My Neighbour Totoro

is a 1988 Japanese animated fantasy film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki and animated by Studio Ghibli for Tokuma Shoten. The film—which stars the voice actors Noriko Hidaka, Chika Sakamoto, and Hitoshi Takagi—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. 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 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 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, Shinto symbology, environmentalism and the joys of rural living, ''My Neighbor Totoro'' received worldwide critical acclaim and has amassed a global cult following 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 sales and from licensed merchandise sales, adding up to approximately in total lifetime revenue.

''My Neighbor Totoro'' received numerous awards, including the Animage 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'' magazine's "The 100 Best Films of World Cinema" in 2010 and being the highest-ranking animated film on the 2012 ''Sight & Sound'' 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, 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 is a large theme in this film according to Eriko Ogihara-Schuck. Totoro has animistic traits and has kami status due to the fact that he lives in a camphor tree in a Shinto shrine 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 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 Kazuo Oga 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 and Miyazaki preferring the color of red soil from the Kantō region. 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'' 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, 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'', Hisaishi was inspired by the contemporary composers of Terry Riley, Philip Glass, Steve Reich, Stockhausen and John Cage, 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, 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'' (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'' at number one and ahead of Bollywood 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 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 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 as Mr. Kusakabe, Pat Carroll as Granny, Lea Salonga as Mrs. Kusakabe, and Frank Welker as Totoro and Catbus. 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'', ''Porco Rosso'', ''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 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 by Tokuma Shoten in August 1988 under their Animage Video label. Buena Vista Home Entertainment Japan (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 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'', and ''Kiki's Delivery Service'' featuring updated cover art highlighting its Studio Ghibli origins was released by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment on March 2, 2010, coinciding with the US DVD and Blu-ray debut of ''Ponyo'', and was subsequently released by Disney on Blu-Ray Disc on May 21, 2013. GKIDS 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 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 reported that 95% of critics gave positive reviews, with an average 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, 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'' 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'' 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'' magazine's "The 100 Best Films of World Cinema" in 2010, number two for a similar ''Empire'' 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 of the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' 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'' 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 also cited ''My Neighbor Totoro'' as one of his favorite films. Writing for the ''London Evening Standard'', 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'' 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'' 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'' 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 is among British ones. ''The Independent'' 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'' recognized the character's appeal, commenting that "otorois more genuinely loved than Mickey Mouse 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, including a large catbus 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. 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 TV series ''His and Her Circumstances''. 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 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 species ''Eoperipatus totoro'' discovered in Vietnam 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. The series was licensed for English language release in North America by Viz Media, 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 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 from the film) and other cat-oriented vehicles.

Originally released in Japan in 2003, the short is regularly shown at the Ghibli Museum, 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 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 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 in London. It will be adapted by British playwright Tom Morton-Smith and directed by Improbable's Phelim McDermott. 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'' starring Benedict Cumberbatch).

See also

* '' Japan, Our Homeland'' and ''Mai Mai Miracle'' (also depicting Japan in the 1950s)
* Enchanted forest

Notes

References

External links

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Entry
in The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction

Joe Hisaishi's Soundtrack for My Neighbor Totoro
book by Kunio Hara
33-1/3 Japan Series
Bloomsbury,

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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