My Neighbor Totoro
In 1950s Japan, a university professor named Tatsuo Kusakabe moves his two daughters into an old house near a hospital. His wife Yasuko stays there to recover from a long-term illness while the girls settle in. Satsuki is ten years old and Mei is four years old when they first explore their new surroundings. Dust-like spirits called susuwatari appear only when moving from bright places to dark ones inside the house. Mei follows small spirits into the hollow of a large camphor tree one afternoon. She meets a larger spirit who roars a series of sounds she interprets as Totoro. The child thinks this creature is the troll from her illustrated book Three Billy Goats Gruff. She falls asleep on top of him but wakes up on the ground when Satsuki finds them later. The older sister cannot convince anyone that the forest spirit exists despite many attempts. Tatsuo comforts Mei by saying the spirit will reveal himself when he wants to.
Hayao Miyazaki began directing My Neighbor Totoro for Studio Ghibli after completing Castle in the Sky in 1986. Art director Kazuo Oga joined the project when shown an original image of Totoro standing in a satoyama landscape. The director challenged Oga to raise his standards during early development meetings. They debated the film's color palette extensively throughout production. Oga wanted to paint black soil from Akita Prefecture while Miyazaki preferred red soil from the Kantō region. The finished film was described by producer Toshio Suzuki as nature painted with translucent colors. Eight animators worked on the film and completed it within eight months. Only one young girl appears in several initial conceptual watercolor paintings. Miyazaki decided they needed two girls so the character could meet her father at a bus stop. The opening sequence was not storyboarded but determined through permutations and combinations on time sheets. Each element was made individually and combined using those time sheets.
Mei returns from her encounter with the forest spirit and her father takes both sisters to a nearby shrine. They greet and thank Totoro following a common Shinto tradition after meeting a kami. The creature has status because he lives in a camphor tree surrounded by a Shinto rope. He is referred to as yamagami or master of the forest according to scholar Eriko Ogihara-Schuck. The film presents an example of alternative history with its utopian-like setting. Cultural historian Timo Thelen argues that Totoro participates in discourse about satoyama landscapes. These traditional mosaics of forests, fields and villages fuse nature and culture in harmonious balance. Scholars stress the film's complex nostalgia for the Japanese countryside beneath its calm surface. The hospitalized mother and the sisters' fear of losing her draw on the director's own childhood experience. Lingering memories of wartime devastation appear beneath the story's gentle exterior.
My Neighbor Totoro initially sold 801,680 tickets in Japan during 1988. It earned a distribution rental income of unspecified amounts that year. By 2005, box-office gross receipts in Japan totaled over one billion yen according to animation scholar Seiji Kano. In France, the film has sold 429,822 tickets since 1999. A South China Morning Post article from 2021 reported the film has grossed more than forty-one million dollars worldwide. Thirty years after release, My Neighbor Totoro received a Chinese theatrical opening in December 2018. Political tensions between China and Japan caused the long delay before this market entry. During its opening weekend ending the 16th of December 2018, the film entered box-office charts at number two behind Aquaman. Film critic Roger Ebert identified My Neighbor Totoro as one of his Great Movies. Steve Rose from The Guardian gave the film five stars for its rich hand-drawn animation. Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa cited it as one of his favorite films.
US-based company Streamline Pictures produced an exclusive English language dub in 1989 for use on Japan Airlines flights. Cassie Byram sang the songs for this initial version. Troma Films distributed the dub under its label 50th St. Films as a theatrical release in April 1993. Walt Disney Pictures produced a new English dub in 2004 after rights to the Streamline version expired. Dakota Fanning voiced Satsuki while Elle Fanning played Mei in the Disney production. Timothy Daly provided the voice for Mr. Kusakabe and Lea Salonga voiced Mrs. Kusakabe. Frank Welker performed both Totoro and Catbus characters. The Disney version premiered on the 23rd of October 2005 at the Hollywood Film Festival. Cable network Turner Classic Movies held the television premiere in January 2006 as part of a tribute to Hayao Miyazaki. Tokuma Shoten released My Neighbor Totoro on VHS and LaserDisc in August 1988. Buena Vista Home Entertainment reissued the VHS on the 27th of June 1997 as part of their Ghibli ga Ippai series.
The popularity of Totoro among Japanese children has been likened to Winnie-the-Pooh in Britain. The Independent described the creature as one of the greatest cartoon characters ever created. Empire ranked him at number 18 on its list of greatest animated characters of all time. The character later became an official mascot and logo for Studio Ghibli. Environmental journal Ambio noted that the film serves as a powerful force focusing positive feelings for satoyama landscapes. A Japanese campaign called Totoro Hometown Fund Campaign used the central character as its mascot. This fund started in 1990 after the film's release to preserve areas in Saitama Prefecture. An auction held in August 2008 at Pixar Animation Studios sold over two hundred ten original paintings and sculptures. A main-belt asteroid discovered on the 31st of December 1994 was named 10160 Totoro. In 2013, Eoperipatus totoro, a species of velvet worm from Vietnam, received the name because it resembles a many-legged animal used by the forest spirit.
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Common questions
Who are the main characters in My Neighbor Totoro?
The film centers on university professor Tatsuo Kusakabe and his two daughters Satsuki who is ten years old and Mei who is four years old. The story also features spirits including susuwatari dust-like creatures and a large forest spirit named Totoro.
When was My Neighbor Totoro released by Studio Ghibli?
Tokuma Shoten released My Neighbor Totoro on VHS and LaserDisc in August 1988. Hayao Miyazaki began directing the film after completing Castle in the Sky in 1986 and eight animators completed it within eight months.
What does the character Totoro represent in Japanese culture?
Scholar Eriko Ogihara-Schuck states that Totoro has status as yamagami or master of the forest because he lives in a camphor tree surrounded by a Shinto rope. Cultural historian Timo Thelen argues that Totoro participates in discourse about satoyama landscapes which fuse nature and culture in harmonious balance.
How many tickets did My Neighbor Totoro sell in Japan during 1988?
My Neighbor Totoro initially sold 801,680 tickets in Japan during 1988. By 2005 box-office gross receipts in Japan totaled over one billion yen according to animation scholar Seiji Kano.
Who voiced Satsuki and Mei in the Disney English dub of My Neighbor Totoro?
Dakota Fanning voiced Satsuki while Elle Fanning played Mei in the Disney production produced in 2004. The Disney version premiered on the 23rd of October 2005 at the Hollywood Film Festival before Turner Classic Movies held the television premiere in January 2006.