# Totoro is kinda lame **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 3, 2001, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/totoro-is-kinda-lame/52965 "2001-02-03T02:53:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2001, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/totoro-is-kinda-lame/52965/1 "2001-02-03T02:53:00Z")
Finally saw the Japanese cartoon “Totoro”. Overall I really liked it, great depiction of a 4 year old kid, most realistic I’d ever seen. But the character Totoro, the big overweight spinning guy, was kinda lame. Didn’t excite me much, despite the build-up my kids gave it. I was rather disappointed. Neko-basu, or Catbus, was really awesome, tho. Much more heroic than Totoro. Even got a poster of Catbus in my office now, a great conversation piece. Thought about posting this in MPSIMS, but since I’m kinda flaming Totoro, I guess it goes here. ---
**Author:** ![oldscratch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ed655f/32.png) [@oldscratch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/oldscratch)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2001, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/totoro-is-kinda-lame/52965/2 "2001-02-03T02:57:44Z")
Damn. I was worried that you were flaming the poster, **Totoro**. Someone I happen to like, and who’s company and commentary I enjoy. As it is, I like the movie. ---
**Author:** ![Rasa](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rasa/32/3578_2.png) [@Rasa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rasa)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2001, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/totoro-is-kinda-lame/52965/3 "2001-02-03T02:57:53Z")
Huh. I thought this was going to be a flame of the poster Totoro. Glad to see it wasn’t, though he may take exception to your opinion on his namesake. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Rasa](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rasa/32/3578_2.png) [@Rasa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rasa)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2001, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/totoro-is-kinda-lame/52965/4 "2001-02-03T02:59:14Z")
Holy fuck is that freaky… not only is oldscratch sitting less than a foot from me, he’s reading my mind! ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2001, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/totoro-is-kinda-lame/52965/5 "2001-02-03T03:16:26Z")
Yeah…well, I see Totoro as a figure that the audience is supposed to project onto. Sure, he doesn’t do much in the movie, but the movie isn’t really about him, it’s about the kids. Their reaction to Totoro is important, but Totoro himself isn’t. IMHO. OK, what about “Kiki’s Delivery Service”? I kind of thought the kid with the bike was kind of lame. I can see why Kiki was always rude to him, cause he was a dork. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2001, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/totoro-is-kinda-lame/52965/6 "2001-02-03T03:18:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Rasa \* > \*\*Huh. I thought this was going to be a flame of the poster Totoro. \*\* My kid’s got a Totoro poster, too. It’s nice, I guess. She really likes it. I still like Catbus better, tho. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2001, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/totoro-is-kinda-lame/52965/7 "2001-02-03T03:23:19Z")
[QUOTE OK, what about “Kiki’s Delivery Service”? I kind of thought the kid with the bike was kind of lame. I can see why Kiki was always rude to him, cause he was a dork. \*\*[/QUOTE] Yeah, but he’s supposed to be a dork, he’s at that dorky age. The great things about the movie were the accurate portrayal of the 3 main kids, whoever wrote that thing did not idealize kids or childhood, he captured the feel real well. That’s why I was disappointed in Totoro, I’d hoped for more from a supernatural character, other than improved gardening techniques. Not that he was bad, just not as good as I’d hoped, based on the rest of the movie. The parents were a bit lame, tho. And dad would have been busted in this country for bathing with his girls. More pity us, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![TVeblen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4bbf92/32.png) [@TVeblen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TVeblen)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2001, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/totoro-is-kinda-lame/52965/8 "2001-02-03T05:18:43Z")
**Moderator’s note** > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Qadgop the Mercotan \* > \*\* > Thought about posting this in MPSIMS, but since I’m kinda flaming Totoro, I guess it goes here. \*\* I’m going to move this over to IMHO–which some persons (unnamed, but they know who they are) have dubbed “Debate Lite”. Looks like this thread will fit in nicely over there and possibly get a wider response. They’re pop culture _animals_, I’m tellin’ ya. TVeblen IMHO Moderator ---
**Author:** ![dantheman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dantheman/32/9421_2.png) [@dantheman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dantheman)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2001, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/totoro-is-kinda-lame/52965/9 "2001-02-03T05:26:02Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Qadgop the Mercotan \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by Rasa \* > > \*\*Huh. I thought this was going to be a flame of the poster Totoro. \*\* > > My kid’s got a Totoro poster, too. It’s nice, I guess. She really likes it. I still like Catbus better, tho. \*\* You do know they mean a person with the user name **Totoro** , not a poster you hang on a wall, right? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![tygre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c4cdca/32.png) [@tygre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tygre)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2001, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/totoro-is-kinda-lame/52965/10 "2001-02-03T06:10:29Z")
Yeah, I thought it was a little lame. Too bad all the cool shots were in the previews… My kids haven’t seen it yet (I saw it in 95, pre kids). I think my son will like it - maybe this weekend, as he’s got a bad cold and could use a little treat to cheer him up! –tygre ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2001, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/totoro-is-kinda-lame/52965/11 "2001-02-03T18:04:16Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by dantheman \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by Qadgop the Mercotan \* > > \*\* > > > > > [@](#): > > > > > > \*Originally posted by Rasa \* > > > \*\*Huh. I thought this was going to be a flame of the poster Totoro. \*\* > > > > My kid’s got a Totoro poster, too. It’s nice, I guess. She really likes it. I still like Catbus better, tho. \*\* > > You do know they mean a person with the user name **Totoro** , not a poster you hang on a wall, right? 😉 > \*\* A person with the user name Totoro? Well, that’s very different! Never mind! ---
**Author:** ![Mofo\_Rising](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Mofo\_Rising](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mofo_Rising)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2001, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/totoro-is-kinda-lame/52965/12 "2001-02-04T01:40:09Z")
I agree that the movie is kind of lame, but then again I’m not a little girl, that seeming to be the target audience. That being said, I consider the movie priceless for one scene. You know, at the bus stop, with the umbrella and the raindrops, the yell, the glee on the face. . . I count it as one of the funniest scenes ever put to cinema. I make people watch the movie just so they can see that one scene. Sometimes I’ll even pantomime it to people, I love it so. And the animator is critically acclaimed or something, I don’t know.