Sometimes you can find yourself inside a book or a movie. The thin, short-haired girl who live in small village and liked to run and run across the countryside, liked to believe that there were magical creatures in a big camphor tree. Satsuki- the older sister in this Japanese animated movie " My neighbor Totoro" (1988, directed by Hayao Miyazaki) , is a kind of reflection of my childhood.
The two young girls and their father moved into a mysterious new house on the edge of a forest.Together they become friends with the King of the forest :Totoro. He is a funny looking creature living in a secret world inside a giant camphor tree. There are also small sized totoros and their friend a magical "Cat-bus". Theses friendly characters help the young girls to see their mother who has been hospitalized for a long time.
The movie takes place in the countryside in the early 1950's. this small village in a rural area could been seen throughout in Japan in those days. I was born in mid 60's. a decade later the story took place, but it was preserved pretty much as it had been generation earlier. so actually I grew up in the setting you seen in this movie : the thick woods, rice fields,, rippling streams, ponds with green mossy water,,,
The messages from the movie - the importance of nature to humans and believing in the power of magic - are often forgotten in our hectic modern lives. It's simple and beautiful story for children of all ages as well as for adults.
