In the movie “My Neighbor Totoro” I found the characters and the general feel of the movie to be simple and refreshing. The movie allowed the viewers to experience a film that depicted children living and comfortably operating within their imaginations. The main characters Mei and Satsuki were a joy to watch as they utilized their desire to explore their surroundings and discover new things. Satsuki and Mei were often left alone, while their father worked to support their family.
Mei and Satsuki were dependent upon one another, and they always displayed their love for one another. Satsuki, being the older sister took her responsibility for her younger sister Mei seriously. Satsuki seemed to assume the role of a stand in mother for Mei, because of the absence of their mother, whom was recovering from illness in the hospital. Mei was very close to Satsuki and looked to her for loving care and protection. During the movie, Granny was introduced as a support system for Satsuki and Mei.
Granny provided Satsuki and Mei with a motherly role model, which proved to be a benefit to the girls. Satsuki and Mei’s father seemed to love his children, but he seemed to spend much of the movie away from the girls working or at the hospital visiting his ill wife. The absence of the girl’s father seemed to strengthen the bond between the girls, because they were latch key kids that were raising themselves. To pass the time, the girls relied upon their active and vivid imaginations to help them escape their reality of their absent father and ill mother.
Satsuki and Mei easily transported themselves into their fantasy reality, when they gave life to the “soot sprits” they resided in their new home. Granny introduced the girls imagination to the concept of the “soot spirits, and the notion that the “soot spirits” would only leave the house, if they approved of the girls and their father occupying the house. Once Mei was able to capture a single “soot spirit” she became uninterested in them and simply moved on to another figment.
Mei immediately began to see the small, plump, furry creature, scurrying across the yard. The creature was able to disappear and reappear for Mei, which keep Mei’s interest peaked and the mystery in the figments her imagination. Mei created the Totoro, when she felt the absence of her parents.
Totoro was a huge, furry, friendly creature that took priority in protecting Mei and Satsuki. Totoro represented the adult protection, security and comfort the girls longed for in their real lives. The girls never saw Totoro when their father was home, spending time and paying attention to them. The girls hungered for the attention of their parents, that when they were able to get the time they desired; nothing interfered with that moment.
