When Totto-chan is forced out of her elementary school for being too much of a distraction to the prudish, pious classroom teacher, her mum nervously attempts to enrol her in a school founded by a loving and progressive gentleman. And so begins one young girl's journey to discover herself and the world around her, even as Japan's involvement in world war 2 deepens.
The animation stays close to the original book's illustrations, detailing how Totto-chan goes from confused 7 year old who cannot get along in a strict society, to a 10 year old with friends, ambition and an understanding of the world and its many joys, frustrations and tragedies. Beautiful to look at, it transcends its own realities with some marvellously imaginative sequences in which Totto-chan views the world around her, finding beauty in a stationery train compartment or a rainy evening. The score as well, works brilliantly to craft a world of wonder and innocence, coming undone under totalistic and dictatorial rule.
Happily, the movie doesn't make Japan out to be an innocent in the war. Through the eyes and ears of Totto-chan only, we see Japan's eagerness to embrace conflict, the effects it has on the public, and the devastating consequences. Early scenes of children reciting propaganda songs in school gives way to whispered conversations about muzzling the US and UK dogs. Later, totto-chan's beautiful Bento boxes are reduced to rice and a pickled plum, injured and disabled bodies in uniform pass by totto-chan in passing frequency, and her ever present and intelligent father conspicuously disappears in the final act. The effects of starvation and malnourishment seen in her classmates as they become irritable, appear to suffer from stunted growth and fail to show up to school. It's all truly horrible to see, told plainly through the eyes of an optimistic and loving child and juxtaposed against the beautiful journey of a young girl coming to terms with herself.
"Totto-chan: the little girl at the window" is a lovingly crafted animation that lets us peak into a brief period of brutal change in a country recently engaging in modern global politics, and the innocent generation which had to rebuild the country once the fires rolled back. 9/10.
