My Neighbor Tortoro

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⭐8/10

My up and down relationship with Miyazaki continues. Jess sold this one to me saying this was the most linear, logical of his movies, which is all I'm really asking for. I would say that description is probably accurate, though this movie is almost entirely plotless which helps. It is mostly a movie about two young girls moving into rural Japan and exploring life there. 

I kinda loved it. It's a super cute movie with wholesome, authentic depictions of childhood in 80s rural Japan. I always connect with stories about kids in rural settings, the magic of country living, the creativity of children there. It reminded me of lots of my favorites, most notably Princess Kaguya by the actual master of anime Isao Takahata. Honestly if this movie had no fantastic elements I may have liked it more, though the monsters were nice enough. 

So yeah, nice movie, not much more to add. Obviously if you are looking for a wonderful audio/visual, you will find nothing better than a Ghibli. We watched the dub which I thought was perfectly serviceable. Nice movie night, maybe by favorite Miyazaki movie to date. 


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