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Time Out's 50 greatest animated films: part 6
In celebration of the release of both Pixar's 'Up' and Wes Anderson's beautiful stop-motion rendering of Roald Dahl's 'Fantastic Mr Fox', Time Out ushers in the help of master animator Terry Gilliam – whose own partially animated 'The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus' opens in cinemas this month – to run down 50 of the greatest animated features of all time
1. My Neighbour Totoro (1988)
Directed by Hayao Miyazaki
A hushed modern masterpiece.
If, hypothetically speaking, the late Yazujiro Ozu were ever
inclined to experiment with the animated medium, one feels that Miyazaki's
timeless hymn to the innocence of childhood, ‘My Neighbour Totoro', is the type
of film he'd have created. It's a work that provides heart-rending and
miraculously acute insight into the subtle, silent psychological interactions
of a family on the precipice of tragedy and it's a story told through the curious eyes
(and minds) of excitable pre-teen sisters, Satsuki and Mei.
Like much of Ozu's oeuvre (specifically films like 1932's ‘I Was
Born, But... ' and 1953's ‘Tokyo Story'), it's a film which recognises that
real life does not consist of neat dramatic arcs, and in telling its miniature
tale of how Satsuki and Mei deal with relocating to the countryside to be near
their mother (who is bedridden in a nearby hospital), it never exploits the
situation in search of cheap pathos or undue narrative contrivance. Tragedy?
Death? Ozu? Yes, it's a film of profoundly serious intention, but the masterly,
feather-light fashion in which the story is unravelled and the delightfully
constructive and level-headed conclusions it draws over a faultless 83 minutes
will leave you with a beaming smile and, in all probability, a tear of
exasperated joy.
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Already an institution in its native Japan and a surefire
favourite of anyone faintly familiar with the Ghibli oeuvre, there was a chance
in the mid-'80s when it was doubtful that ‘Totoro' was ever going to see the
light of day. At the time, Studio Ghibli was not financially self-sufficient,
and thus had to convince independent backers that their upcoming projects were
worthy of bankrolling. So when Miyazaki originally proposed the outline for a
film about two small girls retreating into their imaginations to come to terms
with the responsibilities of the real world, the money men (perhaps
understandably) kept their wallets tightly shut. It was only when the studio agreed to simultaneously make ‘Grave of
the Fireflies' (see number 13), directed by Ghibli co-founder Isao Takahata, that funds were eventually released and Miyazaki was able to start work on this
deeply idiosyncratic and personal project.
Effortlessly fusing the delicately forged imagined kingdoms
of Lewis Carroll with the lackadaisical whimsy of AA Milne, the eponymous
Totoro is revealed as a giant, waddling ball of fur who charmingly ushers the
girls through their period of grief. The minimalism of Totoro's character
represents a seam of restraint and sensitivity which runs though all aspects of
the film: Instead of using animation to merely recreate the imagination (and
unleash a colourful panoply of garish monsters), ‘Totoro' is a film about
imagination, one which feels uniquely attuned to the type of creatures that
girls of such a young age would really dream up – the Soot Spirits are little
black balls, their mode of transport is a contraption which is half bus, half
cat. Indeed, Miyazaki is just as enthralled by real creatures – such as
tadpoles – as he is in the fantastical beasts of the forest.
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Though told predominantly from the perspective of children,
the film also offers sagely musings on the subconscious ways in which adults
attempt to withdraw their children from the realities of death. There's
something curious about the girls' protective father as you feel that his eerily
tactile mode of parenting masks a
desperate ploy to make them forget about their mother's problems. Yet, slowly
they become ever more alert to the potential gravity of the situation which
culminates in one of the film's most heartbreaking scenes where
Mei runs off in an effort to present her mother with an ear of corn in order speed up her recovery.
As usual with Ghibli's output, the story is brought to life
with exquisite hand-drawn visuals that exude the artisanal lustre of classic
Disney while being totally fresh, unique and engaging in their own right. There
isn't a single inch of a single frame where you feel an effort hasn't been made
to pull you into this world and to place you next to these characters. The lush
backdrops of rural Japan – ponds, fields and woodland clearings – recall the
soothing landscapes painted by Monet, while the uncomplicated designs of the
monsters and humans strive (and largely achieve) to make the story and the
feelings as rich and relatable as possible.
But I'm only piercing the surface of what ‘Totoro' is
really ‘about', as among all of the above it provides an authentic portrait of
burgeoning teenage love, a investigation into the mechanics of making new
friends and a urgent call for us to safeguard the natural world. Ultimately,
though, it's a film which says that all you need to be happy is love and
imagination. How life affirming is that? DJ
Watch the US trailer here
Read the Time Out review of 'My Neighbour Totoro'
Explore the list: | 50-41 | 40-31 | 30-21 | 20-11 | 10-2 |
Author: Derek Adams, Dave Calhoun, Adam Lee Davies, Paul Fairclough, Tom Huddleston, David Jenkins & Ossian Ward
User comments on this story
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- Biggie said...
- wheres the lion king???? Posted on May 22 2012 00:03
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- Seijiro said...
- Sword of the Stranger - definitely one of the best anime films I've seen with an awesome soundtrack. Posted on May 17 2012 17:11
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- Daisy-May said...
- This list could do with updating (people seem to miss when it was written and there has been some good films since). I still prefer Spirited Away to Totoro, and it terms of cat films Felidae is paws above Fritz the Cat. The Girl Who Leapt Through Time and Summer Wars are stunning anime without being the sci-fi that is Akira and GITS (not that they aren't utterly brilliant). In terms of Disney it is a shame The Lion King isn't here as it is one of their greatest, and though they went through a dark period, Tangled and Princess and the Frog have recaptured Disney's old magic. Posted on May 14 2012 20:40
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- Ivo said...
- Brilliant list... There's two big animations missing... METROPIA and WALTZ WITH BASHIR Posted on May 11 2012 00:28
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- Skip said...
- How could you miss Pixar's brilliant, moving, funny, and magnificent "Up"?? Posted on Apr 24 2012 03:56
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- hu said...
- akira is definitely number 1 Posted on Apr 22 2012 01:26
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- Nicole said...
- How did you miss "Ninja Scroll"? Posted on Apr 15 2012 17:25
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- Fahad said...
- Choosing the film "My Neighbor Totoro" in 1st place is very wise. Nice list in general, some choices don't deserve to be here but we can blame that on difference in taste. This list also introduced me to some new interesting movies, but aren't you forgetting something? And no I'm not talking about neither Beauty And The Beast nor The Lion King, I'm talking about Howl's Moving Castle, I mean come on... seriously... no matter how different our tastes in movies are, Howl's Moving Castle (like My Neighbor Totoro) is a timeless classic. I'm not saying it should be #1 (cause i feel like Spirited Away should be #1) but the Howl's Moving Castle needs to make it to at least the top 10. Posted on Mar 19 2012 07:00
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- dkdkdkddkdk said...
- There wasn't anything special on that. Seriously Totoro is a fat bear that 2 kids find in a forest. A FAT BEAR. WOW....... Posted on Mar 14 2012 23:43
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- This Guy said...
- Dude... Alice, Balto, Sword in the Stone, Hobbit, Land Before Time, Wizards, Jetsons meet the Flintstones, and of course out of 50 only one Chuck Jones film NANANA. Dont do Chuck like that and throw up there the PHANTOM TOLLBOOTH. Posted on Mar 01 2012 23:37
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- geo said...
- wheres alice in wonderland? theres no way dumbo is not top 5 and while totoro is a great film, the animation is nothing special. Posted on Feb 18 2012 11:10
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- wilson said...
- SONG OF THE SOUTH. Posted on Feb 14 2012 08:44
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- josh said...
- the thief and the cobbler all im sayin. also the original land before time Posted on Feb 10 2012 18:08
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- Cesar said...
- That's a good list but umm WHY ISN'T THE LION KING THERE?!?! The list is crap if the Lion King isnt there. The most grossed traditional animated film. 2 oscars and many others. One of the biggest boost that the Disney Rennaisance had ( including Beauty and the Beast) so PUT THOSE ON THE LIST CUZ THEY WERE GOOD MOVIES Posted on Feb 08 2012 04:32
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- Brendan said...
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Some nice film mention but I don't agree with the list.
Snow White is number one, with out question and Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within should be along side Polar express sitting outside the top 100/200 Posted on Feb 07 2012 13:48 - Report as inappropriate
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