My Neighbor Totoro

It stars the voices of Noriko Hidaka, Chika Sakamoto and Hitoshi Takagi, and focuses on two young sisters 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 of Japan Airlines. Troma Films, under their 50th St. Films banner, distributed the dub of the film. This dub was released in 1993 to United States theaters, and the following year on VHS and LaserDisc in the US by Fox Video in 1994, and on DVD in 2002. The rights to this dub expired in 2004, so Walt Disney Home Entertainment re-released the film on March 7, 2006 with a new dub cast. This DVD release is the first version of the film in the US to include both Japanese and English language tracks.

The film explores themes such as animism, Shinto symbology, environmentalism and the joys of rural living. My Neighbor Totoro received worldwide critical acclaim, and has grossed over $41 million worldwide at the box office as of September 2019; the film also grossed significantly more from home video sales and merchandise.

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 the number-one 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 other films. Totoro also serves as the mascot for Studio Ghibli and is recognized as one of the most popular characters in Japanese animation.

The house is inhabited by small, dark, dust-like house spirits called susuwatari, that can be seen when moving from bright places to dark ones.[note 1] The susuwatari leave to find another empty house. Mei discovers two small spirits that lead her into the hollow of a large camphor tree. She befriends a larger spirit, which identifies itself using a series of roars that she interprets as “Totoro”. Mei thinks Totoro is the troll from her illustrated book Three Billy Goats Gruff. 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, saying Totoro will reveal himself when he wants to.

Satsuki and Mei’s house [ja] at the Expo 2005 site

Closeup view of Satsuki and Mei’s house

The girls wait 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, prompting Satsuki to offer her umbrella to him. Delighted, he gives her a bundle of nuts and seeds in return. A giant, bus-shaped cat arrives; Totoro boards it and leaves. A few days after planting the seeds, the girls awaken at midnight to find Totoro and his fellow spirits engaged in a ceremonial dance around the planted seeds. They 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 their mother has been postponed because of a setback in her treatment. Mei is upset and argues with Satsuki. She leaves for the hospital to take fresh corn to their mother, but gets lost on the way. Mei’s disappearance prompts Satsuki and the neighbors to search for her, thinking that Mei has died. In desperation, Satsuki pleads for Totoro’s help. Totoro summons the Catbus, which carries Satsuki to Mei’s location, and the sisters reunite. The bus then takes them to the hospital, where the girls learn that their mother has been kept in the hospital by a minor cold but is otherwise recovering well. The girls secretly leave the ear of corn on the windowsill, where their parents discover it.

Eventually, their mother returns home and the girls play with other children while Totoro and his friends watch from afar.