I like it. Each and every one of Hayao Miyazaki's movies possess a poetic and delicate touch that appeals to me. In a way I could say that this movie has little to no plot, basically "two little girls trying to cope with their mother's illness, with a little help", but this is what makes it so nice and adorable, because it's not about action, it's about images and feelings and magic.
The Totoro in the title is a strange, huge animal usually invisible to people, a sort of spirit of the woods. It reminds little Mei of the image of a troll she has in her books, so she says Totoro trying to say the Japanese word for Troll but failing to pronounce it correctly as it often happens to her, but in the dubbed version this "joke" is lost, at least in the Italian version where Mei pronounced everything correctly so it might seem she totally invented the name for him/it, but it can still be clear to those who care to pay attention that she means another word, because when she says Totoro to her sister, she doesn't ask "what is it?" instead she replies "oh you mean...".
Still, the name Totoro is so cute that it doesn't really matter :-)
The story is quite simple, as I said before. Mei is four and has an older sister, Satsuki. Their mother must stay in a hospital so they move to a house in the country in order to be closer (three hours is the walking distance, but there is a bus, of course). It's a sad situation, little Mei misses her mum and Satsuki is worried she might die and leave her alone. She is the "older" sister, but she's still a child herself. Maybe this is the reason why Totoro shows himself to them. Mei finds him while wondering alone in the woods, then they both meet him on a rainy night while at the bus stop waiting for their father (to give him an umbrella, the sweet things).
They meet him again outside their house, waking up in the middle of the night, but more importantly Satsuki finds him when she needs him. Towards the end the sisters learn that their mother won't come home for the weekend as planned, Mei throws a tantrum, shouting that she doesn't want it (to wait for another time to see her mother, she wants her now, she's so little) and the sisters fight (poor Satsuki is responsible for her but she's only 9 or 10, she's a child herself)so later Mei wanders alone with the intention of walking to the hospital to give her mum an ear of corn thinking it'll make her feel better, but she gets lost and nobody can find her. Satsuki is worried, her dad has to go to work every day so he's not home, and the whole village helps her find little Mei. Nobody can find her, so Satsuki asks for the woods' spirits' help, to lead her to Totoro. She gets there and crying asks for his help. Totoro calls the catbus (imagine a bus entirely made of fur, with a tail and the head of the Cheshire Cat, plus its eyes are like torches). Satsuki gets on the catbus and it brings her to Mei, then it brings them both to the hospital. The sisters and the catbus stop on top of a tree and looking through a window of the hospital they see their father talking to their mom, who is smiling and saying that as a precaution the doctors won't let her go, but it won't be long. Happy to know that she's ok they go back home. The end. More or less :-p
The credits at the end show some drawings that explain what happens afterwards: mom back home with them, reading them stories, and Satsuki and Mei playing with other children; now they don't need Totoro anymore and they won't see him again, but this is ok because this is a sweet Japanese film where people are not obsessed with showing Totoro to other people or finding out more. Totoro was a special part of their lives when they needed him, and they'll always remember him.
While I watched it I saw a scene where dad and daughters bath together in the same bathtub, and wondered how many people in the world might be offended or angry at that. It's a completely innocent scene of course, normal family life, but we live now in a sex-obsessed world, so I wonder.. besides, I remember that as a teenager watching American movies or series I was shocked to see that children kissed their parents on the lips (and being actors they weren't even related) and I was like yeuch, what are they doing?? because nobody does that here; to be honest, it is still a bit weird :-p
Tonari no Totoro
ITA il mio vicino totoro
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