First things first: yay for my first post where I'm praising something instead of criticizing it! Yay! The Grinch's small heart grew three sizes this day!
Ehm. Right. Moving on.
So, for those who aren't familiar, My Neighbor Totoro is one of the earlier films by Hayao Miyazaki, the genius Japanese writer/director whose films include Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle, and Kiki's Delivery Service. Totoro (*massive spoilers from here out*) tells the story of two sisters, ten-year-old Satsuki and four-year-old Mei. After moving to a haunted house, first Mei and then Satsuki meet Totoro, a giant, benevolent spirit who lives in the woods behind their house. While it's certainly possible (and maybe preferable) to see Totoro as a sweet, adorable story about a pair of sisters who make magical friends as they cope with their mother's illness, there is a darker, alternate theory about what's really going on in the film. (Hence mine being an 'alternate alternate' theory.)
The alternate theory goes something like this: at the end, the entire family is not reunited, because Mei and Satsuki are dead.
Pause. I did warn you it was a darker interpretation.
Here's where the theory comes from: right before Mei disappears, right after her argument with Satsuki, the camera pans down and shows her little pink sandals. Later, the searchers find a pink sandal floating in a pond, but Satsuki says it doesn't belong to Mei. According to the theory, the sandal does in fact belong to Mei; Satsuki is just in denial or overcome with grief and guilt and refuses to accept the truth. Satsuki then goes to Totoro and essential commits suicide, or gives herself over to death, so that she can be with her sister again. At the end, both girls are dead, and the credits are either a fantasy or a memory of a time before the film when the family was happy.
Although Satsuki does not visible kill herself in any way, there is evidence to support the alternate theory. For one, Mei's sandal. The sandal in the pond looks like hers, so it would make sense that she drowned--how else would the sandal have gotten into the pond? For another, after Satsuki finds Mei, neither girl has a shadow for the rest of the film. Then there's the cat bus. The first time it comes around, Mei and Satsuki shrink from it in fear and do not climb on when given the chance, but at the end they seem to relish the chance to ride the bus. After Satsuki climbs on, she comments that 'the trees are fading away,' and 'no one can see her anymore.' The cat bus may be a portal between the world of the living and the dead. Finally, when the cat bus takes the girls to the hospital, why do they not simply go in and see their mother if they're actually physically present? The mother thinks she sees them in the trees, but then thinks it was an illusion.
One final factor that adds credence to the death theory is that when My Neighbor Totoro was first released in cinemas, it was shown as a double feature with another children's movie, Grave of the Fireflies. Grave of the Fireflies is a semi-autobiographical story about a brother and sister struggling (and ultimately failing) to survive in a war-torn Japan during WWII. The film's writer, Isao Takahata, wrote the story as an apology to his younger sister, who died under very similar circumstances to Setsuko, the little girl in the film. Both Totoro and Fireflies are about older siblings struggling to save their younger sisters from dangers that are partially the older siblings' fault. At the end of Fireflies, Seita lays dying, believing it is what he deserves for failing his younger sister. Given that the films were released together, it seems possible that Totoro is a lighter, hidden retelling of the circumstances in Fireflies, which offers a relatively happy ending by showing the siblings reunited in the end.
Or that's all a load of crap.
One of the fantastic things about Hayao Miyazaki is that he takes Classic tropes, themes, and characters and reapplies them in modern stories, stories that often either feature children or are geared for children. Spirited Away in particular is one long lesson in Classical ideology. The central character travels far away from home and ends up lost next to a sea. She has to go through multiple trials that test her strength, determination, and intelligence, before facing a final trial which tests her discernment, which she has gained over the course of her journey. She ultimately has to leave all of her companions behind, but she has grown to the point where she can survive on her own. In addition, there's a witch that turns greedy and gluttonous people into pigs, and a great significance is placed on names and knowing who you are. Chihiro's journey could almost be called, an, oh, I don't know, an odyssey.
Spirited Away is the most obvious example, but the Classics pop up in all Miyazaki's movies. Journeys to discover the self, battles with powers that can't be defeated, punishment for greed and hubris, discerning protagonists, and the necessity of surrendering to a higher power--Miyazaki is the modern master of the Classic journey.
It's from that last part in particular--surrendering to a higher power--that my alternate alternate theory comes from. The way I'm looking at it, Mei did indeed die at the end, but when Satsuki goes to Totoro she's not asking to die to be with her sister--instead she's asking to surrender her life to save her sister. To be perfectly clear--I'm not saying that Satsuki is sacrificing herself to save Mei. Instead, Satsuki is taking the journey of all the great Classical heroes, the descent into hell. Like Odysseus and Aeneis, Satsuki is daring to do what no one else dares--to travel to hell and back. Earlier I said that Satsuki 'gives herself over to death.' I do think that's what happens--but I think that in surrendering herself, Satsuki ensures that both she and Mei will be able to return unscathed. If My Neighbor Totoro is meant as a parallel to Grave of the Fireflies, I think Totoro grants Satsuki and Mei the happy ending Setsuko and Sieta were denied, not because the siblings are reunited, but because Satsuki, unlike Sieta, succeeds in saving her little sister from death.
When Satsuki rides the cat bus, it is the journey between the mortal world and the underworld. Before, she was too frightened to take the journey, but now that she has a reason, she has the courage she needs to step into the unknown. Because Satsuki was willing to risk everything to save Mei, both girls can take the journey back to the mortal world, but they will only arrive once they're back at their house--the only way to regain yourself is to go home. When Satsuki and Mei's mother sees them out the window, she's seeing them as they pass from one world into the next. The sight of them does not fill her with dread, but with peace, because she knows that they'll all be together again soon.
What evidence do I have to support my theory? Not a whole lot. All I have is my knowledge of other Miyazaki works, and my inability to believe that Miyazaki would pointlessly kill two characters (two young children) who are his protagonists. Characters die in Miyazaki films, although rarely in his children's films, but their deaths always serve a purpose or make a point. Mei and Satsuki's deaths--if they do in fact die--are entirely random. I can't believe that Miyazaki would just kill them without a good reason--I can, however, believe that he would kill one character to set up an epic journey for the other.
Maybe I'm the delusional one. Maybe I'm just in love with happy endings. But if I'm delusional, then I'm happy that way. Miyazaki is a phenomenal director and writer, and the very fact that I can spend pages and pages writing about just one of his films shows the depth and power of his work. Given what I've seen and what I know about Miyazaki, I can't believe that he just allows Mei and Satsuki to die. I believe he gives Satsuki a chance to learn from her mistake by taking a life-changing journey into the unknown. Homer would be proud.
--Cates
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