Brian Ashcraft (a fellow expat in Japan) writing for Kotaku, takes a look at the somewhat strange Totoro timeline:
It’s often said that My Neighbor Totoro takes place during the last half of the 1950s. But when exactly? The movie’s story might seem contained over a few months, so it should be easy to pin down when. But that’s where things get strange.
He points out scenes in the film that give multiple dates. Why so inconsistent? Laziness, it seems, or more just a lack of concern about it.
“It’s supposed to be 1955, but we weren’t terribly thorough in our research,” Totoro creator Hayao Miyazaki is quoted as saying in The Art of Totoro. “What came to mind was ‘a recent past’ that everyone can relate to.”
Ultimately this doesn't really matter, but Totoro is such a hugely popular movie in Japan that it might be worth learning some trivia for it. Interesting stuff, at any rate. Go read the full post for details.
LINK: Understanding My Neighbor Totoro's Bizarre Timeline
Link Blog
Back when I had my own website, I used to post a few random links everyday or every few days, in the style of http://kottke.org or http://daringfireball.net. Readers seemed to enjoy seeing them.
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