My Neighbour Totoro (1988)

	Also Known As: Tonari no Totoro (original)
	Year of first release: 1988
	Director: Hayao Miyazaki (Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke)
	Actors: Hitoshi Takagi, Noriko Hidaka, Toshiyuki Amagasa
	Country: J
	Genre: Animation, Drama
	Conditions of visioning: 24.03.2014, Blu-ray, Home cinema
Synopsis: A father and his two daughters move to the countryside, while the mother is sick in a hospital. The girls start to explore around the house.
Review: I think this is my favorite Miyazaki movie among the ones I have recently watched in Blu-ray. Although it contains in background the very serious theme of the sick mother in the hospital and the father having to raise his daughters alone, the movie is otherwise very lighthearted, and I think more oriented towards kids than his other movies are. No mention of war or any bad guys. Just two little girls having innocent fun. The apparitions of Totoro are rare (no more than four in total) but I fell in love with this cute character. I need to buy a doll of it. The quality of the drawings, the colors, the shadows, the animation and the sound effects are at the top of what Studio Ghibli could do, and the movie doesn't look at all 25 years old. My only criticism would be against the ear-piercing high-pitched voices of the girls. Doesn't make you want to have kids.
Rating: 8 /10