Hayao Miyazaki’s MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO Midnights This Weekend at The Tivoli

“Trees and people used to be good friends. I saw that tree and decided to buy the house. Hope Mom likes it too. Okay, let’s pay our respects then get home for lunch.”

MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO plays midnights this weekend (May 12th and 13th) at The Tivoli Theater as part of the Reel late at The Tivoli Midnight series.

We all know Hayao Miyazaki is an anime genius, creating stories focusing on character, story and fantasy, letting his imagination run wild. He has created great films like SPIRITED AWAY, HOWL’S MOVING CASTLE, and PRINCESS MONONOKE. One of his first great works, MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO, will be screening at the Tivoli in St. Louis this Friday and Saturday nights.

MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO was made back in 1988 and tells the story of Mr. Kusakabe and his two daughters Satsuki and Mei who move to a new home in rural Japan so they could be close to their sick mother. Their new home is run down and filled with soot spirits, but the family soon settles in. One day Mei meets a strange giant creature called Totoro, a large furry animal who has two minions. No one believes Mei at first but after Mei disappears Satsuki has to call Totoro for help.

MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO is a strange little film, but Miyazaki does have an understanding of a child’s imagine (either that or he takes a lot drugs). There is a certain Alice in Wonderland feel about the film, with Mei going down a hole and Totoro and the Catbus (one of the weirdest ideas ever) looking like the Chester Cat. But the main focus of the film is the relationship between the young girls and the father who is obviously overwhelmed with his caring for them, having a wife in hospital and continuing with his job. The children are energetic and believable and the film is about the wonders of a child’s imagination. Miyazaki is so great at creating worlds and is a great fantasy storyteller so check out the opportunity to see MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO on the big screen this weekend.

A Facebook invite for this event can be found HERE

https://www.facebook.com/events/143056836216597/

Here’s the Reel Late at the Tivoli Line-up for next weekend:

MAY 19^TH AND 20^TH                  –    THE DARK KNIGHT

Look for more midnight line-up news at We Are Movie Geeks this week!