Another dispatch from the land of the obvious

Going out to all of you profoundly uninterested in comic books and their troll-like creators.

Hayao Miyazaki doesn't need any help from me; Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke are two of Japan's highest grossing films ever. But if you haven't seen his earlier work My Neighbor Totoro (Tonari no Totoro) with a child that you love, well, then, you know what to do. The film concerns a friendly troll (as you can see, Miyazaki has a very different understanding of what trolls look like) who helps two young sisters adjust to a new house in the country and cope with their longing for their invalid mother, who's confined to a hospital with an unnamed illness. Containing one of the most beautiful of Miyazaki's signature night-flying scenes, the film also features a cat that's also a bus. I need not say more; except this: the great-looking 2-disc version just released by Disney is dubbed by Dakota and Elle Fanning. (There's also a Japanese-language audio track, for those of you with families capable of reading subtitles or fluent in Japanese). And I still loved it. 'Nuff said.

Oh wait, one more thing, while we're speaking of trolls. Uglydolls now come in vinyl. Perfect for Lord Droolypants, otherwise known as YoungerKid. Who's going to be one very soon. Hint. Hint.