My Neighbor Totoro and the Sunshine Hut

I have never been motivated to watch this JP cartoon called My Neighbor Totoro till my flatmate Tomo recommended it to me. Tomo is obsessed with this cartoon and even got a four inch Totoro soft toy from Japan; so I really made a good friend with Tomo’s Totoru and used him as my volleyball. After long time bulling Tomo’s totoro, I though as a good friend of him, I possibly should know a bit more about his background. Finally, yesterday, I did manage to watch the entire totoro movie on the brilliant Youtube (Thanks god, Americans are destroying China’s pirate industry).


I guess I wouldn’t like this Tototo if I was five years younger because it is just not my type of cartoon like The Simpsons and The South Park. But after all, I have to say that I did enjoy this Mr Hayao Miyazaki’s piece of work. I really think there’s something wrong with me now. In this cartoon, my favorite scene would be when Satsuki, Mei and Totoro were waiting for the bus at night in the rain; when the rain fell down to Totoro’s umbrella, it was just hilarious.

Coincidentally, I watch another movie, Grace Is Gone, right after watching Totoro. One is animation, one is drama, but they give me the same feeling in a way (same, same..but different…). Somehow, Grace Is Gone reminds me the Russian movie - the Return, which I watched in the Wellington International movie festival few years ago. I do not understand why even with John Cusack's great acting, this simple plot indie movie did not receive high ratings in both IMDB and rottentomatoes. I just like this type of drama, simple but imaginary. Maybe something wrong with me again, seriously.

I suppose its like after long hiking in the bush for days; in a cold dark night, you came to this old wooden hut on the mountain range in the middle of nowhere. In the middle of the night, you saw a table, few chairs, a candle, a fire place and a warm bed in the hut; you saw a view from someone’s back in the kitchen; you suddenly heard some noise from somewhere else in the hut. That’s just so simple, but that’s all what you want and that’s all what you need. Somehow, you just know this is the Sunshine hut; you just know, through windows, you can see stars twinkling in the dark blue sky.