My Neighbor Totoro...
There were two different translations of My Neighbor Totoro, one produced by Streamline and the other by Disney. There are some subtle differences between the various translations such as when Mei sees some critters swimming in a pond near her house. One translation says "Guppies" and the other says "Pollywogs"...
Obviously, no bloodshed, no gore, no naughty bits. Just family friendly entertainment. My favorite scene is the Totoro's reaction when he discovers the virtues of an umbrella in the rain. I used to have the dubbed VHS version and I enjoyed this title so much that I repurchased it on DVD. I gave My Neighbor Totoro a 4 out of 5.
According to the Anime Encyclopedia by Jonathan Clements and Helen McCarthy (page 295). ISBN# 1-880656-64-7...A wonderful movie for children or adults. Truly one of the greatest animated movies ever. Deep inside a tree trunk, two children discover a fascinating new world inhabited by Totoros, amazing, charming creatures who become their friends. Some are big, some are small, but all of them are furry, lovable and ready to do wondrous, magical things...
Satsuki and her little sister, Mei, are taken by their father, Professor Kusakabe, to live in the country. One day, Mei gets lost in the forest near her home, where she discovers a family fluffy creatures, she calls Totoro.
Adults cannot see these Totoros, who befriend the children, when Satsuki lends one an umbrella. He returns the favor by growing them a tree with magic acorns and taking them on a magical ride through the countryside.
One day, Mei resolves to visit her mother, who is in the hospital, and take a gift to her, but, gets lost on the way. Fearing the worst, the adults send out search parties, and a distraught Satsuki goes to the Totoros' for help.
At one critical point in the plot, the "next stop" sign on the Catbus revolves to reveal a destination of particular importance. Whereas modern anime distributors would have digitally replaced it with English letters in translation, the dub released in the U.S. in 1994 was actually made in 1989, at a time when such technology was unavailable. Consequently, the Catbus has a warm, fluffy, voice to announce the next stop in the English version provided by Streamline Pictures' producer, Carl Macek.According to the Anime Movie Guide by Helen McCarthy (page 77). ISBN# 0-87951-781-6...
The English dub was done in 1989 by Streamline Pictures for Tokuma Shoten to enable the movie to be shown in-flight on JAL. The film has inspired a Japanese environmental group to buy and preserve forest land, and the first "Totoro Forest" has now been created in Saitama Prefecrure, where the film is set. Miyazaki's mother was hospitalized for a lengthy period in his childhood, like the mother of the two young heroines.
Obviously, no bloodshed, no gore, no naughty bits. Just family friendly entertainment. My favorite scene is the Totoro's reaction when he discovers the virtues of an umbrella in the rain. I used to have the dubbed VHS version and I enjoyed this title so much that I repurchased it on DVD. I gave My Neighbor Totoro a 4 out of 5.
