Better: Grave Of The Fireflies
Grave of the Fireflies is a very different kind of Ghibli movie, and shows that the studio isn’t limited to the fun movies they are more well known for. Released alongside My Neighbor Totoro as a double feature , it is in stark contrast to the lighthearted family film that captured the hearts of many.
Based on the short story of the same name by Akiyuki Nosaka, Grave of the Fireflies is a semi-autobiographical recollection of the author’s life during WWII, specifically his survival of the firebombing of Kobe. It holds no punches, choosing realism over artistry;which results in many scenes;being hard to watch, but anyone would be doing themselves a disservice to ignore Grave of the Fireflies because of that.
Secrets And Adorable Details Are Hidden In The Anime Classic My Neighbor Totoro
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If youre looking for the most endearing, precious, pure and delightful film, look no further than 1988s;My Neighbor Totoro. Not just a perfect introduction to the world of Japanese animation, its completely adorable, utterly immersive, completely perfect for families and kids and adults and everyone. The film features a group of adorable fantasy creatures, and the only thing sweeter than the story of the film are the tiny details you might miss, hidden in plain sight.
One of the biggest mysteries concerning the film, at least for American audiences, is: What even is;a totoro? When one of the characters discovers a giant fuzzy creature in the woods, she immediately identifies him as Totoro. Why?
Well, to understand that, you might need to know a little Japanese. The word is actually a mispronunciation of the word troll or, as a Japanese speaker might say, to-ro-ku. A 2006 re-dubbing of the film includes a new line in which one of the characters clarifies the misunderstanding. But, of course, the name sticks.
In fact, the Totoro/troll connection is reinforced, however briefly, at the end of the film. The two girls, Satuske and Mei, are seen reading a book with their mother, and if you look carefully at the cover youll see its;The Three Billy Goats Gruff. And hiding under the bridge on the cover is an image of a Totoro. So you see, he was a troll this whole time.
Relationship With Sayama Hills
Some of the named locations in the film are based on Sayama Hills, located near Tokorozawa City, Saitama Prefecture, all the way to Higashimurayama City, Tokyo. Additionally, in the film, a box with a sticker of “Sayama Tea” appears when the Kusakabe family moved into their new home.
- Matsug, Tokorozawa City, Saitama Prefecture
- The place name near the Urawa Tokorozawa Bypass Matsugo intersection in the eastern part of Tokorozawa City is said to have become a model of “Matsugo” where the Kusakabe family lives.
Thanks to the film’s success and enduring popularity, public interest towards the conservation effort by the Totoro no Furusato Foundation has helped them acquire and preserve the greenery of Sayama Hills. Hayao Miyazaki is part of the organization’s advisory board.
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Scary Truth Behind My Neighbor Totoro
Totoro the True Horror Story Urban Legend ,
following pasta after watching “My Neighbor Totoro” It does contain spoilers! Everything I say here has been covered by the attached video)
“My Neighbor Totoro” is a Japanese animation film that once you watch it, you fall in love with it. Many people can agree to that.
However, what if I told you there is a theory about a dark secret behind such an innocent film?
My Neighbour Totoro: Studio Ghibli Classic Gets China Release After 30 Years
Japanese animation classic My Neighbour Totoro is finally being screened in Chinese cinemas, 30 years after it was first released.
The film, by Studio Ghibli and famed director Hayao Miyazaki, follows the story of two sisters who encounter Totoro and other forest creatures.
Despite the movie’s cult following, it has never been publicly shown in China.
But many Chinese viewers have already caught it on DVDs or pirated downloads while growing up.
The movie is the first Studio Ghibli movie to ever be released in China, which has a strict quota on the number of foreign films.
“For China, film will always take a back seat to politics,” Stanley Rosen, director at the East Asian Studies Center at the University of Southern California told the BBC, explaining that whether a Japanese film makes it to China often depended on the state of the political relationship.
“Right now that relationship has improved significantly and there is a lot of movement on Sino-Japanese co-productions, including in anime.”
There are lingering feelings of resentment towards Japan in China relating back to their wartime history. Japan occupied China starting in 1931 and millions of Chinese people were killed by the time the war ended in 1945.
Mr Rosen says Totoro director Hayao Miyazaki has been publicly critical of Japan’s wartime aggressions and that has been viewed favourably in Chinese media.
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Best: The Character Of Totoro Has Become The Studio’s Mascot
It’s clear;that;a studio takes great pride in a film they have created when the titular character becomes its mascot. For it’s first few films, the studio’s logo was simply the text used in its now much more famous version, but without Totoro.
These days, it’s hard to imagine the signature design being anything other than what we have now come to expect when watching a Ghibli film for the hundredth time.
The Connection With Nature
As a spirit of the forest, Totoro naturally has a deep connection with nature. In the aforementioned scene, the fact that he only has a leaf to cover his head from the rain is a source of humor. However, it doesn’t seem that he is particularly bothered by the rain, and even after he receives the umbrella, he still revels in the patter of the raindrops. It’s no coincidence that this scene is set on a rainy night, for just as the rain gives life to the forest, so does the forest give life to Totoro.
Totoro is a mysterious figure who doesn’t speak, but roars and uses his large frame to wordlessly express his pleasure at the sensation of rain on his furry body. He enjoys the sensation so much that he jumps to cause even more raindrops to fall down. In the scene, the rain serves as a symbolic backdrop to clarify Totoro’s true nature. Although he accepts Satsuki’s gift of the umbrella, he doesn’t actually need it; he receives it out of friendship. In return, he gifts her a packet of nuts and seeds, which can also offer shelter from the rainthat is, once the seeds grow to become trees. What a perfect gift from a spirit of the forest! And it emphasizes just how important nature is in the world of My Neighbor Totoro.
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Better: The Tale Of Princess Kaguya
Many movie-goers choose to ignore the ratings and recommendations of film critics,;choosing;instead to go on their own subjective enjoyment;and decide for themselves whether a film is good or bad. On the other hand, it can be hard to ignore a recommendation that has a 100% approval rating.
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The Tale of Princess Kaguya is one of the few films reviewed by Rotten Tomatoes to have been given a perfect score, and one of two Studio Ghibli films to be given that rating. Comparatively, My Neighbor Totoro received a rating of 94% which, while not a bad film by any means, is still a few percent short of perfection.
Is It Any Good
For fans of Miyazaki’s later work who haven’t had the chance to check out his classics, this is a perfect movie to start.;My Neighbor Totoro; is considered Miyazaki‘s breakthrough film. Re-released and dubbed in English for a wider audience by Disney, the movie introduced Americans unfamiliar with anime to Miyazaki’s signature themes: strong, independent girls as protagonists; whimsical creatures; an imaginative story; and a focus on how families interact with each other and their surrounding environment.
This isn’t a spellbinding all-out adventure like Spirited Away or even the gentler journey that is Ponyo, but its leisurely paced story and lushly detailed visuals are part of the charm. Unlike the majority of animated movies, this isn’t full of pop-culture or consumerist references that, while funny when handled correctly, can also bog down animated films or zap them of their childlike fantasy. Satsuki and Mei need Totoro to help them through a difficult time in their lives — new home, sick mother — and it’s quite lovely to see the sweet little moments that cement their friendship. It’s a shame more family movies aren’t as simple and beautiful as My Neighbor Totoro.
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Which Looks Nearly Identical To The One Seen In The Animated Movie
Image credits: Studio Ghibli
The house, located in Aichi Commemorative Park, was actually designed by Hayao Miyazakis son Goro, who happens to make films, too. However, due to copyright issues, Totoro never actually appears in the park, despite an uncanny resemblance to the mascot of the exposition. Although the Worlds Fair of 2005 ended fifteen years ago , in 2006, the house was re-opened for the public to visit.
Let It Rain My Neighbor Totoro’s Famous Umbrella Scene
Studio Ghibli released My Neighbor Totoro in 1988. Since then, Totoro has gone on to become one of the most recognizable fictional characters in the world. His lovability is showcased to great effect in the most famous scene from the movie. You know which onein the rain, under an umbrella…
45,312
That’s right! Who doesn’t remember the iconic bus stop scene from My Neighbor Totoro?
While waiting for their father at a bus stop one night, Mei falls asleep on Satsuki’s back. Suddenly, Totoro appears and stands right next to the sisters. Rain is pouring from the sky, but poor Totoro only has a leaf atop his head to keep him dry. When Satsuki offers him their extra umbrella, Totoro gamely holds it aloft. Delighted by the sound of the falling raindrops, he literally jumps for joy, startling Satsuki and Mei. He also makes some adorable, typically Totoro-like noises. When the catbus comes, Totoro boards, along with his new umbrella.
What makes this scene so memorable? Let’s find out!
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A Digitally Restored Version Of Hayao Miyazakis Film Will Be Released On December 14 To Mark Its 30th Anniversary
Thirty years after it was released, Japanese filmmaker Hayao Miyazakis 1988 anime classic My Neighbor Totoro will open in theatres in China on December 14, The Hollywood Reportersaid. The digitally restored film will have a subtitled Japanese original version and a dubbed Chinese version, the publication added. This will reportedly be the first film by Japanese animation giant Studio Ghibli to get a large-scale theatrical release in China.
Set in postwar rural Japan, My Neighbor Totoro is centred on two girls who encounter friendly spirits in the woods. When the film was released in 1988, it earned only $5 million at the Japanese box office but became a fan favourite over the years, fetching more than $250 million from home entertainment releases and more than $1 billion from merchandise sales.
A restored version of My Neighbor Totoro was released in the United States of America in 2014 and in the United Kingdom in 2015.
Some Scenes Were Nearly Removed For The Us Market
In one scene in the film, Mei, Satsuki, and their father are seen bathing together in a large round tub. U.S. companies wanted to remove this sceneand another showing the girls jumping on tatami matsbecause they felt they were unlikely to be understood by American audiences, according to Furniss. However, Studio Ghibli insisted on keeping the movie as is, with no edits.
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What Else Should I Watch
Studio Ghibli released their debut film in 1986 with Castle In The Sky and have consistently blazed a trail for Japanese animation ever since. From cult hits like Porco Rosso to powerful anti-war films like Grave Of The Fireflies and epic fantasies like Howl’s Moving Castle, the studio has become one of the most beloved producers of animation in Japan itself with a global reputation matched only by Disney and Pixar themselves. Miyazaki’s last film was 2013’s The Wind Rises, a fictionalised biography of aeronautic engineer Jiro Horikoshi, before announcing his retirement at the age of 72. However, he has since come out of retirement to work on the forthcoming How Do You Live? which is expecting to be released before the start of the Tokyo Olympics in 2020.
But undoubtedly, Studio Ghibli’s greatest film so far is the internationally renowned Spirited Away which remains the highest grossing film in Japanese history, overtaking the success of James Cameron’s Titanic. With global takings well over $347 million as well as being the first non-English language film to win Best Animated Feature at the Academy Awards, the film has been universally praised by critics, audiences and other animators like John Lasseter and is often cited as one of the greatest animations ever made. Not bad for a film deeply rooted in Japanese culture and Shinto-Buddhist folklore…
Benjamin Cox
A Huge Tree In The Tsukamori Forest
“Father, hurry. Hurry!”“She says the hole is gone.”“Well, you can’t see him all the time.”“We’ll see him again? I want to meet him too.”“Well, if good fortune is with you. Isn’t this a beautiful tree? It’s been here since long, long ago. Back then, man and trees were friends. Father saw this tree and fell in love with that house. I’m sure Mother will like it too. Well, let’s offer our greetings and get back home. We have to eat our lunch..”
- Mei and Satsuki telling their father about Totoro
Totoro helps the girls grow a tree from seedlings in one night.
The girls plant the seeds. A few days later, they awaken at midnight to find Totoro and his two miniature colleagues engaged in a ceremonial dance around the planted nuts and seeds. The girls join in, whereupon the seeds sprout and then grow and combine into an enormous tree. Totoro takes his colleagues and the girls for a ride on a magical flying top. In the morning, the tree is gone, but the seeds have indeed sprouted.
The girls find out that a planned visit by Yasuko has to be postponed because of a setback in her treatment. Satsuki, disappointed and worried, tells Mei the bad news, which Mei does not take well. This leads into an argument between the two, ending in Satsuki angrily yelling at Mei and stomping off. Mei decides to walk to the hospital to bring some fresh corn to her mother.
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Totoro Has A Cameo In Toy Story 3
My Neighbor Totoros influence has been far-reachingso much so that the titular character has appeared in TV series and films beyond Studio Ghibli. He was worked into episodes ofSouth Park, The Powerpuff Girls, and Bobs Burgers . Perhaps most famously, he was one of the toys in Toy Story 3. While it looks like we wont ever get a sequel to My Neighbor Totoro, at least we can enjoy these playful extensions of the Ghibli universe.
How Does Academy Award Voting Work
Only members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences may nominate and vote for candidates for the Oscars. The academy is divided into various branches of film production, and the nominees in each award category are chosen by the members of the corresponding branch. The entire academy membership nominates the candidates for best picture and votes to determine the winners in most of the categories.
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Best: Totoro Is An Original Story
Many of Studio Ghibli’s films are based on works originally penned by writers not associated with the studio,;most notably films like;Tales from Earthsea and The Tale of Princess Kaguya.
Totoro, on the other hand, is an entirely original story by Miyazaki with some influence from;his life;growing up in post-WWII Japan. The;character of Totoro comes from the town of Tokorozawa, close to where Miyazaki grew up, and he has memories of children in the area frequently mispronouncing the towns name as Totoro.
The Idea For The Film Was Initially Rejected
Hayao Miyazaki has been the Walt Disney of Japan for his impressive oeuvre, which includes Kikis Delivery Service , Princess Mononoke , and Academy Award-winning Spirited Away . However, Miyazaki was still making a name for himself back in the early ’80s, and his initial pitch for My Neighbor Totoro was rejected by the Tokuma Shoten Publishing Co.
Miyazaki and producer Toshio Suzuki tried again in 1987, but the financiers and distribution executives didnt think the furry giant could take off, literally or figuratively, wrote;Maureen Furniss in Animation: Art and Industry. Distributors simply didnt believe there was an audience for a story about two little girls and a monster in modern Japan.
The settingrural Japan in the 1950swas also problematic. Miyazaki’s previous feature films were set in fictional or unidentified places, and My Neighbor Totoro was the first one to take place in Japan. “Back then, a story without a hero or a girl with superpowers, and the ordinary Japanese scenery as a backdrop, was not considered entertaining enough,” Miyazaki said in an interview featured in the 30th anniversary edition Blu-ray. “Entertainment back then was all about guns, action, and speed. I wanted my movie to be peaceful, tranquil, and innocent. I wanted to create that kind of world. Also, I wanted to prove that a movie like this could be successful.
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