There is a reason that Totoro is in Studio Ghibli's logo and it isn't because My Neighbor Totoro is characteristic of most of Ghibli's films. Rather, it is because the film is a departure from what Hayao Miyazaki usually does. This film has a very "Special" place in the Studio Ghibli lineup; I love it. There is no epic battle between good and evil, the forest and man, such as there is in Pom Poko, Princess Mononoke, Howels Moving Castle, and so on, if you were expecting that. It is, instead, a more intimate movie, more uplifting, and shows a reverence for nature which is very, very admirable. It's almost as "Japanese" as The Story of the Weeping Camel is "Mongolian".
There is a scene early in the movie which is kinda representative of the humor and the style of the rest of the film. The daughters, Mei and Satsuki, are told to go open the bathroom, but they are already hyper and excited and have been running around their new home boundlessly. They head off on their quest and run around the house, past the little door to the bathroom. The camera pauses on the door and waits for the girls to come back, which they soon do and unlock the door. They aren't gone for more than a few seconds so it could be easy to miss. It's not a very punch-line-driven joke, it's just situational and quickly passes but it is a beautiful detail which gives this movie its life. It's full of such things. These characters are so full that it's hard to imagine their lives not continuing after the film ends.
The music is just as beautiful as these details and just as full of reverence for the world. There are beautiful visuals and really funny images all through the film. I have heard tell of a few people interpreting sexually deviant and extravagant images in this movie. If you do see such things, you must really be looking hard for them. For shame that you would ruin such a beautiful thing for that. The movie is childish and innocent all the best ways. Reminiscent of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's The Little Prince, which could just very well be the best think you could read on doomsday ('think' being operative).
There's really no room to praise Totoro enough and I can't think of anything to say against it. It may not be the best film ever made, but it's up there. There is no resolution to speak of, besides to the plot begun 5 minutes before the end, but it doesn't really need it. It's not about plot, it's about life and it's about character.
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