Totoro Forest Project at The Cartoon Art Museum

TOTORO!!!

Hayao Miyazaki's Totoro

Hayao Miyazaki's Totoro was my mother's secret to maintaining her sanity while trying to manage two unruly young daughters.  On any given afternoon, all my mom had to do was pop in the Totoro VHS and like magic, my sister and I would temporarily set aside our differences and engross ourselves in the movie, reciting each line and singing every song in unison like it was nobody's business. This was then followed by AT LEAST a couple hours of playing Totoro in the backyard (because there were only two of us, we had to switch off playing different roles), hunting for "acorns," and acting out each scene (including the musical numbers) line by line.  Lesson: Why hire a babysitter when you have a copy of Totoro?

While I may very well be the only child raised in the Totoro method (though I doubt i'm the only one), I can declare with certainty that Totoro has captivated audiences young and old, internationally. Beautifully animated, executed, and visually ahead of its time (released in 1988), Totoro has received acclaim from top critics for its cinematic beauty and won numerous awards in animation/filmmaking circles.  While Totoro was not the first of Miyazaki's movies, it was definitely a career maker for himself and his production studio.  Miyazaki continues to produce visually enchanting and philsophically rich films, many of which have become international hits, including Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke.  In short, Totoro has become a cultural icon (particularly in Japan) and has naturally inspired and captivated many of today's visual artists.

The Cartoon Art Museum is hosting the Totoro Forest Project, an exhibition in which widely acclaimed artists (including James Jean, of Prada fame, and New Yorker illustrator, Jillian Tamaki) have been invited to create works in response to Totoro.  Selected works were then auctioned off at a benefit event in September, the proceeds of which will go toward preservation efforts of the Sayama forest, the forest that fatefully inspired Miyazaki over twenty years ago.  Works from the auction are currently on view to the public at the Cartoon Art Museum through February of next year.  Though Totoro is a movie geared toward children(thus, making this a family friendly exhibition...bring your kids!), the success and sustained popularity of the movie speaks to its appeal to young and old alike.