Anyway Mari sets up this fantastical world and takes a while to sort of establish its parameters. It takes most of the movie to figure out things like how exactly to get to the world, via the lighthouse with the magical stone, and whether or not it is real or just a dream. But then the movie does very little with it. What I mean is that in the last few moments of the film they try to create this sort of drama or conflict with the storm threatening the town's fishermen, with a special emphasis on the father of the protagonist's best friend. However, this problem is set up all too quickly, there is no real feeling of threat or danger like there could be. I mean there are undertones, like the boy's real father passing away and the fact the lighthouse (or rather the portal place) is being closed down. If the set up to the problem was too quick the solution was achieved at near enough to light speed. Everything is over too quick and nothing really had any tension mainly because the characters are hard to connect to. Likewise with Totoro there is no tension. Yes we feel something for the characters but the problem itself (the girl getting lost or running away) is rather halfheartedly attempted. Again it is too quickly set up with the girl suddenly deciding she wants to give some corn to her sick mother and the community not being able to find her. Tension is not built up in this process, we know the wee girl is fine even when a sandal is found in the river. And again it is solved even faster. Totoro calls the Catbus and they find the missing sister. The majority of the film is spent setting up the parameters of Totoro and his friends.
In these films it's not so much that conflict is absent it's that conflict and tension is not fully attempted. "Slice of life" films, like Totoro and Mari (which are essentially slice of life with fantasy elements entwined) do not require cosmic battles to create tension. But they still need conflict to be memorable. The Cat Returns is a good example of this. It is essentially the same, a real life world with a hidden fantasy world behind it. Also the consequences are not hugely substantial for humanity as a whole but there is conflict and tension. However, a problem is set up early and this is what drives the film. Such a problem not only drives the film but also allows for strong characters with vivid personalities. The playful girls of Totoro and the boys in Mari are nothing compared to the Baron. We only need to look at Mamoru Hosoda’s three films (The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Summer Wars and The Wolf Children) to show how conflict and struggle can drive a film beyond the fantasy (or sci-fi) world it creates and make it into a truly great film. In other words conflict or tension, something that has creates a meaningful, struggle I would argue is necessary if one hopes to create a truly memorable film.
I will say though that Totoro is still an enjoyable watch and worth the time. Obviously Totoro is not supposed to be filled with an evil antagonist. It is a film aimed at a young audience. Reviews give Totoro such a good score because of its humorous and touching look at life and how the girls experience everything. One reviewer said it showed how you don't need conflict to show a fun journey, just as another reviewer said it had a “vapid” plot (see the links below). It is enjoyable to watch for the way it portrays life and all its ups and downs but at the same time it does not really tell a great story. Sure this makes for an entertaining few hours at the time but it really doesn't leave you with anything memorable. Yes Totoro is remembered but for the film itself? No it is for the character design and the fantasy world created by Miyazaki, not the intriguing and interesting story, for there is none really. The music is remarkable too. On the other hand Mari will not really be remembered for its story lacks any meaningful conflict and, unlike Totoro, its fantasy world is both brief and unmemorable. The characters have a very limited interaction with the fantasy world creatures. The art is also strange compared to traditional 2D animation and overall it just doesn’t have that Ghibli magic that Totoro has, that thing that you can’t explain but it just draws you into the movie. So when I was watching it I needed some story, some plot, some conflict or struggle but in the end I was left without this from Mari too. There is some reconciliation though. My Beautiful Girl Mari does explore how Nam-woo matures through his journeys into the fantasy word in an attempt to get through how both his best friend, Jun-ho, is leaving him to study in the big city (Seoul) and his widowed mother is leaving him for the affections of a new lover. So again like Totoro there is a journey within oneself (as the sisters Satsuki and Mei must deal with their mother’s illness and father’s work) but the lack of conflict or real struggle makes the journey not so memorable. Again I would point back to Mamoru Hosoda’s films as a good example.
When teaching English I must obviously teach kids how to write. Along with essays and letters, I must teach kids how to write stories, not long ones but stories nonetheless. Anyway I always say the best stories are made up of 4 parts: beginning, problem, solution and ending. The longer and more detailed one can make the problem the better, because when this happens the audience (reader or viewer) becomes more invested in the characters and their situations. However, Mari and Totoro spend too long on what I would classify as the beginning. They spend too much time setting up characters and the fantasy world they live in and not enough time in the problem phase of their stories. I mean how interesting would Lord of the Rings be if over half the series was just establishing who each character was, even without thought of the ring and the need for its destruction. How interesting would Harry Potter be if the first four books were completely devoid of Voldemort and his minions, and it was just the kids playing around in a magical world? Yes creating a fantasy world is impressive but establishing a worthwhile problem is what truly makes a movie's story great. Unfortunately Totoro and Mari do create interesting fantasy worlds and explore human growth but do not produce a memorable story to give value to either of these aspects.
Links:
My Beautiful Girl, Mari
My Neighbor Totoro
The reviews:
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