Chika Sakamoto

Mei takes an interest in things with her whole body in My Neighbor Totoro (1988), and Chika Sakamoto gives that curiosity a voice big enough to match. Nothing about the child’s enthusiasm is discreet. We laughed at her boisterousness because the voice and the animated movement make her excitement difficult to resist. Sakamoto allows Mei to be noisy without making the noise her only characteristic. There is affection in the performance, but no request that we admire how sweet she is.

Her first lead was Fuku-chan (1982), followed by Ai Kisugi in Cat's Eye (1983) among the early roles that established her. The enduring specialism has been children and creatures. Agumon in Digimon Adventure (1999) became a recurring role across series, films and games. That repeated casting makes sense for a performer with such a recognisable high, energetic voice, though it also makes it easy to discuss the type of character and forget the acting.

In My Neighbor Totoro, Noriko Hidaka voices Mei’s sister Satsuki, and together they make the affection between the children feel comfortably untidy. Hayao Miyazaki helps by giving Mei’s enthusiasm room instead of immediately supplying an adult correction. It matters that Sakamoto has an animated performance this forceful to work with. We should not give a voice actor sole credit for what a drawn face and body achieve. Her contribution is to make the sound feel as spontaneous as the movement.

There are limits to the comfort of My Neighbor Totoro: the adults can seem too agreeable, and we would welcome a little more friction from them. Sakamoto and Hidaka keep the sisters from becoming similarly tidy. Their noise matters because it stops the affection feeling too carefully arranged for our benefit. Begin with Mei, especially if a description of the film as gentle has led you to expect well-behaved children.