Tonari no Totoro (1988)

Director:

Hayao Miyazaki

Writer:

Hayao Miyazaki (written by)

Release Date:

16 April 1988 (Japan)

Genre:

Animation | Adventure | Family | Fantasy

Plot:

When two girls move to the country to be near their ailing mother, they have adventures with the wonderous forest spirits who live nearby.

Plot Keywords:

Mother | Spirit | Father | Forest Spirit | Sick Mother

Awards:

5 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Noriko Hidaka	...	Satsuki (voice)
Chika Sakamoto	...	Mei (voice)
Shigesato Itoi	...	Tatsuo Kusakabe (voice)
Sumi Shimamoto	...	Yasuko Kusakabe (voice)
Tanie Kitabayashi	...	Kanta no obâsan (voice)
Hitoshi Takagi	...	Totoro (voice)
Yûko Maruyama	...	Kanta no okâsan (voice)
Machiko Washio	...	Sensei (voice)
Reiko Suzuki	...	Rôba (voice)
Masashi Hirose	...	Kanta no otôsan (voice)
Toshiyuki Amagasa	...	Kanta (voice)
Shigeru Chiba	...	Kusakari-Otoko (voice)
Naoki Tatsuta	...	(voice)
Tarako	...	(voice)
Tomohiro Nishimura	...	(voice)

Also Known As:

My Neighbor Totoro (USA)
My Neighbour Totoro (UK)

Runtime:

86 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Canada:G (Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Quebec) | Finland:S | Sweden:Btl | South Korea:All | Germany:o.Al. | Denmark:A | Argentina:Atp | Australia:G | France:U | Hong Kong:I | UK:U | USA:G | Singapore:G

Company:

Tokuma Japan Communications Co. Ltd.

Trivia:

The forest creatures and title characters of this movie got their name when Mei, the little girl who first sees them in the film, mispronounces the word "troll". At one point in the original Japanese language version, when Satsuki first finds Mei sleeping in the grove behind their house, Mei tells her sister she saw a "totoro". Satsuki replies, "Totoro, do you mean troll, from the storybook?" and Mei nods in agreement. This aspect of the story was left out of the 1993 Fox English version, probably because the difference between ""to-ro-ru" (the Japanese pronunciation of "troll") and "to-to-ro" would have been lost on English-speaking audiences. The quote is included in the 2006 Disney English version.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Mei and Satsuki are running back home from school because of the rain, Mei trips and there is mud on her skirt. After a few scenes, her skirt does not have the mud.

Quotes:

Tatsuo Kusakabe: Trees and people used to be good friends. I saw that tree and decided to buy the house. Hope Mom likes it too. Okay, let's pay our respects then get home for lunch.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Lilo & Stitch (2002)

This is a great film!

Someone said that Studio Ghibli, the makers of Totoro, Spirited Away and other films, is Japan's answer to Disney. Nothing could be more wrong. Studio Ghibli is as far away from Disney as one could possibly imagine. There is no compulsory villain, no moral lessons, no standard blue print story, and the characters will definitely not break out in a song. Thank God! It's simply a great film for all ages. Don't mind if the soundtrack isn't dubbed to your native language, my kids (4 and 6 years old) could easily follow the story with just a few helpers. Japanese is a wonderful language.

The film has great direction, beautiful backgrounds and a mystical, pleasant aura throughout. There's nothing like this, I promise you. It's idyllic and simple.