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is a 1988 Japanese animated
fantasy film Fantasy films are films that belong to the fantasy genre with fantastic themes, usually magic, supernatural events, mythology, folklore, or exotic fantasy worlds. The genre is considered a form of speculative fiction alongside science fiction ...
written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki and animated by Studio Ghibli for
Tokuma Shoten is a publisher in Japan, headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. The company was established in 1954 by Yasuyoshi Tokuma in Minato, Tokyo. The company’s product portfolio includes music publishing, video game publishing, movies, anime, magazines, ...
. The film—which stars the voice actors Noriko Hidaka, Chika Sakamoto, and
Hitoshi Takagi was a Japanese voice actor. He died 15 days before his 79th birthday at the age of 78 due to partial ischemic heart disease. He was best known for providing the voice of Totoro. Notable voice roles Anime *''Moomin'' and '' New Moomin'' ( Moo ...
—tells the story of a professor's two young daughters (Satsuki and Mei) and their interactions with friendly wood spirits in postwar rural Japan. In 1989, Streamline Pictures produced an English-language dub for exclusive use on transpacific flights by
Japan Airlines , also known as JAL (''Jaru'') or , is an international airline and Japan's flag carrier and largest airline as of 2021 and 2022, headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its main hubs are Tokyo's Narita International Airport and Haneda Airport, as w ...
. Troma Films, under their 50th St. Films banner, distributed the dub of the film co-produced by Jerry Beck. This dub was released to United States theaters in 1993, on VHS and
LaserDisc The LaserDisc (LD) is a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium, initially licensed, sold and marketed as MCA DiscoVision (also known simply as "DiscoVision") in the United States in 1978. Its diameter typical ...
in the United States by Fox Video in 1994, and on DVD in 2002. The rights to this dub expired in 2004, so the film was re-released by Walt Disney Home Entertainment on March 7, 2006 with a new dub cast. This version was also released in Australia by
Madman Pierfrancesco Botrugno (born 25 July 1988), better known by the stage name Madman sometimes stylized as MadMan is an Italian rapper. Biography Early years, ''Escape from Heart'' Madman entered the world of hip hop by participating in the 2 ...
on March 15, 2006 and in the UK by Optimum Releasing on March 27, 2006. This DVD release is the first version of the film in the United States to include both Japanese and English language tracks. Exploring themes such as
animism Animism (from Latin: ' meaning ' breath, spirit, life') is the belief that objects, places, and creatures all possess a distinct spiritual essence. Potentially, animism perceives all things— animals, plants, rocks, rivers, weather syst ...
,
Shinto Shinto () is a religion from Japan. Classified as an East Asian religion by scholars of religion, its practitioners often regard it as Japan's indigenous religion and as a nature religion. Scholars sometimes call its practitioners ''Shint ...
symbology,
environmentalism Environmentalism or environmental rights is a broad Philosophy of life, philosophy, ideology, and social movement regarding concerns for environmental protection and improvement of the health of the environment (biophysical), environment, par ...
and the joys of rural living, ''My Neighbor Totoro'' received worldwide critical acclaim and has amassed a global
cult following A cult following refers to a group of fans who are highly dedicated to some person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The lattermost is often called a cult classic. ...
in the years after its release. The film has grossed over at the worldwide box office as of September 2019, in addition to generating an estimated from
home video Home video is prerecorded media sold or rented for home viewing. The term originates from the VHS and Betamax era, when the predominant medium was videotapes, but has carried over to optical disc formats such as DVD, Blu-ray and streaming me ...
sales and from licensed
merchandise Merchandising is any practice which contributes to the sale of products to a retail consumer. At a retail in-store level, merchandising refers to displaying products that are for sale in a creative way that entices customers to purchase more ...
sales, adding up to approximately in total lifetime revenue. ''My Neighbor Totoro'' received numerous awards, including the
Animage is a Japanese anime and entertainment magazine which Tokuma Shoten began publishing in July 1978. Hayao Miyazaki's internationally renowned manga, '' Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind'', was serialized in ''Animage'' from 1982 through 1994. ...
Anime Grand Prix prize, the Mainichi Film Award and Kinema Junpo Award for Best Film in 1988. It also received the Special Award at the Blue Ribbon Awards in the same year. The film is considered as one of the top animation films, ranking 41st in ''
Empire An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...
'' magazine's "The 100 Best Films of World Cinema" in 2010 and being the highest-ranking animated film on the 2012 ''
Sight & Sound ''Sight and Sound'' (also spelled ''Sight & Sound'') is a British monthly film magazine published by the British Film Institute (BFI). It conducts the well-known, once-a-decade ''Sight and Sound'' Poll of the Greatest Films of All Time, ongoing ...
'' critics' poll of all-time greatest films. The film and its titular character have become cultural icons and made multiple cameo appearances in a number of Studio Ghibli films and video games. Totoro also serves as the mascot for the studio and is recognized as one of the most popular characters in Japanese animation.


Plot

In 1950s Japan, university professor Tatsuo Kusakabe and his two daughters, Satsuki and Mei (approximately ten and four years old, respectively), move into an old house closer to the hospital where the girls' mother, Yasuko, is recovering from a long-term illness. The house is inhabited by small, dark, dust-like house spirits called
susuwatari Susuwatari ( ja, ススワタリ, ; "wandering soot"), also called Makkuro kurosuke (; "makkuro" meaning "pitch black", "kuro" meaning "black" and "-suke" being a common ending for boys names), is the name of a fictitious sprite that was devised ...
, which can be seen when moving from bright to dark places.Called "black soots" in early subtitles and "soot sprites" in the later English dubbed version. When the girls become comfortable in their new house, the susuwatari leave to find another empty house. One day, Mei discovers two small spirits who lead her into the hollow of a large camphor tree. She befriends a larger spirit, which identifies itself by a series of roars that she interprets as "Totoro". Mei thinks Totoro is the Troll from her illustrated book ''Three Billy Goats Gruff'', with her mispronouncing Troll. She falls asleep atop Totoro, but when Satsuki finds her, she is on the ground. Despite many attempts, Mei cannot show her family Totoro's tree. Tatsuo comforts her by telling her that Totoro will reveal himself when he wants to. One rainy night, the girls are waiting for Tatsuo's bus, which is late. Mei falls asleep on Satsuki's back, and Totoro appears beside them, allowing Satsuki to see him for the first time. Totoro has only a leaf on his head for protection against the rain, so Satsuki offers him the umbrella she had taken for her father. Delighted, he gives her a bundle of nuts and seeds in return. A giant, bus-shaped cat halts at the stop, and Totoro boards it and leaves. Shortly after, Tatsuo's bus arrives. A few days after planting the seeds, the girls awaken at midnight to find Totoro and his colleagues engaged in a ceremonial dance around the planted seeds and join in, causing the seeds to grow into an enormous tree. Totoro takes the girls for a ride on a magical flying top. In the morning, the tree is gone, but the seeds have sprouted. The girls discover that a planned visit by Yasuko has to be postponed because of a setback in her treatment. Mei does not take this well and argues with Satsuki, leaving for the hospital to bring fresh corn to Yasuko. Her disappearance prompts Satsuki and the neighbors to search for her. In desperation, Satsuki returns to the camphor tree and pleads for Totoro's help. He delightfully summons the Catbus, which carries her to where the lost Mei sits, and the sisters emotionally reunite. The bus then takes them to the hospital. The girls overhear a conversation between their parents and learn that she has been kept in hospital by a minor cold but is otherwise doing well. They secretly leave the ear of corn on the windowsill, where their parents discover it, and return home. Eventually, Yasuko returns home, and the sisters play with other children while Totoro and his friends watch them from afar.


Characters

The name ''Totoro'' comes from a misprononciation of the word by Mei. She has seen one in a book and decides that it must be the same creature.Tonari no Totoro - FAQ
The cat-bus comes from a Japanese belief attributing to an old cat the power of shape-shifting: he then becomes a " bakeneko". The cat-bus is a "bakeneko" who has seen a bus and decided to become one.


Themes

Animism Animism (from Latin: ' meaning ' breath, spirit, life') is the belief that objects, places, and creatures all possess a distinct spiritual essence. Potentially, animism perceives all things— animals, plants, rocks, rivers, weather syst ...
is a large theme in this film according to Eriko Ogihara-Schuck. Totoro has animistic traits and has
kami are the deities, divinities, spirits, phenomena or "holy powers", that are venerated in the Shinto religion. They can be elements of the landscape, forces of nature, or beings and the qualities that these beings express; they can also be the sp ...
status due to the fact that he lives in a camphor tree in a
Shinto shrine A is a structure whose main purpose is to house ("enshrine") one or more ''kami'', the deities of the Shinto religion. Overview Structurally, a Shinto shrine typically comprises several buildings. The ''honden''Also called (本殿, meanin ...
surrounded by a Shinto rope and was referred to as "''mori no nushi''," or "master of the forest". Moreover, Ogihara-Schuck writes that when Mei returns from her encounter with Totoro her father takes Mei and her sister to the shrine to greet and thank Totoro. This is a common practice in the
Shinto Shinto () is a religion from Japan. Classified as an East Asian religion by scholars of religion, its practitioners often regard it as Japan's indigenous religion and as a nature religion. Scholars sometimes call its practitioners ''Shint ...
tradition following an encounter with a kami. The themes of the film was additionally noted for Phillip E. Wegner, who believed the film as being an example of alternative history citing the utopian-like setting of the anime.


Voice cast


Production


Development

After working on ''3000 Miles in Search of A Mother'', Miyazaki conceptualised making a "delightful, wonderful film" that would be set in Japan with the idea to "entertain and touch its viewers, but stay with them long after they have left the theaters". Initially, Miyazaki had the main characters of Totoros, Mei, Tatsuo, Kanta. The director conceptualised Mei on his niece, and the Totoros as "serene, carefree creatures" that were "supposedly the forest keeper, but that's only a half-baked idea, a rough approximation".
Art director Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and unify the vis ...
Kazuo Oga is an art director and background artist for many Madhouse Studio and Studio Ghibli anime films. Oga has worked with major directors Hayao Miyazaki, Isao Takahata, Yoshiaki Kawajiri, Osamu Dezaki. He also published two artbooks and directed a sh ...
was drawn to the film when Hayao Miyazaki showed him an original image of Totoro standing in a satoyama. The director challenged Oga to raise his standards, and Oga's experience with ''My Neighbor Totoro'' jump-started the artist's career. Oga and Miyazaki debated the palette of the film, Oga seeking to paint black soil from
Akita Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Provinces and prefectures" in ; "Tōhoku" in . Its population is approximately 966,000 (as of 1 October 2019) and its geographic area is 11,6 ...
and Miyazaki preferring the color of red soil from the
Kantō region The is a geographical area of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. In a common definition, the region includes the Greater Tokyo Area and encompasses seven prefectures: Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki, Saitama, Tokyo, Chiba and Kanagawa. Sl ...
. The ultimate product was described by Studio Ghibli producer Toshio Suzuki: "It was nature painted with translucent colors." Oga's conscientious approach to ''My Neighbor Totoro'' was a style that the ''
International Herald Tribune The ''International Herald Tribune'' (''IHT'') was a daily English-language newspaper published in Paris, France for international English-speaking readers. It had the aim of becoming "the world's first global newspaper" and could fairly be said ...
'' recognized as " pdatingthe traditional Japanese animist sense of a natural world that is fully, spiritually alive". The newspaper described the final product: Oga's work on ''My Neighbor Totoro'' led to his continued involvement with Studio Ghibli. The studio assigned jobs to Oga that would play to his strengths, and Oga's style became a trademark style of Studio Ghibli. In several of Miyazaki's initial conceptual
watercolors Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (British English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin ''aqua'' "water"), is a painting method”Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to t ...
, as well as on the theatrical release poster and on later home video releases, only one young girl is depicted, rather than two sisters. According to Miyazaki, "If she was a little girl who plays around in the yard, she wouldn't be meeting her father at a bus stop, so we had to come up with two girls instead. And that was difficult". The opening sequence of the film was not storyboarded, Miyazaki said. "The sequence was determined through permutations and combinations determined by the time sheets. Each element was made individually and combined in the time sheets..." The ending sequence depicts the mother's return home and the signs of her return to good health by playing with Satsuki and Mei outside. The storyboard depicts the town of Matsuko as the setting, with the year being 1955; Miyazaki stated that it was not exact and the team worked on a setting "in the recent past". The film was originally set to be an hour long, but throughout the process it grew to respond to the social context including the reason for the move and the father's occupation. Eight animators worked on the film, which was completed in eight months. Tetsuya Endo noted numerous animation techniques that were utilised in the film. For example, the ripples were designed with "two colors of high-lighting and shading" and the rain for ''My Neighbor Totoro'' was "scratched in the cels" and superimposed for it to convey a softer feel. The animators stated that one month was taken to create the tadpoles, which included four colours, the water for it was also blurred.


Music

The music for the film was composed by Joe Hisaishi. Previously collaborating with Miyazaki for the movies '' Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind'' and ''
Castle in the Sky , titled ''Laputa: Castle in the Sky'' for release in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand, is a 1986 Japanese animated fantasy adventure film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki. The first film produced by Studio Ghibli, i ...
'', Hisaishi was inspired by the contemporary composers of
Terry Riley Terrence Mitchell "Terry" Riley (born June 24, 1935) is an American composer and performing musician best known as a pioneer of the minimalist school of composition. Influenced by jazz and Indian classical music, his music became notable for ...
,
Philip Glass Philip Glass (born January 31, 1937) is an American composer and pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century. Glass's work has been associated with minimalism, being built up from repetitive ...
,
Steve Reich Stephen Michael Reich ( ; born October 3, 1936) is an American composer known for his contribution to the development of minimal music in the mid to late 1960s. Reich's work is marked by its use of repetitive figures, slow harmonic rhythm, ...
, Stockhausen and
John Cage John Milton Cage Jr. (September 5, 1912 – August 12, 1992) was an American composer and music theorist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading f ...
, and also described Miyazaki's films as "rich and personally compeling". He hired an orchestra during the film, and primarily utilised the Fairlight instrument. The ''Tonari no Totoro'' Soundtrack was originally released in Japan on May 1, 1988 by
Tokuma Shoten is a publisher in Japan, headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. The company was established in 1954 by Yasuyoshi Tokuma in Minato, Tokyo. The company’s product portfolio includes music publishing, video game publishing, movies, anime, magazines, ...
, and features the musical score used in the film composed by Joe Hisaishi, except for five vocal pieces performed by Azumi Inoue, including three for the film: "Stroll", "A Lost Child", and "My Neighbor Totoro". It had previously been released as an Image Song CD in 1987 that contained some songs that were not included in the film.


Release

After writing and filming '' Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind'' (1984) and ''
Castle in the Sky , titled ''Laputa: Castle in the Sky'' for release in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand, is a 1986 Japanese animated fantasy adventure film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki. The first film produced by Studio Ghibli, i ...
'' (1986), Hayao Miyazaki began directing ''My Neighbor Totoro'' for Studio Ghibli. Miyazaki's production paralleled his colleague Isao Takahata's production of '' Grave of the Fireflies''. Miyazaki's film was financed by executive producer Yasuyoshi Tokuma, and both ''My Neighbor Totoro'' and ''Grave of the Fireflies'' were released on the same bill in 1988. The dual billing was considered "one of the most moving and remarkable double bills ever offered to a cinema audience".


Box office

In Japan, ''My Neighbor Totoro'' initially sold 801,680 tickets and earned a distribution rental income of in 1988. According to image researcher Seiji Kano, by 2005 the film's total box office gross receipts in Japan amounted to (). In France, the film sold 429,822 tickets since 1999. The film received further international releases since 2002. The film went on to gross $30,476,708 overseas since 2002, for a total of at the worldwide box office. 30 years after its original release in Japan, ''My Neighbour Totoro'' received a Chinese theatrical release in December 2018. The delay was due to long-standing political tensions between China and Japan, but many Chinese nevertheless became familiar with Miyazaki's films due to rampant video piracy. In its opening weekend, ending December 16, 2018, ''My Neighbour Totoro'' grossed , entering the box office charts at number two, behind only Hollywood film ''
Aquaman Aquaman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Paul Norris and Mort Weisinger, the character debuted in '' More Fun Comics'' #73 (November 1941). The character is a pastiche of Namor. Initially a ...
'' at number one and ahead of
Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" ...
film '' Padman'' at number three. By its second weekend, ''My Neighbor Totoro'' grossed in China. As of February 2019, it grossed $25,798,550 in China.


English dubs

In 1988, US-based company Streamline Pictures produced an exclusive English language dub of the film for use as an in-flight movie on
Japan Airlines , also known as JAL (''Jaru'') or , is an international airline and Japan's flag carrier and largest airline as of 2021 and 2022, headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its main hubs are Tokyo's Narita International Airport and Haneda Airport, as w ...
flights. However, due to his disappointment with the result of the heavily edited 95 minute English version of ''Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind'', Miyazaki and Ghibli would not permit any part of the film to be edited out, all the names remained the same (with the exception being Catbus), the translation was as close to the original Japanese script as possible, and no part of the film could be changed for any reason, cultural or linguistic (which was very common at the time) despite creating problems with some English viewers, particularly in explaining the origin of the name "Totoro". It was produced by John Daly and Derek Gibson, with co-producer Jerry Beck. In April 1993, Troma Films, under their 50th St. Films banner, distributed the dub of the film as a theatrical release, and was later released onto VHS by Fox Video. In 2004,
Walt Disney Pictures Walt Disney Pictures is an American film production company and subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, which is owned by The Walt Disney Company. The studio is the flagship producer of live-action feature films within the Walt Disney Studios unit ...
produced an all new English dub of the film to be released after the rights to the Streamline dub had expired. As is the case with Disney's other English dubs of Miyazaki films, the Disney version of ''Totoro'' features a star-heavy cast, including Dakota and Elle Fanning as Satsuki and Mei,
Timothy Daly Timothy is a masculine name. It comes from the Greek name ( Timόtheos) meaning "honouring God", "in God's honour", or "honoured by God". Timothy (and its variations) is a common name in several countries. People Given name * Timothy (given name) ...
as Mr. Kusakabe,
Pat Carroll Patricia Ann Carroll (May 5, 1927 – July 30, 2022) was an American actress and comedian. She was known for voicing Ursula in '' The Little Mermaid'' and for appearances in CBS's ''The Danny Thomas Show'', ABC's '' Laverne & Shirley'', and ...
as Granny,
Lea Salonga Maria Lea Carmen Imutan Salonga (; born February 22, 1971), known professionally as Lea Salonga, is a Filipino singer, actress, and columnist. Nicknamed "Pride of the Philippines," she is best known for her roles in musical theatre, for supplyi ...
as Mrs. Kusakabe, and
Frank Welker Franklin Wendell Welker (born March 12, 1946) is an American voice actor. He began his career in the 1960s, and holds over 860 film, television, and video game credits as of 2022, making him one of the most prolific voice actors of all time. With ...
as Totoro and
Catbus The (referred to in the film as ねこのバス, ''Neko no basu'') is a fictional character in the Studio Ghibli film ''My Neighbor Totoro'', directed by Hayao Miyazaki. It is a large, grinning twelve-legged cat with a hollow body that serves ...
. The songs for the new dub retain the same translation as the previous dub, but are sung by Sonya Isaacs. The songs for the Streamline version of ''Totoro'' are sung by Cassie Byram. The dub was directed by Rick Dempsey, a Disney executive in charge of the company’s dubbing services, and written by Don and Cindy Hewitt, who had written other dubs for Ghibli films, including '' Spirited Away'', ''
Howl's Moving Castle ''Howl's Moving Castle'' is a fantasy novel by British author Diana Wynne Jones, first published in 1986 by Greenwillow Books of New York. It was a runner-up for the annual Boston Globe–Horn Book Award, and won the Phoenix Award twenty years ...
'', ''
Porco Rosso is a 1992 Japanese animated adventure-fantasy film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki. It is based on '' Hikōtei Jidai'' ("The Age of the Flying Boat"), a three-part 1989 watercolor manga by Miyazaki. It stars the voices of Shūichirō M ...
'', '' Whisper of the Heart'', and '' Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind''. Disney's English-language dub premiered on October 23, 2005; it then appeared at the 2005 Hollywood Film Festival. The
Turner Classic Movies Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie-oriented pay-TV network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcasting campus in the Midtown business district of ...
cable television network held the television premiere of Disney's new English dub on January 19, 2006, as part of the network's salute to Hayao Miyazaki. (TCM aired the dub as well as the original Japanese with English subtitles.) The Disney version was initially released on DVD in the United States on March 7, 2006, but is now out of print. This version of the film has since been used in all English-speaking regions and is one of the two versions most widely available, especially for streaming on Netflix and HBO Max.


Home media

The film was released to VHS and
LaserDisc The LaserDisc (LD) is a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium, initially licensed, sold and marketed as MCA DiscoVision (also known simply as "DiscoVision") in the United States in 1978. Its diameter typical ...
by
Tokuma Shoten is a publisher in Japan, headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. The company was established in 1954 by Yasuyoshi Tokuma in Minato, Tokyo. The company’s product portfolio includes music publishing, video game publishing, movies, anime, magazines, ...
in August 1988 under their Animage Video label.
Buena Vista Home Entertainment Japan Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Inc., doing business as Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment, is the home entertainment distribution arm of The Walt Disney Company. The division handles the distribution of Disney's films, television series, an ...
(now Walt Disney Japan) would later reissue the VHS on June 27, 1997 as part of their ''Ghibli ga Ippai'' series, and was later released to DVD on September 28, 2001, including both the original Japanese and the Streamline Pictures English dub. Disney would later release the film on
Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of st ...
in the country on July 18, 2012. The DVD was re-released on July 16, 2014, using the remastered print from the Blu-ray and having the Disney produced English dub instead of Streamline's. In 1993, Fox Video licensed the film from Studio Ghibli and released the Streamline Pictures dub of ''My Neighbor Totoro'' on VHS and LaserDisc in the United States and was later released to DVD in 2002. After the rights to the dub expired in 2004, Walt Disney Home Entertainment re-released the movie on DVD on March 7, 2006 with Disney's newly produced English dub and the original Japanese version. A reissue of ''Totoro'', ''
Castle in the Sky , titled ''Laputa: Castle in the Sky'' for release in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand, is a 1986 Japanese animated fantasy adventure film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki. The first film produced by Studio Ghibli, i ...
'', and '' Kiki's Delivery Service'' featuring updated cover art highlighting its Studio Ghibli origins was released by
Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Inc., doing business as Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment, is the home entertainment distribution arm of The Walt Disney Company. The division handles the distribution of Disney's films, television series, a ...
on March 2, 2010, coinciding with the US DVD and Blu-ray debut of ''
Ponyo is a 2008 Japanese animated fantasy film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki, animated by Studio Ghibli for the Nippon Television Network, Dentsu, Hakuhodo DY Media Partners, Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Mitsubishi, and distribute ...
'', and was subsequently released by Disney on
Blu-Ray Disc The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...
on May 21, 2013.
GKIDS GKIDS is an American film distributor based in New York with, according to the ''Los Angeles Times'', a focus on "sophisticated, indie" animation. GKIDS releases critically acclaimed, mostly hand-drawn, international films—such as the works o ...
re-issued the film on Blu-ray and DVD on October 17, 2017. The Disney-produced dub has also been released onto DVD and Blu-ray by distributors like Madman Entertainment in Australia and Optimum Releasing/StudioCanal UK in the United Kingdom. In Japan, the film sold 3.5million VHS and DVD units as of April 2012, equivalent to approximately () at an average retail price of ( on DVD and on VHS). In the United States, the film sold over 500,000 VHS units by 1996, equivalent to approximately at a retail price of $19.98, with the later 2010 DVD release selling a further 3.8million units and grossing in the United States as of October 2018. In total, the film's home video releases have sold million units and grossed an estimated in Japan and the United States. In the United Kingdom, the film's Studio Ghibli anniversary release appeared on the annual lists of top ten best-selling foreign language films on
home video Home video is prerecorded media sold or rented for home viewing. The term originates from the VHS and Betamax era, when the predominant medium was videotapes, but has carried over to optical disc formats such as DVD, Blu-ray and streaming me ...
for five consecutive years, ranking number seven in 2015, number six in 2016 and 2017, number one in 2018, and number two in 2019 (below '' Spirited Away'').


Reception

''My Neighbor Totoro'' received widespread acclaim from film critics. Review aggregator
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...
reported that 95% of critics gave positive reviews, with an
average In ordinary language, an average is a single number taken as representative of a list of numbers, usually the sum of the numbers divided by how many numbers are in the list (the arithmetic mean). For example, the average of the numbers 2, 3, 4, 7 ...
rating of 8.5/10 based on 55 reviews. The website's critical consensus states, “''My Neighbor Totoro'' is a heartwarming, sentimental masterpiece that captures the simple grace of childhood." On
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...
, the film has a weighted average rating of 86 out of 100, based on 15 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". It is listed as a "must-see" by Metacritic. In 2001, the Japanese magazine ''
Animage is a Japanese anime and entertainment magazine which Tokuma Shoten began publishing in July 1978. Hayao Miyazaki's internationally renowned manga, '' Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind'', was serialized in ''Animage'' from 1982 through 1994. ...
'' ranked ''My Neighbor Totoro'' 45th in their list of ''100 Best Anime Productions of All Time''. ''My Neighbor Totoro'' was voted the highest-ranking animated film on the 2012 ''
Sight & Sound ''Sight and Sound'' (also spelled ''Sight & Sound'') is a British monthly film magazine published by the British Film Institute (BFI). It conducts the well-known, once-a-decade ''Sight and Sound'' Poll of the Greatest Films of All Time, ongoing ...
'' critics' poll of all-time greatest films, and joint 154th overall. In 2022, the film was ranked by the magazine as the joint 72nd greatest film overall, being one of the two animated films included in the list along with '' Spirited Away''. In addition, the film was ranked at number 3 on the list of the ''Greatest Japanese Animated Films of All Time'' by film magazine Kinema Junpo in 2009, 41st in ''
Empire An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...
'' magazine's "The 100 Best Films of World Cinema" in 2010, number two for a similar ''
Empire An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...
'' list for best children's films, and number 1 in the greatest animated films in ''Time Out'' ranked the film number 1, a similar list by the editors ranked the film number 3 instead. Film critic
Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...
of the ''
Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the '' Chicago ...
'' identified ''My Neighbor Totoro'' as one of his "Great Movies", calling it "one of the lovingly hand-crafted works of Hayao Miyazaki". In his review, Ebert observed that "''My Neighbor Totoro'' is based on experience, situation and exploration—not on conflict and threat", and described its appeal as "it would never have won its worldwide audience just because of its warm heart. It is also rich with human comedy in the way it observes the two remarkably convincing, lifelike little girls.... It is a little sad, a little scary, a little surprising and a little informative, just like life itself. It depends on a situation instead of a plot, and suggests that the wonder of life and the resources of imagination supply all the adventure you need". Steve Rose from ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...
'' rated the film five stars, praising Miyazaki's "rich, bright, hand-drawn" animation and describing it as "full of benign spirituality, prelapsarian innocence and joyous discovery, all rooted in a carefully detailed reality". Trevor Johnston from ''Time Out'' also awarded the film five stars commenting on the film's "delicate rendering of the atmosphere" and its first half that "delicately captures both mystery and quietness". The Japanese filmmaker
Akira Kurosawa was a Japanese filmmaker and painter who directed thirty films in a career spanning over five decades. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers in the history of cinema. Kurosawa displayed a bold, dyna ...
also cited ''My Neighbor Totoro'' as one of his favorite films. Writing for the ''
London Evening Standard The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format. In October 2009, after be ...
'', Charlotte O'Sullivan praised the charm of the film, but said that its complexity was lacking compared to '' Spirited Away''. Jordan Cronk from ''Slant'' awarded the film three and half stars but also suggested was "devoid of much of the fantasia of Miyazaki’s more outwardly visionary work". The 1993 translation was not as well received as the 2006 translation, with Leonard Klady of the entertainment trade newspaper ''
Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' wrote of the 1993 translation, that ''My Neighbor Totoro'' demonstrated "adequate television technical craft" that was characterized by "muted pastels, homogenized pictorial style and vapid storyline". The film's environment was described as "Obviously aimed at an international audience" but "evinces a disorienting combination of cultures that produces a nowhere land more confused than fascinating." Stephen Holden of ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' described the 1993 translation as "very visually handsome", and believed that the film was "very charming" when "dispensing enchantment". Despite the highlights, Holden wrote, "Too much of the film, however, is taken up with stiff, mechanical chitchat." Matthew Leyland of ''
Sight & Sound ''Sight and Sound'' (also spelled ''Sight & Sound'') is a British monthly film magazine published by the British Film Institute (BFI). It conducts the well-known, once-a-decade ''Sight and Sound'' Poll of the Greatest Films of All Time, ongoing ...
'' reviewed the DVD released in 2006, commenting that "Miyazaki's family fable is remarkably light on tension, conflict and plot twists, yet it beguiles from beginning to end... what sticks with the viewer is the every-kid credibility of the girls' actions as they work, play and settle into their new surroundings." Leyland praised the DVD transfer of the film, but noted that the disc lacked a look at the film's production, instead being overabundant with storyboards. Writing in ''Joe Hisaishi's Soundtrack for My Neighbor Totoro'', Kunio Hara also praised the soundtrack, describing the song "''My Neighbor Totoro''" as a "sonic icon" of the film. Hara additionally commented that the music "arouse a similar sentiment of yearning for the past".


Awards and nominations


Legacy

''My Neighbor Totoro'' was considered as a milestone for writer-director Hayao Miyazaki. The film's central character, Totoro, is as famous among Japanese children as
Winnie-the-Pooh Winnie-the-Pooh, also called Pooh Bear and Pooh, is a fictional anthropomorphic teddy bear created by English author A. A. Milne and English illustrator E. H. Shepard. The first collection of stories about the character was the book ''Win ...
is among British ones. ''
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...
'' recognized Totoro as one of the greatest cartoon characters, describing the creature, "At once innocent and awe-inspiring, King Totoro captures the innocence and magic of childhood more than any of Miyazaki's other magical creations." The ''
Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nik ...
'' recognized the character's appeal, commenting that " otorois more genuinely loved than
Mickey Mouse Mickey Mouse is an animated cartoon Character (arts), character co-created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. The longtime mascot of The Walt Disney Company, Mickey is an Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic mouse who typically wears red sho ...
could hope to be in his wildest—not nearly so beautifully illustrated—fantasies." Similarly, Empire also commented on Totoro's appeal, ranking it 18th for best animated characters. Totoro and characters from the movie play a significant role in the
Ghibli Museum The is a museum showcasing the work of the Japanese animation studio Studio Ghibli. It is located in Inokashira Park in Mitaka, a western city of Tokyo, Japan. The museum combines features of a children's museum, technology museum, and a fine ...
, including a large
catbus The (referred to in the film as ねこのバス, ''Neko no basu'') is a fictional character in the Studio Ghibli film ''My Neighbor Totoro'', directed by Hayao Miyazaki. It is a large, grinning twelve-legged cat with a hollow body that serves ...
and the Straw Hat Cafe. The environmental journal ''Ambio'' described the influence of ''My Neighbor Totoro'', " thas served as a powerful force to focus the positive feelings that the Japanese people have for satoyama and traditional village life." The film's central character Totoro was used as a mascot by the Japanese "Totoro Hometown Fund Campaign" to preserve areas of satoyama in the
Saitama Prefecture is a landlocked prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Saitama Prefecture has a population of 7,338,536 (1 January 2020) and has a geographic area of 3,797 km2 (1,466 sq mi). Saitama Prefecture borders Tochigi Prefecture ...
. The fund, started in 1990 after the film's release, held an auction in August 2008 at Pixar Animation Studios to sell over 210 original paintings, illustrations, and sculptures inspired by ''My Neighbor Totoro''. Totoro has made cameo appearances in multiple Studio Ghibli films, including '' Pom Poko'', '' Kiki's Delivery Service'', and '' Whisper of the Heart''. Various other anime series and films have featured cameos, including one episode of the
Gainax Gainax Co., Ltd. (stylized as GAINAX; ja, 株式会社ガイナックス, Hepburn: ) is a Japanese anime studio famous for productions such as '' Neon Genesis Evangelion'', '' Royal Space Force'', '' Gunbuster'', '' Nadia: The Secret of Blue Wa ...
TV series ''
His and Her Circumstances is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Masami Tsuda. It was serialized in ''LaLa'' from 1996 to 2005 and collected in 21 ''tankōbon'' volumes by Hakusensha. It depicts the romance between "perfect" student Yukino Miyazawa and ...
''. Miyazaki uses Totoro as a part of his Studio Ghibli company logo. A main-belt asteroid, discovered on December 31, 1994, was named 10160 Totoro after the film's central character. Totoro makes a cameo appearance in the
Pixar Pixar Animation Studios (commonly known as Pixar () and stylized as P I X A R) is an American computer animation studio known for its critically and commercially successful computer animated feature films. It is based in Emeryville, Californ ...
film '' Toy Story 3'' (2010) but did not make a appearance in '' Toy Story 4'' due to licensing; the film’s art director Daisuke Tsutsumi is married to Miyazaki's niece, who was the original inspiration for the character Mei in ''My Neighbour Totoro''. In 2013, a
velvet worm Onychophora (from grc, ονυχής, , "claws"; and , , "to carry"), commonly known as velvet worms (due to their velvety texture and somewhat wormlike appearance) or more ambiguously as peripatus (after the first described genus, '' Peripatus ...
species ''
Eoperipatus totoro ''Eoperipatus totoro'' is a species of velvet worm of the family Peripatidae discovered in Vietnam in 2007. As of 2013, it is the only velvet worm known from Vietnam. The specific name is derived from caterpillar-like Catbus from the Japanese an ...
'' discovered in
Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making ...
was named after Totoro: "Following the request of Pavel V. Kvartalnov, Eduard A. Galoyan and Igor V. Palko, the species is named after the main character of the cartoon movie "My Neighbour Totoro" by Hayao Miyazaki (1988, Studio Ghibli), who uses a many-legged animal as a vehicle, which according to the collectors resembles a velvet worm."


Media


Books

A four-volume series of '' ani-manga'' books, which use color images and lines directly from the film, was published in Japan in May 1988 by
Tokuma is a publisher in Japan, headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. The company was established in 1954 by Yasuyoshi Tokuma in Minato, Tokyo. The company’s product portfolio includes music publishing, video game publishing, movies, anime, magazines, ...
. The series was licensed for English language release in North America by
Viz Media VIZ Media LLC is an American manga publisher, anime distributor and entertainment company headquartered in San Francisco, California. It was founded in 1986 as VIZ LLC. In 2005, VIZ LLC and ShoPro Entertainment merged to form the current VIZ M ...
, which released the books from November 10, 2004, through February 15, 2005. A 111-page picture book based on the film and aimed at younger readers was released by Tokuma on June 28, 1988 and, in a 112-page English translation, by Viz on November 8, 2005. Tokuma later released an additional 176-page art book containing conceptual art from the film and interviews with the production staff on July 15, 1988 and, in English translation, by Viz on November 8, 2005. In 2013, a hardcover
light novel A light novel (, Hepburn: ''raito noberu'') is a style of young adult novel primarily targeting high school and middle school students. The term "light novel" is a '' wasei-eigo'', or a Japanese term formed from words in the English languag ...
written by Tsugiko Kubo and illustrated by Hayao Miyazaki was released by Viz.


Anime short

is a thirteen-minute sequel to ''My Neighbor Totoro'', written and directed by Miyazaki. Chika Sakamoto, who voiced Mei in ''Totoro'', returned to voice Mei in this short. Hayao Miyazaki himself did the voice of the Granny Cat (''Neko Baa-chan''), as well as Totoro. It concentrates on the character of Mei Kusakabe from the original film and her adventures one night with the Kittenbus (the offspring of the
Catbus The (referred to in the film as ねこのバス, ''Neko no basu'') is a fictional character in the Studio Ghibli film ''My Neighbor Totoro'', directed by Hayao Miyazaki. It is a large, grinning twelve-legged cat with a hollow body that serves ...
from the film) and other cat-oriented vehicles. Originally released in Japan in 2003, the short is regularly shown at the
Ghibli Museum The is a museum showcasing the work of the Japanese animation studio Studio Ghibli. It is located in Inokashira Park in Mitaka, a western city of Tokyo, Japan. The museum combines features of a children's museum, technology museum, and a fine ...
, but has not been released to home video. It was shown briefly in the United States in 2006 to honor the North American release of fellow Miyazaki film '' Spirited Away'' and at a
Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation JDRF is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that funds type 1 diabetes (T1D) research, provides a broad array of community and activist services to the T1D population and actively advocates for regulation favorable to medical research and approval o ...
fundraiser a few days later.


Merchandise

Numerous licensed merchandise of Totoro have been sold in Japan for decades after the film's release. Totoro licensed merchandise sales in Japan grossed in 1999, during 20032007, at least in 2008, and during 20102012. Combined, the Totoro licensed merchandise sales have grossed at least () in Japan between 1999 and 2012.


Stage adaptation

In May 2022, the
Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and produces around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, St ...
and composer Joe Hisaishi announced a stage adaptation of ''My Neighbour Totoro'' set to run from 8 October 2022 to 21 January 2023 at the
Barbican Centre The Barbican Centre is a performing arts centre in the Barbican Estate of the City of London and the largest of its kind in Europe. The centre hosts classical and contemporary music concerts, theatre performances, film screenings and art exhib ...
in London. It will be adapted by British playwright Tom Morton-Smith and directed by Improbable's
Phelim McDermott Phelim McDermott (born 21 August 1963) is an English actor and stage director. He has directed plays and operas in Britain, Germany, Spain, the United States, and Australia. McDermott was a co-founder of the Improbable theatre in 1996. Career McDe ...
. Tickets went on sale on 19 May 2022 breaking the theatre's box office record for sales in one day (previously held by the 2015 production of ''
Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...
'' starring Benedict Cumberbatch).


See also

* '' Japan, Our Homeland'' and ''
Mai Mai Miracle is a Japanese animated film based on Nobuko Takagi's novelization of her autobiography, ''Maimai Shinko''. It was produced by the animation studio Madhouse, distributed by Shochiku, and directed by Sunao Katabuchi. The film debuted at the Locar ...
'' (also depicting Japan in the 1950s) * Enchanted forest


Notes


References


External links

* * * * *
Entry
in
The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction ''The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction'' (SFE) is an English language reference work on science fiction, first published in 1979. It has won the Hugo Award, Hugo, Locus Award, Locus and BSFA Award, British SF Awards. Two print editions appeared ...

Joe Hisaishi's Soundtrack for My Neighbor Totoro
book by Kunio Hara
33-1/3 Japan Series
Bloomsbury, {{Authority control 1988 anime films 1980s children's animated films 1980s children's fantasy films 1988 fantasy films 1980s Japanese-language films Japanese animated feature films Anime with original screenplays Best Film Kinema Junpo Award winners Drama anime and manga Animated films about sisters Films about runaways Films directed by Hayao Miyazaki Films scored by Joe Hisaishi Films set in forests Films set in Japan Japanese animated fantasy films Japanese mythology in anime and manga Studio Ghibli animated films Toho animated films Films about father–daughter relationships Films about mother–daughter relationships