“My Neighbour Totoro” is the type of film that Hollywood would never make. It doesn’t really have a plot or a point; it’s just imaginative. It’s a charming Japanese anime film by Hayao Miyazaki (“Spirited Away”) that has some splendid visuals and is truly impressive in terms of its creativity.

In “My Neighbour Totoro”, two girls move with their father to rural Japan as they wait for their sick mother to get better. During that time, they discover a mystical and friendly creature, named Totoro. The creature doesn’t really do an awful lot but somehow manages to radiate a sense of comfort. I can’t quite explain what the girls and Totoro do.

The girls are okay. The Totoro character is quite frankly bizarre. He never speaks but instead resorts to making just a few sounds. He isn’t quite Winnie the Pooh but he offers that same style of warmth. The other bizarre creature in the film is a Catbus; it charges around rural Japan and creates some exquisite sights for the eyes. The designs of both Totoro and the Catbus are honestly amazing. They’re both innovative and original. However, the Catbus did at times remind me a little of the Cheshire Cat from “Alice In Wonderland”.

“My Neighbour Totoro” isn’t quite as engaging as I may have hoped but it is a truly refreshing kids’ film. It ditches the violence found in a lot of Japanese anime movies such as “Akira” but manages to retain the great visuals so it’s a good family film. I like how it doesn’t really have much of a point; it’s just a pleasant experience to sit through it. I wish there were more films like “My Neighbour Totoro”, films where we can just embrace imagination in a nice and soothing way. It’s nice every now and then to put aside the bad language, bloodshed and all that, which we so frequently are exposed to by films. Instead we can have something delightful such as the Catbus.