Rating: 
Summary: Cute & Touching Story
Review: This movie has turned me into a Hayao Miyazaki fan. The whole family enjoys it and it is one of the few movies I don't mind watching over and over again with my 3 year old daughter. My daughter loves the adorable and magical characters in the story and I love that it depicts great human relationships. The sisters' love for each other and for their mother is very touching. When Mei cried as she learned that their mother wasn't able to return home for a visit, it brought tears to my eyes! This movie also shows neighbors helping the girls in their time of need - another great value for kids to learn.
Rating: 
Summary: A light hearted cartoon that the whole family can enjoy
Review: I have seen the original Japanese version. Totoro is also named as Dragon Cat:) Very very cute, just seeing the character is probably worth the DVD.The story is pretty slow paced and light hearted. If you are looking for some grand Disney style cartoon, this is not for you.
Rating:
Summary: Must-see for all girls under 10
Review: Delightful & wholesome, period. Buy it now... ... then go out and buy the region 2 DVD and a find media suitable player (don't look for pirated region-free DVDs that can be got very cheaply online. That would be wrong. Don't do that. No sirree.) and see the REAL Tonari no Totoro in full widescreen with the unexpurgated Hisaishi soundtrack. Really, this first US DVD release is missing 75% of the experience, but it's a testament to Miyazaki's genius that it is still a marvelous movie, worth watching over and over and over. Maybe the next release will have somebody in charge with no screws loose, who will honor the full intent and vision of the world's greatest animation writer/director.
Rating:
Summary: A movie for the family or just as a pick me up
Review: "My neighbor Totoro" is an animated feature for all ages. The animation in this film is of such a high quality it puts most other animation to shame (including Disney and Pixar). The high level of detail in the animation extends to both the characters and their surroundings. Each frame of the animation is like a piece of artwork. You see shadows on the walls and floors and in the water you see ripples and reflections. The backgrounds are full of everyday items and objects like desk clutter and kitchen items, the sort of items that everyone takes for granted and yet is so often left out of animated features. The artwork and attention to detail all add to the realism of the story. The story line is simple enough for younger children to follow and yet has elements to keep grownups interested. The story follows the lives of a Japanese family over the span of about a month. It's a nice family story with a few fantastical characters like the Soot sprites and the forest spirits. It's a fresh wholesome and upbeat story with no villains or protagonists, family fun at its best. It is a true classic. Buy this movie because no matter what your age you will love it. I can't honestly think of anyone that would have any issues with this movie it's a great movie.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Movie, But Disappointing DVD
Review: First, let me start by saying that I am a huge fan of "My Neighbor Totoro and the works of Miyazaki. I will let the other reviews speak to the merits of the film. Having said that, I could not have been more disappointed with this DVD. Here are some of my complaints: 1. No letterbox! I want to see the whole movie in its full glory, not cut up to fit our television screen space. On the cut version is presented on the DVD. Maybe some people would prefer non-letterbox--if so, why not offer both? 2. No Japanese! Another major flaw in the presentation is that there is no language option where you can listen to the original Japanese voices with subtitles. Considering this is a DVD, both options should have been offered. 3. No extra materials! How about some extra content, including some pre-production drawings? Or some information regarding the original production. I am glad that this movie has been released in the U.S., but shame on Fox for producing such a shoddy product. I think consumers have come to expect certain features to be available on a DVD that is not available on VHS. The three things mentioned above are very simple things that would have tremendously improved the quality of the movie. I would recommend the movie highly to anyone who have not seen it. However, I have to rate the DVD only 3 stars because of the lack of content.
Rating:
Summary: One of the greatest animes of all time destroyed on DVD!!!!!
Review: I was going to give this review 1 star but that many would think that I'm dissing the movie but I only docked one star from the DVD for one really big reason, its not the features or the lack of widescreen presentation but the audio. I have a DVD Home Theater sound system and I have heard some good Dolby Surround Stereo soundtracks on DVD, but this has to be the worst. When you listen to the track there are hints of crackling noise in the soundfield, the kind of sound you hear on old vinyl records. Chances are this is probably because the movie is 14 years old, and I don't know how old the English audio dub is but I'm guessing it was redone for the 1993 video release and that's most likely the reason. The audio is 10 years old and it wasn't even remastered. I know FOX didn't want to pay buckoo bucks on this edition because their rights for this film will go to Disney in 2004 and they didn't want to make a release just to have Disney come out with another one, but come on, chances are Disney is going to redo the English audio (I hope not, but that might be what happens) and Fox could have remastered the soundtrack and put it into Dolby DIGITAL 2.0 or maybe even a 5.1 soundtrack, but no here is the final report card on the DVD so you can see what you'll be getting: Movie itself gets: 10/10
Picture quality: 6.5/10
Sound quality: 1.5/10
Fox Flix Previews: 0/10 The DVD is okay if you can't wait until '04 to get a good DVD release. But if you have a multi region DVD player, go to any anime import online store and buy the Region 2 2-disc special edition which has 5.1 audio, 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen, and another disc with bonus features. But those who don't want to pay $.. for an import disc, just pick this up and enjoy it, hopefully it will go out of print soon. Plus, people are complaining about the video image, despite being in fullscreen, the coloring and everything looks just the way it did on VHS and the image didn't suffer anything during the transfer. It's pretty much just the VHS version on DVD. Plus its at a good price!
Rating: 
Summary: Movie=5 Stars, DVD= -5 Stars
Review: Another fine example of anime butchering.
Unremastered sound :(
Pan and Scan ONLY :(
No extra fetures :(
No Japanese audio :(
and many other things that is wrong in this DVD
The movie is excellent. I was thrilled to be informed by Amazon that this is available in DVD, but after I've read the ratings, I did not bother buying this. Might as well buy the VHS if the quality is about the same.
I don't mind paying extra if I'll get superior quality.
With this DVD you get what you paid for... Save you money instead. This is good only for rentals.
Rating:
Summary: Please take into account
Review: This was originally released by Fox in 1993 on VHS. That's quite a while before Japanese animation boom really began here in the US. It's also quite a long while before Disney snatched up the rights to many of Myazaki's other films. When Fox brought this over, they were taking a chance. They weren't sure that it would make money. Of course they marketed it to kids. The adult animation market wasn't anything like what it is today. Of course they pan-n-scanned it. Pan-n-scan versus widescreen isn't an issue for most kids, even today. Of course they dubbed it. For the time especially, the dubbed cast is amazing. From the year when such mundane titles as The Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog (the horribly bright version, not the dramatic one) was capturing kids on television and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III (not one, not two, but three!) was doing just fine in the box offices, bringing Totoro to the states was a gamble for Fox. They pulled it off splendidly. The cast is great. The animation isn't nearly as bright as the box-art, but it isn't supposed to be. In this movie, Myazaki is trying to show the real world more than the one that exists in his imagination. Even if the magical creatures had been removed, this would have been an excellent movie. It's a movie about values and responsibility, but with giant cat-busses and dust fairies thrown in for some fun. It's the element of realism that makes this movie outstanding. When the girls meet Totoro, we're apprehensive with them. When they visit their mother in the hospital, we feel sympathy for them. And when Mai gets lost, we are scared and cry along with Satsuki. The fact that we never really know what could happen is what makes this movie great. There's so many surprises around every corner that we're even ready for the shock of Mai dying when it becomes a possibility. This is a kid's movie. I never got the chance to see it in Japanese or in widescreen, but even if I did, I don't think I could dislike Fox's version. This is the movie that made me fall in love with Japanese Animation and with Myazaki's work in particular. I don't care about Japanese language tracks or pan-n-scan. What really sold me on this movie was the fact that it made me feel like a kid at a time when I wanted to be anything but. It made me feel good inside. It still does.
Rating:
Summary: Learn the name: Hayao Miyazaki
Review: Hayao Miyazaki isn't just a master director of animation. He's one of the greatest film makers since the invention of the motion picture. No amount of writing in this review can convince you one way or the other until you've seen a Miyazaki film. I don't even have to pick a group of films to select from as they are all that good. I recently found a japanese version...that had an english audio track (in addition to japanese with english subtitles), and I got to rediscover this film masterpiece once again. It's every bit, if not better, than I remember it. Miyazaki's made three films since I last saw this; two of which (Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away) I got to see on the big screen so it's easy to forget how good the film really is. Please, do not let the hideous cover art on this poor DVD version fool you. Unfortunately, the American mindset is that animation is for kids alone so every animated film needs to be doctored up to look extraordinarily childish. Totoro is no exception; the cover looks like it's meant for pre-schoolers. Blech!! Certainly most of Miyazaki's films (with the exception of Mononoke) are suitable for all ages, they are not targeted for that audience and are in fact more appealing to adults than to children. The storyline of Totoro involves two children: Satsuki who is around 11 years old and her little sister Mei who is about 4-5 years old. They have just moved into a new home with their father in the rural countryside that is rumored to be haunted. Their mother is ailing of an unknown condition and resides at a hospital several hours away. The story is one of utmost simplicity, really being more of an excerpt in the lives of these two girls than anything resembling a complicated plot. Right next to the house they've moved into exists an enormous camphor tree where the sisters eventually discover resides the king of the forest, Totoro. The film besides being animated and dealing with spirits of the forest, is incredibly realistic. The portrayal of the two sisters is better performed and more realistic than any hollywood film animated or not. You simply must see this film to understand as should other film makers who could learn many things from this master. Understand though, that this version of the DVD is as cheap as they come with the presentation leaving lots to be desired. True film fans may wish to find an import version with the english sub as well as dub with widescreen.
Rating:
Summary: Where are the product details ...
Review: This is a great movie like all Gibli anime filmes, perfect for both child and adult alike. What I can't understand is why there is no Japanese on the DVD. All the Japanese released Gibli movies have both along with lots of extra stuff like original drawings and documentaries. As long as you have subtitles the original Japanese is much better and fits in with Gibli's characters better than the English. Of course it is good to have the dubbed version for kids. I think Disney have got this totally wrong. What is more annoying is that there is no product information with the ... write up that tells you this. Buyers should know they are not getting the original version.
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