My first taste of Anime and Studio Ghibli and this was an animated film on an epic scale with a cursed prince falling in love with a wolf girl and trying to stop a war between humans and the forest creatures. Typically bonkers fantasy fare from Ghibli with talking wolves and boars and a deer god with the face of a man, but quite adult for a cartoon, there are battle scenes with people losing arms and legs.
I didn't really connect with this film though as there wasn't a clear side to root for as both humans and animals were sympathetic except for a few characters.
Also the central romance element was slightly underdeveloped and the ending felt rushed, like the forest is saved, we'll all live happily ever after, goodbye.
I needed something more.
236 - My Neighbour Totoro - 4 stars
Now this one however was an absolute delight. A man and his two young daughters move into a country house while the mother is in hospital. To escape from the pressures of growing up and the worries about their mums health, the two girls descend into (what may or may not be) a fantasy world where they befriend a giany cuddly egg-shaped cat creature they call Totoro.
The scene where Totoro appears next to them at a bus stop in the rain and is given an umbrella is simply delightful.
A terrific family film that deals with a difficult subject (how to deal with illness and the pains of growing up) in a really beautiful way.
Days remaining - 253 Films remaining - 337
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