Totoro

I was a bit confused as to why some of my fellow classmates said that Totoro is deassuring and has no real plot. How exactly is the film deassuring? It's like one of the most assuring film by Miyazaki. The bright colors used, the young, innocent characters, and the cute monsters all contribute to the assurance felt at the end of the film. None of the characters die, and none of them get hurt within the story. The little girls seem to just grow and their happiness and care for their mother only makes the assurance stronger. You can't imagine anything bad happening to them and it's almost like you know Totoro won't let anything bad happen. That's why Totoro is such a popular mascot throughout the world: he's big, cuddly, and reliable.
As for the plot, the film does contain the general plot points of a typical film. It first introduces the characters and settings, the girls grow fond of Totoro, a problem arises (the mom is unable to come home due to sickness), the girls conflict with each other, Totoro helps solve the problem (through the catbus), and the girls makeup and realize their mother is alright. Although the story is not completely obvious, like a Disney animation is, it's all still there. Even though Totoro is a slice-of-life, with a touch of fantasy, it is a lot more complex then a typical Disney film. For example, in Disney's most recent animation, The Princess and the Frog, the main character starts off with nothing and ends up with everything she's ever wanted (a prince and a restaurant). In Totoro, the girls don't gain anything materialistic, but rather, a greater understanding for one another, as seen when Mei runs off to the hospital after seeing her older sister cry. The girls also become more mature. That's one of the big differences between Miyazaki and Disney: Disney usually centers stories around young adults while Miyazaki has a lot of young characters, who are prone to greater change, both physically and mentally.

8.6