There were several things that did not sit right with me in the movie but I'll start with the bathing scene. This is a simple and seemingly innocent scene where the two girls are taking a bath with there father. Now at different times and places through our history as human beings this may have been OK. But in modern American society it is clearly, and with out any doubt, not. There seems to be a constant flow of people trying to teach children that some form of inappropriate behavior is OK when it's not. There are also more sick people out there then ever trying to harm children in ways that are unspeakable. And, unfortunately, more often then not it is the people the children are close to and or family. So to show a situation as to where the adolescent children are alone and naked with an adult being common place, sends a message that is just wrong and out of place.
I also did not like how they have the children wondering off into the woods, going through small places that only they can go through, and disappearing for hours unsupervised. This too is a very bad example to set as well. Children should always be in the sight of their parent or guarding. Even an animal as simple as a dog is big enough to carry off a child. Let alone ANY animal that lives in a forest. That is just too dangerous for a child to do and should not be dictated to them on a film.
There is also a scene where you see one of the children excepting a gift from the giant creature Totoro whom she JUST met. This as well is a big no no in our modern world. Children should never except gifts from strangers with out adult supervision. Just as children should never go Trick or Treating with out an adult. Only an adult has the knowledge and experiences to know what is and isn't an appropriate gift. Also the ability to tell if it has been tampered with or not. So, once again, this was a truly bad example of what to show a child as normal behavior is clearly not OK.
In this story you will also see the children running off with strange creatures that the adults can't see or know much about. This screams foul to me as well. A child should never go anywhere with anyone, with out consulting their custodial guardian or parental figure first. To not do so should, and normal would, incur some form of punishment. But to do so with such carelessness is just irresponsible. This film could have easily shown these things being done but adding in the quick detail of the child going to ask the father first. Instead so just being another example of what not to do.
Now the movie was not completely bad and did have some uplifting elements that were enjoyable. Like how the children were written very accurately to their ages and maturity It was fun to watch them interact as well because you could relate to their innocent and child like nature. Unlike the overly exaggerated characters we see now in most American cartoons. Where way too often the child like character is taking on the roles and responsibilities of an adult from having to be somehow forced into an adult situation or an adult decision. It was nice to see kids being kids for a change, although the messages given were all wrong. It was also nice to see the gentle interactions between the father and the children. How well the got along and respected each other for who they were. That too is something I rarely see in today's entertainment media. Even if the family gets a long it's usually just on the surface and they seem to talk 'at' each other because they have to, not like they want to and have or get any enjoyment from their interaction. But in My Neighbor Totoro the love and admiration seems genuine. It was interesting as well to see no evil characters and that is was just a simple story. But from having seen so many anime movies already, that factor missing mad this film seem dull and slow. But the thought was nice to view a world that we don't live in but should. As to wear children could be that overly trusting of strangers and those around them.
So while this film does a good job portraying the children as children. It dose not portray the realities of the wold children live in today. Children are extremely impressionable, and they only know what they see and are taught. They are not good at forming complex decisions as to what may or may not hurt them in the long run. Being why we must look after them in the manner that we do. My Neighbor Totoro is not a movie for children of this era unless watched with and adult to explain why.
