Two delightful tales of children, nature, and being a good neighbor.
My Neighbor Totoro (1988; MAX or your library)
When a Japanese family moves into an old house in the country, two young sisters discover some magical neighbors in their backyard. Totoro may be the most recognizable character from the films of Hayao Miyazaki; he’s even featured on his animation company logo:
When My Neighbor Totoro premiered in cinemas in Japan, it was not popular. A year later it came to television—and audiences of all ages fell in love with it. Viewing ratings off the charts. Maybe it’s because the movie feels like home. It’s not a spectacle; it’s a slice of everyday life, slow, colorful, and wondrous. It’s a movie you can put on repeat while your small children play in the living room. Because unlike most entertainment, it isn’t fast. It isn’t violent. It just inspires gentle wonder. It feels like kids playing out in nature—which is what the movie is about. Simple and sweet.
For sensitive viewers: The kids’ mother is in a hospital for treatment for an extended period of time.
Skippy (1931; YouTube—see instructions below)
The son (Jackie Cooper) of a wealthy doctor visits the other side of town—the impoverished, dirty shantytown—where he befriends young Sooky and his mangy dog. This movie is amazing. First, let’s talk about the actors. Child star Jackie Cooper was already popular from Hal Roach’s Our Gang, where he played the lead in the years before Alfalfa. (Our Gang was renamed “Little Rascals” when it aired on television decades later). You may know Cooper from his role in the 1970s and 80s as Superman’s boss. In Skippy, he knocks it out of the park. He pulls off depths of emotion that won him the Best Leading Actor Oscar for this role—at age 9. And joyful little Sooky (age 7) is charming to watch. In some scenes he literally shakes with delight!
But the movie isn’t just cute. It’s about a side of town that the city would rather eradicate than help. It’s too “dirty,” “infected,” so just put it down like an animal. Hence the conflict over Sooky’s dog—will Skippy convince his father that there’s another way?
In the writer credits, notice the name Joseph Mankiewicz. He would go on to write masterpieces of social cinema like Citizen Kane (1940) with Orson Welles and No Way Out (1950) with Sidney Poitier. And don’t miss the long takes at minute 1:04:20, when the movie just slows down for a stunning sequence. Due to the new sound technologies cinema was incorporating, I associate most movies of the early 1930s with poor sound quality and limited camera movement. This film is the exception. It feels like it could have been made yesterday.
(Now, for how to watch it. Someone has posted the majority of the film on YouTube, here. But it’s missing the last six minutes! If you watch the movie and want to see the ending, just let me know at mindandheartmovieblog@gmail.com.)
For sensitive viewers: Some kids fighting and expressing sadness regarding a pet.
Nathan’s Writing Update
Yesterday I got back into writing my book. March was busy! My chapter on Wicked is complete, so it’s time to start draft #2 of my chapter on Bolt. The chapter is written, but in dense sentences that only work in academic journal articles and dissertations. I want this book to be fun to read! So I’m going to run it through my mental food processor, like my grandmother with pie dough ingredients, to shorten and soften it up. Wish me success!
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