Always wide-eyed and bewhiskered, the titular Totoro would go on to become the face of the world’s most endearing animation company: Studio Ghibli. Totoro, a fluffy forest spirit, appears at AFS Cinema this weekend for two screenings of the newly restored My Neighbor Totoro. Succinct at 86 minutes, the deeply imaginative feature tells the tale of two sisters, Satsuki and Mei, who move to a new home and discover a spirit that not just anyone can see. Hayao Miyazaki’s 1988 masterpiece pushes the boundaries of visualized fantasy and childlike innocence amid the quiet struggle of postwar life. – Medha Sarin
