![elle fanning my neighbor totoro elle fanning my neighbor totoro](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/FcMwpNidCYM/hqdefault.jpg)
![elle fanning my neighbor totoro elle fanning my neighbor totoro](https://jmrocketreporter.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/my-neighbor-totoro-hayao-miyazaki-900x563.jpg)
Between the two lead characters, I personally prefer Mei because due to her young age, she’s much more open to the idea of spirits roaming their new home, and as a result it’s much more fun to watch her interacting with them, as her playfulness and curiosity towards her new friends almost feels as if you’re watching a child playing with imaginary friends. Regardless of whether or not you knew they were sisters in real life, the audience would still feel that the two of them work very naturally off one another. I feel that it’s almost unnecessary to mention that Dakota and Elle Fanning go a great job at acting like natural siblings. Every song from the opening ‘Stroll (Hey, Let’s Go)’ to ‘Totoro (Ending Song)’ has such a catchy tempo that it appeals to your inner child. The music in My Neighbour Totoro has the rare quality of being geared towards children but will also have many adults humming the songs after seeing the film. From beginning to end I was immediately sucked into a beautifully laid-back atmosphere, achieved by Hayao Miyazaki’s gorgeous, bright and colourful backgrounds that are drawn in the style of a watercolour painting, as well as Joe Hisaishi’s score. When something of conflict happens, it’s never handled in a three-act structure, the characters react in a way they normally would, and as soon as either a scenario or a sadder one occurs immediately afterwards, they move on and do the same. But why? What makes films such as The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh and Bambi so enjoyable is that the focus is never on plot or tension, but instead centres around each film’s well-animated atmosphere and the interactions between the cast of likeable characters. The fact that Totoro himself is the studio mascot and has cameoed in several other major films, one of which being Toy Story 3. My Neighbor Totoro is arguably the most iconic film that Studio Ghibli has ever produced. In My Neighbour Totoro, we see the interactions between 11 year-old Satsuki (Dakota Fanning), her 4 year-old sister Mei (Elle Fanning) and the friendly spirits that inhabit the woods behind their new house, one of them being a giant creature whom the siblings name Totoro.