I've seen this so many times over the years so what's one more to that number? God this is just such a wonderful movie in so many ways and is just one of the comfiest out there for the most part. Every frame of animation has so much life that's coursing through it, and I feel like the entire movie is one that you could take screenshots of and hang up on your wall. It also goes a long way in making the viewer feel equally amazed and enamoured by the setting as the characters are, with so much focus on crafting a series of some of the most gorgeous pieces of nature scenery out there and fleshing out every miniscule detail of the world into somewhere that feels equally grounded yet enchanting. The vibes only get stronger with the way the fantasy elements are integrated, with very little attention actually being drawn to them, just being accepted as a part of the world and not even influencing the behaviours of anyone for the most part. It's pretty easy to see why this sparked the imagination of so many kids for this reason, as it makes the world feel so real and grounded but then also has these creatures that are hiding. Few movies have made me go "oh boy it'd be epic for this stuff to be real" but this is one that's frequently done that and I think it's just in the way that it makes even the most mundane of things all of a sudden seem like the most amazing thing ever, even the visual of some people sitting down on a picnic blanket eating raw vegetables from the garden looks incredibly appealing.

I feel that a lot of comfort also comes from the fact that there's no real stakes here for most of the film, nor even much of an antagonistic force, it's just about people living their lives and coping with change. The movie flows at a glacial pace, always moving along with some sense of momentum, but what's there is rather comfortable to take its time and really let the viewer soak in every little detail. I also love these characters a lot, especially the dynamic between Satsuki and Mei, feeling like a proper sibling dynamics with all its ups and downs, not naively perfect nor being focused on constant bickering either like I've so often seen, and really I think that this idea sums up the film as a whole. Nothing here feels naively positive yet is far from an unpleasant environment at any point, feeling like reality through the lens of childhood imagination and curiosity, presenting these ideas in a far more evocative way than I've seen anywhere else. The scene at the bus stop is still one of the coolest sequences in cinema as well, there's a strange comfort to be found within all the uncertainty and discomfort that is clearly felt during this scene and Totoro himself is absolutely adorable and I love everything about him. One of the best family films out there and one of the countless examples of studio Ghibli creating some truly magical films.