My Neighbour Totoro

'I wanted My Neighbour Totoro to be a heartwarming feature film that would not only entertain and touch its viewers, but stay with them long after they have left the theaters. I wanted the spirit of the film to endear lovers to each other, inspire parents to fondly recall their childhood and encourage kids to roam around temple grounds or climb trees.

What can Japan be proud of? Unitl recently, parents and kids have been able to easily answer, "nature and the seasonal beauty", but no one can say that anymore. Those of us who live in Japan - and who are indeed Japanese - shun the reality of our country, where animation is a form of escapism. Is this country that awful, so devoid of hope now?

Even in this global age, it's the most local things that can have worldwide effect. Yet why doesn't anyone make a delightful and wonderful film set in Japan?

We need a new method and sense of discovery to be up to the task. Rather than be sentimental, the film must be a joyful, entertaining film.

The forgotten.

The ignored.

Those that are consider lost.

Yet I made My Neighbor Totoro with the firm belief that these things still exist.'

This is an excerpt from a book of the making of one of my favourite Studio Ghibli movies, My Neighbour Totoro. The art is amazing.

The scenes in My Neighbour Totoro always fill me with nostalgia, even though I have never been to Japan. The gigantic green trees, the shrines and temples, the myths of creatures that once existed.

This is the Japan I want to visit.