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Vanessa Mae Lim

Film Criticism (Hayao Miyazaki)

My Neighbor Totoro (1988) Vs Spirited Away (2001)

My neighbor Totoro (1988) and Spirited Away (2001) was directed by Japan’s anime filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki. Miyazaki is the award winning filmmaker and director of most Studio Ghibli films. After watching a couple of his films, I noticed that there are recurring themes and elements featured in his films. Totoro and Spirited Away are both categorized under fantasy and adventure films. The protagonists, Mei and Satsuki in totoro stumbles upon a friendly forest spirit who plays a major role in helping them cope with their current distress due to their mother being hospitalized for spinal tuberculosis. Whereas, in spirited away the protagonist, Chihiro ventures in a bathhouse where she encounters spirits, witches and other supernatural beings after trespassing an abandoned amusement park. Despite the fact that both films have the same genre. Totoro happens to be more of a drama and spirited away is a mystery. In my opinion, parts of the plot in Totoro were not as prominent as spirited away because spirited away conjures up more suspense and tension attributed by its inability to be predicted, hence being a mystery film. Besides the protagonist, there is the antagonist, deuteragonist, tritagonist and supporting characters. Kanta and Kohaku are the deuteragonists. Granny, Tatsuo, Kamaji, No face and Lin are the tritagonist and the supporting characters are Michiko, Yasuko, Boh and Zeniba. Yubaba is the only antagonist.


In Totoro, characters deliberately display consideration for neighbors. When Kusakabe family moves, Granny helps them settle in. Kanta offers his tattered umbrella to the girls when he saw them sheltering under a shrine. After receiving the hospital’s telegram, Kanta brings Satsuki to use their telephone. Moreover, Kanta also took Mei to Granny when Satsuki storms off without her. In addition to that, when Mei was missing the villagers gathered to look for her, they were worried about her and were anxious to find her. Nowadays, it is common for people in urbanized areas to not know or be acquainted with their neighbors.


Besides the positive citizens of matsugo there is also positive adult role models in the Kusakabe household. Tatsuo and Yasuko supports the imagination of their daughters. Their open mind towards their children’s beliefs, moulds and empowers their creativity. Simultaneously, Tatsuo isn’t overprotective he allows Mei to explore by herself. He accepts ambiguities and different realities. When Mei met Totoro, Satsuki was skeptical that Mei had seen a troll but Tatsuo does not doubt her. He follows them into the woods when Mei wanted to show them Totoro’s hideout. Moreover, he instills good moral attitude in the girls by educating them to thank the “king of the forest” for keeping an eye out on Mei. At the hospital, Yasuko compliments Satsuki for tying Mei’s ponytail to encourage her, she also reminds Mei to be grateful for Satsuki.



Given the circumstances of living without their mother, it led the girls to be independent individuals at a young age. One morning, the girls woke their father because he overslept. Satsuki reminds him about their lunchboxes that she has already prepared. Family is another important theme in the film. Satsuki and Mei showed concern for their father when they realized he left his umbrella behind, they brought it to him at the bus stop. They were worried when he did not arrive in time and despite the rain, Satsuki carries Mei when she falls asleep. When Satsuki found out that her mother was not well, she cries to granny. When Mei overhears them, she left to bring the corn to her mother. She believes that it will help her recover.


Yuan (2012) states that the characters respect and have appreciation for nature. The Kusakabe’s were so immersed in their rural surroundings, they were eager to learn about the new environment. As soon as they arrived, they explored around the house. They were also excited from the simplicity of picking up acorns. Apart from that, Tatsuo enlightens his daughters about how men and trees were in the past. Later on, the girls receive nuts and seeds wrapped in bamboo leaves from Totoro. They planted them in front of their house, Mei watches over them daily to see them sprout. The girls also joins in the ceremonial sprouting dance.


The underlying message that can be found in Totoro is when Mei got lost, she is seen sitting beside a row of statues. These statues represent a buddhist deity, Bodhisattva Jizo who is the guardian of children. Miyasaki was trying to impart to the audiences that despite Mei being lost, she is not in danger because she is being watched over by these deities.

One of the main themes in spirited away is the significance of friendship. Kamaji protected Chihiro when Lin accuses her of being the human fugitive. Besides that, he gives Chihiro the train ticket that he kept for 40 years to go meet Zeniba. He also took care of Haku who was severely injured while she was away. Furthermore, he lays a blanket on Chihiro when he sees her asleep on the floor. Lin and Sen also strengthened their friendship overtime, she was happy for Sen when she was hired. She helps her find clothes, mentors her, feeds her and rubbed her back when she felt unwell. Lin slowly becomes more protective towards Sen, it can be seen when Lin takes Sen to the train station, she told No Face “If you put even one scratch on that girl, you’re in big trouble!” At the end, Boh also defended his friend by telling his mother, “If you make Sen cry, I won’t like you anymore.”


Montgomery (2011) emphasizes that selfish acts leads to trouble and selfless acts is almost always repaid in full. In contrast to the selfish workers, Sen became more selfless. Sen expresses her concerns for No face and left the door open for him when he stood outside under the rain. He repays her by giving her the wooden token that she needs. Sen was also rewarded with a medicine after freeing the River Spirit, she used it twice to help No face and Haku instead of saving it for her parents. Fortunately, she gains allies and they assisted her. Haku is selfless too because he helps Chihiro when he first saw her. He warns her to leave and distracts the spirits with a spell. However she failed to leave, Haku confronts her again and ensures she does not vanish. In the end, Chihiro frees him and restores his identity.


Bey (2015) states that it was true love that saved the day. Haku fails to remember his own name and yet he remembers Chihiros’. He never knew how or why he remembers her but he trusted his instinct to lend a helping hand time and time again. When Haku was hurt, Sen brings him to the boiler room to seek Kamaji’s help. Kamaji informs her to return the seal and plead for forgiveness for his recovery. When she meets Zeniba, she discovers that the curse has already been broken by their genuine love for each other. Simultaneously, Haku looks for Chihiro as soon as he wakes, while he was unconscious he only remembers following Chihiro voice as she persistently calls out his name in darkness. Kamaji commented saying you can’t beat the power of love.


Montgomery (2011) believes that conquering fear is necessary. Sen shows character development when attends to injured Haku. She crosses an old feeble pipe for Haku’s sake. Initially, Chihiro was terrified to descend the steep and rickety staircase to the boiler room, without much choice she ran down eventually. When the susuwatari drops its’ coal, she faced her fears and proves her worth by bringing it to the furnace herself. Kamaji sees Chihiro’s potential and told Lin to bring her to Yubaba. Lin could not accompany her all the way therefore Chihiro confronted Yubaba alone. Despite being scared out of her wits, she puts up a brave front and conceals the intimidation she feels from Yubaba. Boh also lived in fear, he had mysophobia, the fear of germs. He was afraid of the oblivion of the ‘outside world’ so he never leaves his nursery. He is convinced that he will fall sick if he goes outside. Sen told him that staying in his room is what makes him sick. Eventually, Boh overcame his phobia because he stomps on the remains of the slug in the boiler room. He also confessed that he enjoyed his time outdoors with Sen.


The power of words and names is another evident theme. Chihiro’s name was a part of her enslavement as well as her escape from her contract. Haku had always known this, he warns Chihiro to be on guard and not be distracted from the goal because Yubaba can easily manipulate her with her words. Chihiro abided with Haku’s advices and spoke carefully, Yubaba fails to deceive Chihiro and she was able to protect her friends. Moreover, names are the characters key to their freedom. Yubaba controls her employees by stealing and changing their names. Haku told Sen not to forget her name otherwise she would be trapped forever. Memories are just as important, Haku gives Sen her clothes and the card with her name as a remembrance. When she reads it she realizes that she almost forgotten it overnight. Thereafter, Chihiro recalls how she met Haku. She told him about how she was rescued by a river spirit named Kohaku River, thus revealing Haku’s real name.


Another theme is overcoming obstacles to be independent. Boh only stays indoors, he is used to getting what he wants by throwing tantrums. After Zeniba transforms him into a rat, he becomes more self sufficient. Similarly, Chihiro used to be whiny and dependent on her parents. From the start, she whines and clings onto her mother. When she gets hired, she works incompetently. Lin even questions if she has ever worked a day in her life. Slowly, Sen learnt to adapt and worked diligently at the tasks appointed to her.

Sparknotes (n.d) claims that rules give structure to the spirit world. It is crucial to obey the established rules and know your boundaries. From the moment Chihiro sets foot in the spirit world she is bound to act in accordance to their rules. She held her breath as she crosses the bridge to the bathhouse to sustain the cloaking spell. When she works as Sen, Lin was informed that they had to clean the room for the filthiest guests. Although it is supposedly the frogs duties, they obeyed the orders that came from the higher-ups. Even the identical supreme witches, Yubaba and Zeniba are seen following rules. Yubaba had previously taken an oath to give opportunities to those who seek for jobs, therefore she had to hire Chihiro. Moreover, after Haku returns Boh, Sen still had to undergo a final test just as they agreed earlier. Zeniba could not help Sen retrieve her memories because that would be going against the rules. As Chihiro leaves the spirit world, she had to one last rule to follow, to not to look back as she leaves.


There is a significant amount of connotations found in Spirited Away. Firstly, it shows that being led by greed is destructive. Both humans and spirits face consequences for their greed. Chihiro’s parents are a prime example, the greed and temptation they had led them to eat the food that turned them into pigs. The workers who were greedy for gold was devoured by no face. Even Yubaba was blinded by greed, she failed to realize that Boh was missing.


Not only that, it shows that people have become materialistic. When Chihiro asks if they were lost, her father reassures her by telling her not to worry for he has a 4 wheel drive. Later on, before her parents feast at the food stalls he said to her again that she should not worry because he has credit cards and cash. Chihiro’s father represents the materialistic people in society that are convinced that with money, nothing can go wrong.


Next, environmentalism was briefly shown. One of the reasons why Haku could not retrieve his identity was due to the fact that the river was paved over and an apartment complex was built on top. His existence was erased by humanity for the practice of capitalism. Kawa no Kami was initially mistaken to be a stink god. He restored his power only after Sen removed the trash that was trapped inside. In other words, the river god suffered from pollution. Rathke (2015) states that these scenes illustrates how humans are destroying our own world.


Furthermore, it shows how bad influence could be to you. Screen Muse (2014) considers No face a blank slate before he enters the bathhouse. Once he was inside, he observed and absorbed the personalities and traits of those around him. He mimicked the actions he saw and became more tainted by the negative behavior. Other than that, it shows how different styles of parenting can affect children. Yubaba and Zeniba attitudes and personality towards Boh are worlds apart. Yubaba suffocates and pampers, whilst Zeniba is more strict but encouraging.


As has been said, Yubaba controls her employees by stealing their identity, that is why she sent Haku to steal Zeniba’s seal. The seal is actually a stamp called “yin zhang” and is used to illustrate the signature of an author. Dang (2015) believes that Yubaba wanted the seal to steal Zeniba’s identity, so that she can have control over her sister.


According to O’connell (2016) the characters have literal connotations to reflect who they are. Chihiro's name means “a thousand fathom and searches”. When Yubaba renames her, she is referred to as Sen which means “a thousand”. Boh means little boy or son, Kamaji means old boiler man. Yubaba means bathhouse witch; Zeniba means money witch. Besides their names, the characters are also a connotation by themselves. Vega (2011) believes that Yubaba is a representation of person’s ego, Boh represents a person's emotions. Haku is the potential one has for transformation. Kamaji is the body in service of the mind, his extra limbs represent him striving to meet all requirements. Lin represents the magnitude for sacrifice and effort, she complains but does works nonetheless.


Ewens (2016) highlighted when Chihiro and her parents were walking towards the stalls, there is Kanji character (狗) present, it is a homophone for kuniku, which means "bitter meat” that is to say personal sacrifice. Monji (2015) also pointed out another character on the building (骨) which means bone. The word is associated with an idiom “hone-nashi” which denotes to lack in moral backbone. On top of that, when Chihiro’s father marches down the alleyway, the arch above of him had Kanji characters written backwards, this is probably why Chihiro felt uneasy.

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