5. My Neighbour Totoro
Departing from the action-oriented plots of his previous films (Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind and Laputa: Castle in the Sky), Japan's most beloved animator, Hayao Miyazaki, provides a slower-paced, stunningly realistic portrayal of life in the countryside.
When their mother is hospitalized because of an unspecified illness, two young sisters spend a summer in the Japanese countryside with their father.
The children's strange new environment turns out to be a natural wonderland filled with exotic real-life creatures and a trio of furry, woodland sprites who can only be seen by children.
Released in 1988 My Neighbour Totoro is one of Studio Ghibli's older pictures amd instead of focusing on the horrors of war the film, instead, looks at the importance of family.
Unlike many of Miyazaki's movies this film is aimed at a child audience as the film focuses on a child's curious wonder, imagination and wide eyed wonder.
FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw
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