Those looking for an introduction to the work of Hayao Miyazaki are well advised to check out My Neighbor Totoro, probably his most accessible, family-friendliest, and least mythology-fueled movie. It's also probably his most famous in his homeland of Japan, which has a Totoro preserve named after the film's titular character, a giant rabbit-like creature who is actually a spirit guardian of the forest.

It's into Totoro's forest that two sisters, Satsuki and Mei (Dakota and Elle Fanning in this new dub) move, along with dad (Tim Daly), who is patiently waiting for news about mom, who's in the hospital with an unclear (yet apparently not very severe) illness. Four-year-old Mei stumbles into Totoro's nest -- he's friendly, and named for the noise he makes when he snores. Once she convinces her sister that Totoro is real, they have some magical adventures, including such Miyazaki magicality as a cat that also serves as a bus (you ride inside him).

Possibly the only film in history to be released by both Disney and Troma, the famous kiddie anime My Neighbor Totoro reveals itself today as a little dated and a little immature when compared to later Miyazaki works, but that's not such a bad thing, really. Miyazaki's simplicity makes Totoro a family favorite, an alternative to equally simplistic animal movies like, say, Two Brothers. What it lacks in momentum it makes up for in imagination. Maybe there's a little Totoro in all of us after all.

The long-awaited two-disc DVD features a new and improved English dub (plus the original Japanese), a complete storyboard set for the movie, footage from the dubbing sessions, and other cinemaphile extras.

Aka Tonari no Totoro.