When an unconfident young woman is cursed with an old body by a spiteful witch, her only chance of breaking the spell lies with a self-indulgent yet insecure young wizard and his companions in his legged, walking castle.
During her family's move to the suburbs, a sullen 10-year-old girl wanders into a world ruled by gods, witches, and spirits, and where humans are changed into beasts.
A young witch, on her mandatory year of independent life, finds fitting into a new community difficult while she supports herself by running an air courier service.
The Clock family are four-inch-tall people who live anonymously in another family's residence, borrowing simple items to make their home. Life changes for the Clocks when their teenage daughter, Arrietty, is discovered.
After her werewolf lover unexpectedly dies in an accident while hunting for food for their children, a young woman must find ways to raise the werewolf son and daughter that she had with him while keeping their trait hidden from society.
After helping a cat, a 17-year-old girl finds herself involuntarily engaged to a cat prince in a magical world where her only hope of freedom lies with a dapper cat statuette come to life.
Director:
Hiroyuki Morita
Stars:
Chizuru Ikewaki,
Yoshihiko Hakamada,
Aki Maeda
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.Written by
Christopher E. Meadows <cmeadows@nyx.cs.du.edu>
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. See more »
Goofs
Some of the whiskers on Mei's drawing of Totoro vanish in a wide view. See more »
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. See more »
Alternate Versions
The humorous line spoken at the start of the film, "Come out! Come out! Or we'll pull your eyeballs out!" was deemed 'politically incorrect' by Fox during the making of the English dub. The line is changed to "Come out! Come out!" in the Fox-Streamline English dub. See more »
Like all Miyazaki films, this one is absolutely sacred. Some parts are reminiscent of Laputa: Castle in the Sky and Spirited Away (and Alice in Wonderland by extension), but Totoro stands out as probably the most unique of them all.
The premise is nice and simple, which works brilliantly because the plot is established as a foundation without hindering the experience of the movie itself. The viewer is allowed unrestricted access and exploration of the messages offered by the film.
In addition, Totoro is not bound by any rules of traditional storytelling. Instead, it presents occurrences that touch on a fundamental human level that is so deep and profound that it will have you feeling a range of emotions. There are so many layers to this movie, each one meaningful and special. From community building to the love of a family to sibling relationships to facing the unknown; everyone can take away something personal from this movie.
Perhaps the most sacred aspect of the film, however, is that it reminds us that life is magical. Not all of us have a neighbor like Totoro, but we are all fortunate in different ways. Each of us has something to treasure, something that brings joy and comfort.
Totoro is special in that it frees the viewer to be a child again and to contemplate the world through a perspective that we have perhaps forgotten. Everything is new and interesting and beautiful, from a crumbling porch to an acorn seed. We live in a magical world, and it is definitely worth taking the time to appreciate this.
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Like all Miyazaki films, this one is absolutely sacred. Some parts are reminiscent of Laputa: Castle in the Sky and Spirited Away (and Alice in Wonderland by extension), but Totoro stands out as probably the most unique of them all.
The premise is nice and simple, which works brilliantly because the plot is established as a foundation without hindering the experience of the movie itself. The viewer is allowed unrestricted access and exploration of the messages offered by the film.
In addition, Totoro is not bound by any rules of traditional storytelling. Instead, it presents occurrences that touch on a fundamental human level that is so deep and profound that it will have you feeling a range of emotions. There are so many layers to this movie, each one meaningful and special. From community building to the love of a family to sibling relationships to facing the unknown; everyone can take away something personal from this movie.
Perhaps the most sacred aspect of the film, however, is that it reminds us that life is magical. Not all of us have a neighbor like Totoro, but we are all fortunate in different ways. Each of us has something to treasure, something that brings joy and comfort.
Totoro is special in that it frees the viewer to be a child again and to contemplate the world through a perspective that we have perhaps forgotten. Everything is new and interesting and beautiful, from a crumbling porch to an acorn seed. We live in a magical world, and it is definitely worth taking the time to appreciate this.