My Neighbor Totoro is the greatest Children's Movie Ever.

Totoro by Flying-Fox

Says a guy who still thinks he is a kid.  

My Neighbor Totoro is an animated feature by Hayao Miyazaki. It’s a cute little story of two sisters, Satsuki and Mei, who befriend a Totoro, a nature spirit, and the adventures they have. There are a lot of great children’s movies out there but I’m claiming Totoro is better than all of them (yes, even Monsters, Inc and The Dark Crystal).

The characters are visually striking. Not the humans, they look like people. But the chibi (small) and chu (medium) totoros are adorable. And the Catbus (which looks exactly like what is sounds like) is whimsical and charming and stands on its on. But the giant Totoro blows them all away. Not only did it officially become the mascot and logo for Studio Ghibli but it charmed Pixar enough to give it a cameo in Toy Story 3.

The girls are perfect characterizations of children. Which is hard for grown ups to write. Becoming jaded adults washes out the magic and wonder that children see in this world, and that just doesn’t switch off because you need to write a children’s film. Yet Miyazaki manages to keep the girls acting like children throughout. Like when Mei catches the susuwatari and has to walk down the stairs sideways. Or when she runs through the bushes because she thinks she found the secret lair of the Totoro and bursts through the other side. And the victory dance the girls do when the magic seeds start to go.

There is no violence in this movie. All the conflict comes from facing the unknown. When Mei meets the giant Totoro in his magic glen, she doesn’t run away. She walks up to him and befriends him. And when Mei hears that her sick mom has taken a turn for the worse, she runs off to deliver her mother a healthy ear of corn. Of course, Mei, being the youngest of the two and not even in school yet, gets lost, Satsuki has to step up. She enlists the Totoro who helps her find Mei.

And the ending is happy too. Rumors of Mom’s sudden turn was an over-precaution by the doctors and she’s relatively fine. The mother and father notice the corn placed in her hospital room and marvel how it could have gotten there. While Mei, Satsuki, Totoro and the Catbus knowingly grin from the roof.

It’s cute, whimsical and teaches children to face challenges. My Neighbor Totoro is hands down the best children’s movie ever. 

A big Thank You to Flying-Fox for letting me use the Totoro picture. Its so cute, lets see it again, but bigger.