Fiction

My Neighbour Totoro is a pretty foundational movie in the Studio Ghibli canon, beloved by generations - the mascot of the studio, even! - and admired by solarpunks. But what is it about this movie that is so inspiring? The visuals are beautiful, but what about the plot and conflict? Is there conflict? Compared to, say, the flashy plots of action films or even recent Disney animated features, can there be satisfying conflict in a story that doesn't seem to have much in the way of stakes? Or perhaps is this a different way of storytelling altogether? Ariel and Christina consider these questions and more in a discussion of My Neighbor Totoro.