My Neighbor Totoro (1988)

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

Director:

Hayao Miyazaki

Writer:

Hayao Miyazaki

Stars:

Hitoshi Takagi, Noriko Hidaka, Chika Sakamoto

Top Rated Movies #149 | 5 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Noriko Hidaka	...	Satsuki (voice)
Chika Sakamoto	...	Mei (voice)
Shigesato Itoi	...	Tatsuo Kusakabe (voice)
Sumi Shimamoto	...	Yasuko Kusakabe (voice)
Tanie Kitabayashi	...	Granny (voice)
Hitoshi Takagi	...	Totoro (voice)
Yûko Maruyama	...	Kanta's Mother (voice)
Machiko Washio	...	Sensei (voice)
Reiko Suzuki	...	Rôba (voice)
Masashi Hirose	...	Kanta's Father (voice)
Toshiyuki Amagasa	...	Kanta (voice)
Shigeru Chiba	...	Kusakari-Otoko (voice)
Naoki Tatsuta	...	Cat Bus / Additional Voices (voice)
Tarako	...	Additional Voices (voice)
Tomohiro Nishimura	...	Postal Messanger (voice)

Storyline

Two young girls, 10-year-old Satsuki and her 4-year-old sister Mei, move into a house in the country with their father to be closer to their hospitalized mother. Satsuki and Mei discover that the nearby forest is inhabited by magical creatures called Totoros (pronounced toe-toe-ro). They soon befriend these Totoros, and have several magical adventures.

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Plot Keywords:

sister sister relationship | studio ghibli | sick mother | little girl | father daughter relationship | 

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Genres:

Animation | Family | Fantasy

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Certificate:

G

Did You Know?

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.

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Goofs

Some of the whiskers on Mei's drawing of Totoro vanish in a wide view.

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Quotes

Mei Kusakabe: To-to-ro? You're Totoro!... I bet you're Totoro...

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Crazy Credits

Drawings in the closing credits show the mother returning home in a taxi and having a bath with Satsuki and Mei. There is also the appearance of a baby dressed in blue, perhaps a younger sibling (brother?) for the girls.

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Alternate Versions

In the alternate 2005 Disney version of 'My Neighbor Totoro' the Fox studios voice actors and actresses, including Cheryl Chase and Lisa Michelson, have been completely replaced with Disney voice actors and actress including Dakota Fanning, Elle Fanning. Also the opening and closing songs are sung by Sonya Isaacs in the Disney version. Also gone are the strangers talking back to Mei and Satsuki (this is to make it truer to the Japanese version), The elderly woman who was called Nanny is now called Granny in the Disney version. Also the Disney version has a wide-screen whereas the Fox studio version had a full screen version.

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Connections

Referenced in Samurai Jack: Episode XXXIII - Jack and the Annoying Creature (2003)

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Soundtracks

Sampo
("Hey Let's Go")
Lyrics by Reiko Nakagawa
Composed by Joe Hisaishi

User Reviews

The kind of film that stays with you afterwards...

I first watched this film in Japanese with a 12 year old translating for me and I still thought it was incredible. There are so many wonderful touches, like a tin can in the stream while the kids are fascinated by a fish, or the flying scenes (I'm convinced that Ang Lee thought of Miyazaki when he made The Hulk, just in terms of the jumping scenes) that show a curious mind at work throughout the picture. I also love the sense of magic and innocence (and the lack of violence) which pervades the movie. It is a real antidote from the Disney formula which always involves a villain being trashed at the end. This is a film about the wonder of being a child and experiencing something incredible which adults can't see but recognize nonetheless. It works for any age as well. Enjoy.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Site [Japan] Official Site [United States]

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

13 July 1990 (USA)

Also Known As:

My Neighbor Totoro

Box Office

Budget:

$3,700,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$539,245, 30 September 2018

Gross USA:

$2,250,213

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$30,550,727

Company Credits

Production Co:

Tokuma Japan Communications, Studio Ghibli, Nibariki

Technical Specs

Runtime:

86 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1