My Neighbor Totoro (1988)

Cast

• Noriko Hidaka Satsuki Kusakabe (voice)
• Chika Sakamoto Mei Kusakabe (voice)
• Hitoshi Takagi Totoro (voice)
• Shigesato Itoi Tatsuo Kusakabe (voice)
• Sumi Shimamoto Yasuko Kusakabe (voice)
• Tanie Kitabayashi Granny (voice)
• Toshiyuki Amagasa Kanta Ogaki (voice)
• Yuko Maruyama Kanta's Mother (voice)
• Masashi Hirose Kanta's Father (voice)
• Reiko Suzuki Kanta's Aunt (voice)
• Machiko Washio Teacher (voice)
• Naoki Tatsuta Catbus (voice)
• Tomohiro Nishimura Postman (voice)
• Chie Koujiro Michiko (voice)
• Yuko Mizutani Ryoko (voice)
• Shigeru Chiba (voice)
• TARAKO (voice)
• Mitsuko Ishida (voice)
• Daiki Nakamura (voice)
• Akiko Hiramatsu (voice)

Crew

Director

Hayao Miyazaki

Director of Photography

Hisao Shirai

Editor

Takeshi Seyama

Original Music Composer

Joe Hisaishi

Producer

Toshio Suzuki

Producer

Tooru Hara

Screenplay

Hayao Miyazaki

Details

Budget

$3,700,000

Revenue

$41,000,000

Homepage

https://gkids.com/films/my-neighbor-totoro

IMDb

tt0096283

TMDB

8392

Keywords

• anime
• hospital
• leave
• magical creature
• magical realism
• mother
• new home
• new neighbor
• rural area
• sibling relationship
• super power
• village

Videos

• Mei Meets Totoro Clip
• Totoro Takes The Cat Bus Clip
• Miyazaki on Creating Totoro [Subtitled] Featurette
• Studio Ghibli Fest 2023: 35th Anniversary Teaser
• Ghibli Fest 2023 - 35th Anniversary Trailer Trailer
• Official Trailer [Subtitled] Trailer
• Studio Ghibli Fest 2019 Trailer Trailer
• Vintage Trailer Trailer

Reviews

CinemaSerf · ★ 7 · 2024-08-10

Though maybe the story here is a bit on the thin side, this is still glorious mix of family and fantasy from the hand-drawn animation of the gifted Hayao Miyazaki. It's all about two sisters - "Mei" and "Satsuki" who travel with their father to a new, rather rustic, home. It's all a grand adventure for the girls though and they are barely through the door before realising that the house has some extra special occupants. Things is - are they benign or not! Luckily, an old lady from the house nearby sets their mind at rest and soon "Granny" is looking after them from time to time in between school and visits to their ailing mother in a nearby hospital. As they explore the grounds, they discover that the place is alive with creatures both natural and supernatural - and it's the eponymous beast - a sort of hybrid between a cat and a panda - that soon becomes an integral part of their adventures as they eagerly anticipate their mother coming home. It's its simplicity that really worked well for me, here. A close-knit family with some bubbling trauma provides for a setting for their situation, but it doesn't dominate the children at play. They know sadness, sure, but they also know joy and love; there's a magical eight-legged moggy-bus (or maybe that's ten legs?) and they have their shy neighbour who's terrified of the very thought of the girls! It's a delightful combination of fantasy, community and family that you're bound to enjoy. Take a brolly, though!

ARGMAN · ★ 6 · 2024-03-04

cute & sweet. that's it

r96sk · ★ 8 · 2024-01-27

Aggressively cute. <em>'My Neighbor Totoro'</em> holds an extremely hearty story, one told via impeccably beautiful animation. Noriko Hidaka and Chika Sakamoto standout as Satsuki and Mei, the relationship between those two characters is so sweet. They do get a bit shouty in parts which ever so slightly irritates, but that's definitely one to file under 'nit-picking'. A simple movie, one which displays the imagination of children perfectly. Big fan of the Catbus. 🐱

20thCentury · 2020-07-20

(SPOILER ALERT) I was delighted to see this subtle/multi-layered tale unfold, which seemed to play well to both a childhood audience, keen on likable characters/compelling imagination, and adults with a deeper appreciation for the symbolic backstory. Like most of Miyazaki's films, there was an enormous focus on the power of the natural world. Whenever man perverts the natural world, the natural world seems to pushback. It appears as though the seldom seen Mother in the story is sick due to some mental/physical disconnect that she has likely had with the natural world. Through the unique power of children to tap into their imagination, especially children living outside the city and amongst nature, Miyazaki demonstrates the unique gift that children have to re-establish the lost bond between unhealthy adults and the healing power of the natural world. I was thoroughly impressed with how delicately Miyazaki established this bond between the two children, their imagination, and the natural world. Totoro, the lovable silent giant, is a great and unexpected metaphor for the healing power of the natural world and childhood imagination :)

sykobanana · ★ 9 · 2020-05-17

**"Childhood" in a movie.** This is just perfection - a perfect way to while away time and reconnect with your youth. Everything is outstanding in this film, but especially the way it can emote your sense of wonder and imagination. I wish I could have watched this as a child, I would have wanted to find Totoro and the Catbus, roar like Totoro, or sleep on his belly. Oh well...I will just have to imagine it. Its interesting to note this was released with Grave of the Fireflies, another Ghibli masterpiece, which I have summed up as being about innocence lost. **This movie is innocence maintained.**

Similar movies

• Hercules (1997)
• Alice in Wonderland (1951)
• Pippi Longstocking (1969)
• Patlabor EZY File 1 (2026)
• The Land Before Time (1988)
• To You in the Beyond (2026)
• Horton Hears a Who! (2008)
• One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961)
• Oliver & Company (1988)
• Dragon Ball Z Side Story: Plan to Eradicate the Saiyans (1993)
• Look Who's Talking Now! (1993)
• A-Girl (1993)