Totoro Makes Each Day Brighter

Just recently, my husband had a meaningful talk with his team at work. They started to talk about movies, cartoons both for the kids and the young at heart. It just so happen that one of my husband's coordinators loves Japanese cartoons, anime. He recommended flicks from Studio Ghibli which is a Japanese Animation Studio, and he was very nice to give us a copy of one of the movies.

It all started with Spirited Away. Then we went on with Princess Mononoke, Grave of the Fireflies, Howl's Moving Castle and My Neighbor Totoro.

My Neighbor Totoro has become the family's favorite. My Neighbor Totoro carries a very pleasant vibe. Watching the opening segment alone can make a person smile all day. Listening to the theme can make us wander away to wonderland. It's the perfect cartoon for the whole family, I greatly recommend it.

My Neighbor Totoro is a 1988 Japanese film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki and produced by Studio Ghibli. The story goes around two sisters and their adventures with the wood spirits in rural Japan.

 The film won the Animage Anime Grand Prix prize and the Mainichi Film Award for Best Film in 1988.

It was re-released by Disney on March 7, 2006. With Dakota Fanning ( Satsuki Kusakabe ),  Elle Fanning ( Mei Kusakabe ), Tim Daly (Father and professor- Tatsuo Kusakabe ) and our very own Ms. Lea Salonga (Yasuko Kusakabe - Mother).

Rotten Tomatoes reported that 90 percent of critics gave the film positive write-ups, based upon a sample of 29, with an average score of 8.1/10. -source-

Totoro made several cameos in other cartoon movies and the famous ones are episodes of South Park as a background character, Neil Gaiman's The Sandman: Brief Lives and Pixar's Toy Story 3.

Over the weekend, we went to Greenhills and found dozens of Totoro merchandise in Comic Alley. The sales person from Comic Alley told us that they're just doing an experiment if the Totoro items are going to sell and they are.

Comic Alley is the No.1 Anime shop here in the Philippines. I told my husband that Comic Alley is going to be added as a regular stop for me in any mall.

For starters, I bought a small stuffed toy and an I.D holder with a Totoro chain. At work, my husband has his own Totoro too.

Why are we all goo-goo-and ga-ga over Totoro?

1. He's so cute and cuddly.

2. He's so cute and cuddly.

3. He's so cute and cuddly.

And you know what's interesting too?  we also found some sellers of original Totoro bed, slippers, jacket, bags and big stuffed toys, things that they don't sell in Comic Alley.

As a parent, cartoons like My Neighbor Totoro is something worth watching. I suggest this more than any other show on television. My Neighbor Totoro emphasizes good values. It enhances imagination on an innocent and more natural approach, respect and care for nature and the most important of all, it shows love between family members and neighbors.

I just love Totoro...