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

On its original theatrical release in Japan, it was double-featured with Grave of the Fireflies (1988) as the film was believed to be too big a financial risk as a standalone release.

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Goofs

When Satsuki and Mei are waiting for the bus in the rain, the bus stop sign reads 'Maezawa-gyo' in some scenes while in other scenes the sign reads 'Shichikokuyama-gyo'.

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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

References Alice in Wonderland (1951)

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Soundtracks

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

User Reviews

This movie is incredibly cute

I'm a big fan of Hayao Miyazaki's work and was rather disappointed that this movie did not have the Japanese language/English subtitles option. But, I've finally seen it and must admit that it is incredibly cute. One does NOT have to be a child to enjoy this movie or any of Miyazaki's movies. The story line was good and and the characters were really touching. The totoros were so adorable that I want a plushie of one. I also loved the artwork. I finally know what some of the scenes are from in the AMVs that I've seen. I would definitely recommend this to families as well as to those who are Miyazaki fans. A definite thumbs up. Though I do wonder where Miyazaki gets some of the ideas for his characters such as that cat bus.

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