This weekend I watched My
Neighbor Totoro with a theater packed full of kids and their parents. (It
was the PSU campus theater, 5th Avenue Cinema, which meant the theater was
rather small—still, it was the fullest I’ve ever seen it, and people were
sitting on the floor in the back).
I won’t harp on the reasons you should go see Miyazaki’s
works (although you should because they’re awesome, you heathen), but a few
things came to mind.
The kids were very well-behaved—that is to say, they were
sucked into the story, and paying attention. This is interesting considering
that the spirits of the forest don’t even show up for a good 15 minutes.
Miyazaki, gratefully, does not hew to the Disney formula that demands comic sidekicks, princesses, and all that crap. He’s not
afraid to let the camera linger over a beautifully-rendered landscape or closeup—to lead the audience gently, not prod them along like a carnival barker. When the pacing in a Disney movie threatens to slack, it's time to trot out a singing candlestick or two.
While Disney animation had greatly improved by the late 80s, it still had a two-dimensional, serviceable
quality—it's slick, but not memorable. Miyazaki’s anime is gorgeous,
with lush landscapes and closeups filled with meticulous details. I
wonder if kids recognize that like the adults do.
Perhaps most importantly, in Totoro Miyazaki creates fantastic creatures that are benign,
amusing, sometimes helpful—and also a bit scary. You’re not quite sure
where they fit in the big scheme of things. None of the spirits of the forest
talk. It’s understood that these spirits have always been in the forest, and
they don’t have any truck with the religions of the humans. The father pays
respect to them with his daughters, and asks them to watch over their family.
But he does it politely, and maybe he’s not entirely being cheeky. In my mind, the best childrens’ stories are a
bit scary. That’s like catnip to a kid. Not shit-your-pants scary, but kids
want to be scared a little. This is also
what makes Spirited Away so awesome—you have no idea what the spirits are, if
they’re good, if they’re evil, if they even notice the humans at all. They Just
Are, going about business beyond mortal understanding. So you know, maybe you should treat them respectfully. Or just keep your distance.
Afterwards I asked my friend Nathan (who brought his family to the movie) what his kids thought of it. Four-year-old Evan was a bit apprehensive beforehand (because it might be scary!), but we assured him that he was totally tough enough to make it through.
"They thought it was awesome!"
"They thought it was awesome!"
