As part of their tribute to Hayao Miyazaki, the Lone Star Film Society will present My Neighbor Totoro.

One of the most endearing and internationally renowned films of all time, a film that Roger Ebert called “one of the five best movies” ever made for children, My Neighbor Totoro is a deceptively simple tale of two girls, Satsuki and Mei, who move with their father to a new house in the countryside.

They soon discover that the surrounding forests are home to a family of Totoros, gentle but powerful creatures who live in a huge and ancient camphor tree and are seen only by children. Based on Miyazaki’s own childhood imaginings, Totoros look like oversized pandas with bunny ears and they take the girls on spinning-top rides through the tree tops and introduce them to a furry, multi-pawed Catbus—a nod to Lewis Carroll’s Cheshire Cat. (Dr. Marc Hairston will provide an introduction to the screening.)

The Lone Star Film Society’s ArthouseFW joins the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth in celebrating the art of Japanese film director, animator, mangaka, illustrator, producer, and screenwriter, Hayao Miyasaki. Throughout a career that has spanned six decades, Miyazaki has attained international acclaim as a masterful storyteller and brilliant creator of anime feature films.  Along with Isao Takahata, he co-founded Studio Ghibli, the famed Japanese film and animation studio. The success of Miyazaki's films has invited comparisons with American animator Walt Disney, British animator Nick Park, and American director Steven Spielberg. He is considered one of the most popular and influential animators in the history of cinema.