Karen Kozuch
K-6 Elementary and Middle School ELL (English Language Learners)
Social, Instructional language, ELA, Social Studies, Science, Math
Gateway School District

After viewing this film twice with three of my own children, boys ages 12, 14, and 17, I found that the anime style and the slower pace were refreshing and beneficial to understanding the culture of Japan. Although I heard comments like, "This scene goes on forever" when Mei is interacting with Totoro and the other wood spirits, overall, my sons were entertained and found relationships to their own childhood as with the "Magic School Bus" cat and the "bay blades" that help Totoro give the children an exciting ride. Although this might seem like a movie made for young children, I think it would be most appropriate for third grade and up. The themes of family loyalty, fear of loss of a close family member, friendship, life change, and growing up make it ideal for older children and even adults. As several reviewers have mentioned, I would hesitate to show the scene with the father and daughters bathing simply because it would be difficult to explain given our own cultural taboos.

In addition to the universal themes that I would emphasize for discussion on the commonality of human nature in both ELA and Social Studies, I would use this film for its beautiful depiction of the Japanese traditional Shinto beliefs or connection with the spirituality of nature. Besides the obvious discussion of wood spirits and the importance of the human relationship with the trees when the father mentions that he chose this place because he knows their mother would love the especially old tree, there are many instances of the family communing with nature. The dancing around the grove of trees and their immediate tremendous growth, albeit imaginary, is striking as well as the time spent playing flutes in the trees and harvesting the vegetables in Granny's garden. In regard to health, both physical and psychological, the discussion about the tremendous health benefits of eating those vegetables grown by Granny with tender loving care leads to a major plot development when Mei tries to get to the hospital to save her mother's life with the corn she picked herself. Even the architecture of the traditional Japanese home is very much one with nature and the soot sprites are understood to be "friendly" ghosts that unite them with their environment. Totoro and his companions are the ultimate connection to our biological and spiritual worlds and well-accepted by the father despite his inability to see them. As we decorated our own house this weekend for the Christmas season by bringing the out-of-doors inside with Christmas trees and other greenery, I felt a connection with the girls and their forest friends that many of my students would understand.

I would also use this film to point out cultural similarities and differences in the hospital scenes, the school room scenes, and chores done together as a family and as a given part of their daily lives. The hard work of the father in his study, the one room school house depicting a teacher who is given high respect, the emphasis on the Kanji penmanship, and the method of discipline when the book is placed on the boy's head are all interesting aspects given that the movie was made in 2006. Also, the acceptance of young Mei by the teacher and the other students demonstrates a culture of loving community during hard times. Although Satsuki is slightly embarrassed and asks Mei to be quieter, she was obviously concerned enough to run out and greet her and invite her in to the school when it became clear that was the only solution. The immense love shown between all members of this family make it perfect for the unit we are studying right now on what makes a family and whether your community and the world can be you family. Although I do not have any students from Japan at this time, my students always appreciate the study and acceptance of other cultures as validation that our differences are just as enriching to study as our similarities with our family, the human race.

Reviewed by Janessa Noel, First Grade Teacher, Conner Street Elementary

The film was the first Anime type of film that I have viewed. While the story was interesting, I found it was lagging just a bit, particularly for younger audiences. I watched this with my 4 year old daughter, and while she was interested, about halfway in, she began to lose interest and eventually walked away. The story action was not enough to maintain her focus. As a first grade teacher, I feel that this movie may be a nice way to introduce some aspects of Japanese culture- the father reminds the girls to take their shoes off, the oldest daughter packs lunches for everyone, the "Granny" plays an important role in taking care of the home and the youngest girl, Mei. There are also many instances of the use of kanji, as well as a scene from a Japanese classroom in the film that could be used to compare and contrast.
While I have not yet used this video in my classroom, I see ways that elements of the movie could be used to accompany lessons in the classrooms. For example, Totoro is a fictional character, that shows elements of fantasy, along with the cat-bus and the "soot sprites". These characters show many characteristics of fiction or fantasy tales. The movie mentions plants frequently and shows the importance of ecology with the Japanese culture. I think that this movie would be a great way to show plant life in other countries as well as a way to introduce seeds and sprouts, as acorns are mentioned frequently throughout the movie.
The main reason I gave this film 4 stars is because I would hesitate to show the movie in my class, or at least the scene where the father bathes with the daughters and Satsuki's backside is shown. As much as I could try to explain the cultural differences, I feel that I would certainly have to fast forward to skip that scene all together to avoid first grade snickers and laughs, and upset parents calling.
Overall a good movie with a great introduction to Japanese culture and animation.