MI VECINO TOTORO (MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO) by Hayao Miyazaki (Spanish subtitles).Those who are looking for more of a plot might be disappointed - though Id argue that this is precisely what makes the film so appealing, particularly to adult audiences.As you might expect, the animation is stunning, yet there is much more to it than simply being visually attractive - much of the scenery and visual detail is drawn directly from Miyazakis experience of the Japanese countryside and literally paints a detailed and nostalgic picture of a disappearing Japan.
Mi Vecino Totoro Dvd Movie Itself HasIndeed, the movie itself has become a driving force for the preservation and regeneration of Satoyama, rural areas such as those depicted in the film. The Blu-ray has both the original Japanese language track (with English subtitles) and an English language track - its great having both options since I prefer the original soundtrack but the non-subtitled version lets you concentrate on looking at the stunning artwork. This film is such a feel-good film that celebrates the beauty of nature, the innocence of youth, and doesnt bend to stereotypes. It is sprinkled with fantastical creatures in a very wholesome way, and it is easy to imagine that it is either happening, or it is in the girls heads, as you feel like. The story is about 2 girls that move out into the countryside with their father after their mother has to stay in the hospital with an illness. They discover the house has been unused for some time, and dustmites have moved in, however they soon disappear when the house comes back to life. As the big sister goes to school, the little sister encounters the spirit of the forest - Totoro, one of the most iconic cartoon figures that have achieved near cult status as can be seen in the plethora of merchandise that is available in its image. My daughter is not yet 2, and already watches this fascinate, and runs up to the screen and makes cat-noises whenever the catbus comes around. Visual quality is tremendous - its something about the studio Ghibli art style which manages to pack soooo much detail into the animated media format which makes it special. As always with Miyazaki movies the Japanese culture is apparent throughout, whether it is with their storytelling tropes, or the their ancient ability to be able to tell a story within a story. Mi Vecino Totoro Dvd Bluray Version IAs far as the visuals go for the bluray version I was entirely satisfied - no visual artifacts, no banding, no stuttering, the only thing at a stretch I could even count as a flaw is the variable framerate - that is, some character movement is as low as 8 frames a second, and other things like pans are a standard 24 frames a second - but this isnt actually a flaw in the technical side of things, it is just going along with the art style. The story itself also strongly hints at some slightly risqu metaphors - (SPOILER) such as the suggested theory that Totoro (the big fluffy bear), is a physical manifestation of death itself, which is suggestion based on later plot points in the movie (END SPOILER), and so on. This makes it very enjoyable for adult viewing while the whole story is light enough to be viewed as a familychildrens movie overall. Think its a wonderful way to introduce children to the world outside PixarDisney. My oldest visited Japan this year all thanks to Master Miyazaki.
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