Hayao Miyazaki Film Food — Part Two: MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO
This week we're running a series of articles exploring the food used in the animated film of Hayao Miyazaki. Yesterday we posted an editorial that focused on Spirited Away. Today's article takes an in-depth look at the food in My Neighbor Totoro.
Hayao Miyazaki's movies are widely known for their warm colors, cute pets, brave characters, attractive storyline, and incredible attention to detail. But one of the most significant parts of any Miyazaki film is actually the food. Miyazaki uses food in specific ways to bring characters together, build their relationships, and add depth to the story.
Japan is a highly developed country, but My Neighbor Totoro draws a picture of its beautiful countryside. This is an ordinary story which takes place during an agricultural era of Japan. During that time, Japan did not have modern buildings, busy streets, high technologies, or fancy restaurants. What they had were family, friends, and neighborhoods. In My Neighbor Totoro, Satsuki, Mei, and their father move to a new house in a small village. With their neighbor’s help, they quickly finish moving and get ready for their new life. In Miyazaki's film, food is a traditional way to tell the audiences that they are settled down. In Japan, women usually need to prepare food for the whole family. Satsuki is the older sister, so she cooks food for her family and puts it into bento — a traditional homepacked meal common in Japanese cuisine.
The Japanese culture loves cute stuff, so they decorate their bento with lovely shaped food and beautiful colors. A small fish, rice, green beans, and sour plum — what a perfect way to start your day.
Of course, Totoros are the absolute main characters in this film. Only pure children can see them. From their round and puffy shape, I can predict that they love to eat. Even when they are running away from Mei, they do not leave their food behind. This is the highest level of food love.
The big Totoro uses a bit of his favorite food to thank Mei and Satsuki. I think this big Totoro really likes them, so he is willing to share his food with his friends.
In hot summertime, imagine that you want to eat some fresh and iced fruits and vegetables, but you do not have a refrigerator. What are you going to do then? The people that live in village are very smart. Because river water is always cold, they put fruits and vegetable into the river. After several minutes, the food cools down and you can eat the fresh food with your friends.
Satsuki’s mother is sick, and because of the long distances between their house and the hospital, Satsuki and Mei cannot go visit their mother very often. They miss her very much, so Mei plucks a corn for her and wishes for her get better soon. In the end of the movie, Totoro sends Satsuki and Mei go to visit their mother by his magic car. Their mother received the corn from them. This is an ordinary story which includes ordinary people and ordinary foods, but there are so many happy emotions from this story. Why does an ordinary story bring so much happiness to the audience? I guess we can only find reasons from our ordinary lives.
By: Catherine Wilson, Yifan Zhao, and Tommy Wiliams
