows just how touching and relatable the story is.The whimsical elements with Totoro balanced out the heavier themes, making it a magical yet meaningful film for all ages. Highly recommend for families who enjoy heartfelt stories.

The film is simply great. The 'behind the scenes' special features in this edition were really great to watch. Since the film came out back in the 1980's, it is really nice to get a fresh perspective from the creator and his team.It is a simple, innocent story of a family during (allegedly) the 1950's in Japan. Mom is sick, and in essentially a quarantine/isolated hospital unit.Her husband and two daughters move out to the country to live near her while she recovers. The father is a professor at the local University, and very preoccupied with his studies and, quite obviously, his ill wife.The film is a fantastic story of the sisters discovery of their neighbor 'Totoro', a big furry awesome character that lives 'next door'.They have some great moments and some tremendous adventures. The true story is really about the daughters dealing with the uncertainty of their mothers condition, moving to a new town and dealing with a new school all the while discovering new friendships and dealing with hardship simultaneously. It does a great job of showing just how creative kids are, and also makes you think twice about your own inability to believe in the fantastic as an adult. It perfectly captures the transitional period between being an innocent child and the wonderful discovery of a world that is much more than you ever imagined.The english Voice Overs by the Fanning sisters is superb. The rest of the english cast does a bang-up job as well. Some of the very non-western ideas sound a bit funny coming out of two kids speaking english, but it's not a distraction. It's great front to back, and the extra features were a treat to watch. I'm a fan of Hayao Miyazaki without question, but even a casual viewer will love this film. Do the kids a favor and pick this up. Do yourself a favor and watch it after the kids go to bed and be transported back in time to when you were in that same impressionable time.Now, while the box may LOOK like a Blu-ray movie, it is not. I take issue with folks dressing up "special edition" boxes to look like the familiar Blu-ray boxes. This has no bearing on the film, but the packaging sure looks like it is trying to pass itself off as a Blu-ray.

It never fails to make me tear up. Such a wholesome and beautiful movie that everyone should see at least once in their life.

Such a great movie. I love anything studio Ghibli though :)

BOTTOM LINE: One of the all-time greatest family films ever made. Period. Its easy-going storytelling is so engrossing and captivating that you're left wanting it to go on much longer than it does. Wonderful entertainment for anyone & everyone. A crown jewel for animation fans. Better than ever here in hi-def. Don't wait. Buy yourself a copy today. MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO is pure motion picture magic.THE STORY: In the 1950's, a young husband and his two precocious daughters are relocating to a quiet rural community to get away from the hustle & bustle of big city life. They're still close enough for Dad to commute to his teaching job at a local university, and for the girls to be close to their mother (who's slowly recovering from tuberculosis at a nearby hospital). The wide open countryside is filled all kinds of amazing discoveries for the two city girls: there's a big house that will need lots of TLC to be turned from a house into a home, a new school & new friends to meet. But most amazingly of all... finding that the nearby woods is inhabited by a magical forest spirit, a huge, fuzzy, lovable creature named Totoro.THOUGHTS: MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO is one of those films that doesn't really have a particular plot that's simple or easy to describe. Like so much of the best things in life this film isn't a destination, it's a journey. It's not about what happens so much as how it happens. I first rented this years ago at a video store, not knowing anything about the film. It was my first Miyazaki film, but not my first anime' - so I had some preconceived notions of what to expect. I couldn't have been more wrong, or more delighted. I was spellbound watching the story unfold, enchanted by the incredibly detailed designs of the backgrounds, the absolutely beautiful scenery. It was so richly detailed that it was hard to believe it was hand drawn animation. And the various human characters were so warm and real that I felt like I was watching people I'd known while growing up. The slow-paced nature of TOTORO may be a drag to some, but I think it's one of this film's greatest strengths. It defies traditional anime' expectations in the absolute best possible way. What a wonderful change from the frenzied style of AKIRA, ROBOTECH, and other such action-filled product. They're fine, but TOTORO, in its charming, disarming, summer lazyday way is equally impressive. Young or old, any viewer with a connection to his or her inner child should be totally enthralled watching this wonderful tale unfold. It's definitely my favorite Miyazaki film, my favorite anime' by far, and one of my very favorite animated films of all time, ever. It's right up there the beloved Golden Age classics from Disney or the modern greats from Pixar, and Warner's IRON GIANT.THE BLU-RAY: Disney's hi-def release of MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO, as with their other Miyazaki/Studio Ghibli product, is a strong one. As clean & crisp as you're likely to get for this film. Detail is impressive and the muted color scheme is well-represented. No artifacting, pixelation, edge enhancement or crush (video noise) that I could detect. Soundmix was even and solid. The dubbing job is top notch as well. Bonus features are well-produced and cover much of the world of Hayao Miyazaki & Studio Ghibli; detailing his life, the history of the studio and the particulars behind the creation of this film. Good stuff. If you have this on DVD it's a marginal recommend for double-dipping. If you don't then by all means buy this Blu-ray/DVD combo - and give the DVD to a friend that doesn't yet have a Blu-ray player.

Got this for my kids, and they instantly fell in love with this anime.

Absolutely wonderful! Family favorite of all time!