My Neighbor Totoro Original Soundtrack (CD, 2004) Obi Japan TKCA-7275 *New*

Joe Hisaishi's soundtrack for the 1988 film My Neighbor Totoro is as wonderful and exciting as the film itself. Hisaishi, who composed scores for Miyazaki's earlier films Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind and Laputa: Castle in the Sky, clearly improved with Totoro. While Castle in the Sky's score was good (and the expanded edition was fabulous), Nausicaä lacked the magic of his later works. And both these scores relyed too heavily on synthesizers. My Neighbor Totoro also employs synthesizers, but the style works much better for this film, giving it a bouncy, fun sound. Azumi Inoue, who performed "Carrying You" for the Castle in the Sky soundtrack, sings four songs on this album and vocalizes for one track. Her energetic, clear voice works perfectly for the film. Although the songs on this album are in Japanese, not in English, as some reviewers have already pointed out, they sound just as good if not better than the songs recorded for the Disney dub. (Personally, I think they are better.)

Azumi opens the album with the fun, march-like song "Stroll." This is followed by "The Village In May", an easy-going piece that plays during Satsuke and Mei's trip to their new house. As the exclamation mark in the title promises, "A Haunted House!" picks up the pace. The sythesizers and bouncy beats on this track are just plain fun, as are the soot sprite sound effects in "Mei and the Traveling Soot." "Evening Wind" is a much gentler, reflective piece, featuring a flute solo, lower woodwinds, and a harp in the background. "Not Scared" begins loudly and dramatically before leveling off into the soot sprite sound effects and the main Totoro theme. "Let's Go To the Hospital" and "Mother" are both lovely tracks, while "Totoro" is low and mysterious.

Joe Hisaishi does a great job of balancing out the upbeat, fun tracks with slow, wistful pieces and even tones of mystery and wonder, like those in "Totoro." Azumi Inoue's vocals on "Mother" and "A Lost Child" are beautiful and add a nice touch as well. Although My Neighbor Totoro has several reoccurring themes, the strongest theme is featured on the outstanding track, "The Path of Wind." This is possibly the best track on the album. This theme also appears in quite a few other tracks, like "Evening Wind", "The Huge Tree in the Tsukamori Forest", and "Moonlight Flight." Hisaishi adds variation to each of these tracks, so the melody never gets monotonous or tiring. "Mei Is Missing" is one of the most heartrending pieces on the album, but it is followed by the upbeat "Catbus" and the joyful track "I'm So Glad." Azumi Inoue closes out the album with "My Neighbor Totoro (The Ending Song)" and another rendition of "Stroll", in which she is joined by the Suginami Children's Choir.

Because each track is about only about one and a half to two minutes long, My Neighbor Totoro is a relatively quick listen. I would recommend playing to it from start to finish for best possible enjoyment, instead of skipping around from track to track. Joe Hisaishi combined all the wonder and joy of childhood into his score for My Neighbor Totoro. This is one of my favorite Hisaishi albums, and I can listen to it for hours without getting tired of it. My mom played this CD during some of her art lessons this past winter, and all the kids in her classes loved it, especially the class of five-year-olds. (They said it made them feel like dancing.) In summary, the My Neighbor Totoro original soundtrack is fabulous and a great purchase for anyone who enjoys Hisaishi's music or is a fan of Miyazaki's films.

1. さんぽ

2. おばけやしき

3. メイとすすわたり

4. 夕暮れの風

5. こわくない

6. おみまいにいこう

7. おかあさん

8. 小さなおばけ

9. トトロ

10. 塚森の大樹

11. まいご

12. 風のとおり道（インストゥルメンタル）

13. ずぶぬれおばけ

14. 月夜の飛行

15. 五月の村

16. メイがいない

17. ねこバス

18. よかったね

19. となりのトトロ

20. さんぽ