My Neighbor Totoro | Hitoshi Takagi, Noriko Hidaka

My Neighbor Totoro | Hitoshi Takagi, Noriko Hidaka | Great birthday present

DVDs:

My Neighbor Totoro

	My Neighbor Totoro Hitoshi Takagi, Noriko Hidaka Walt Disney Home Entertainment, 2006 average customer review:based on 557 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

A Magical Movie

Hayao Miyazaki's movies all have a magical feel to them and My Neighbor Totoro is no exception. This animated feature follows ten year old Satsuki and her four year old sister Mei on their adventure in the Japanese countryside and encounter with the Lord of the Forest, the giant but very cute Totoro.

You can read the other reviews to find out more about the plot; in this review I want to focus on what I really liked about this movie (I also liked the plot as well, but no use retelling it here).

The animation, like all of Miyazaki's movies, is first rate. I must point out that I've seen both the original version of the DVD released in America, done by Fox Video, and the Disney version. Do yourself a favor and buy the Disney version - it is way better than the sorry Fox version. I would highly recommend watching it in the original Japanese language with subtitles (assuming you don't understand Japanese). The movie flows so much better that way and you get nuances that are bludgeoned by the English dubbing job. Even the music and the background sound effects are different, with the English version being way too heavy handed.

The Disney version also has the movie in the original widescreen aspect ratio whereas the Fox version has the pan and scan altered ratio.

As for the movie itself, Satsuki and Mei act very natural (as natural as cartoon characters can be, that is). They don't act precocious, they don't act bratty, they aren't made to be overly cute or lovable, they are simply made to be real and believable. All in all, this is a charming story with excellent production values, and I am thankful that someone released it in its original aspect ratio with the original language and soundtrack. Only this version does this great movie justice.

By the way, a bit of trivia - Ken Jennings, the Jeopardy wonder-guy, has a Totoro on his keychain for good luck.

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Great birthday present

Made a great gift for an 8-year old who has everything! Beautifully illustrated, nice story.

Best Movie of All Time

I love this. I've never felt more joy from a movie. It's great to watch when you're just bummed, or sick. SO cute.

Original vs Disney

The disney version changed some of the language from the original version. It is still a wonderful movie. Yet, if you liked the original don't get the Disney. My 4 year old noticed the differences right away.

Sad Face

I ordered this product and got a tracking number. When I checked with USPS, the package was marked delivered, but, sadly, it never arrived. This is one of my absolute favorite movies, and I'm sure it's no fault of the sender that the package never made it to my house. I suppose it either got lost in the mail, or somebody in the Postal personnel decided to swipe it. Wish I'd had a better experience.

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