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My Neighbor Totoro (1988)
"Tonari no Totoro" (original title)

G  |   |  Animation, Family, Fantasy  |  16 April 1988 (Japan)
8.3
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Ratings: 8.3/10 from 148,053 users  
Reviews: 296 user | 137 critic

When two girls move to the country to be near their ailing mother, they have adventures with the wonderous forest spirits who live nearby.

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Cast

Credited cast:
Chika Sakamoto ...
Mei (voice)
Hitoshi Takagi ...
Totoro (voice)
Noriko Hidaka ...
Satsuki (voice)
Shigesato Itoi ...
Tatsuo Kusakabe (voice)
Tanie Kitabayashi ...
Granny (voice)
Toshiyuki Amagasa ...
Kanta (voice)
Naoki Tatsuta ...
Cat Bus / Additional Voices (voice)
...
Totoro / Catbus (voice)
...
Mrs. Kusakabe (voice)
...
Nanny (voice)
...
Professor Kusakabe (voice) (as Timothy Daly)
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
...
Kanta (voice)
...
Shigeru Chiba ...
Kusakari-Otoko (voice)
Lara Cody ...
Farm Girl (Troma version) (voice)
Edit

Storyline

Two young girls, Satsuki and her younger sister Mei, move into a house in the country with their father to be closer to their hospitalized mother. Satsuki and Mei discover that the nearby forest is inhabited by magical creatures called Totoros (pronounced toe-toe-ro). They soon befriend these Totoros, and have several magical adventures. Written by Christopher E. Meadows <cmeadows@nyx.cs.du.edu>

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis


Certificate:

G | See all certifications »

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Details

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Release Date:

16 April 1988 (Japan)  »

Also Known As:

My Neighbor Totoro  »

Company Credits

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Technical Specs

Runtime:

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(Stereo)

Color:

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1
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Did You Know?

Trivia

On its original theatrical release in Japan, it was double-featured with Grave of the Fireflies (1988) as the film was believed to be too big a financial risk as a standalone release. See more »

Goofs

When Satsuki and Mei are waiting for the bus in the rain, the bus stop sign reads 'Maezawa-gyo' in some scenes while in other scenes the sign reads 'Shichikokuyama-gyo'. See more »

Quotes

Tatsuo Kusakabe: Trees and people used to be good friends. I saw that tree and decided to buy the house. Hope Mom likes it too. Okay, let's pay our respects then get home for lunch.
See more »

Crazy Credits

The ending sequence has animation of Totoro and some of the characters from the film walking. See more »


Soundtracks

Sampo
(Hey Let's Go)
Lyrics by Reiko Nakagawa
Music by Joe Hisaishi
See more »

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User Reviews

 
Totoro is a Winner
5 April 2005 | by (Canada) – See all my reviews

Miyazaki's My Neighbor Totoro is a film that should be able to put a smile on any viewers face, and without a doubt, it'll take you on one of the most whimsical and fantastic journey's ever.

My Neighbor Totoro is a story that definitely something children can relate with, as i watched this with someone, they immediately paused the film and asked if this reminded me of being 4 years old again. This film really connects with people. But it's far from a quality nostalgia piece, it's well animated, beautiful, avoids cliché stereotypes (from both typical of the Anime genre and Children's Fantasy films), and is beautifully filmed (see scenes such as the girls waiting for the bus with Totoro and the scene where the magic nuts and seeds grow with the help of Totoro).

Even the English dub done by Fox isn't as bad everyone states. I've seen the Japanese version, and i'd have to say it's a mixed-bag between having Mei's voice sounds a bit too bratty for the English version, or having the Father's voice sound a bit awkward and perhaps not as caring in the Japanese version. Disney is said to be releasing a re-dub in mid-to-late 2005, so perhaps that will even out the controversy.

This film may not reach the heights of other Anime classics (mainly it's double bill with Grave of the Fireflies, or Miyazaki's other masterpieces Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away), however this will definitely be high on any film lovers list, and is definitely a high water mark of it's genre.

A solid 9/10, This film is next to impossible to watch without it pushing a smile out of your face.


55 of 63 people found this review helpful.  Was this review helpful to you?

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Dad bathing with young daughters... iheartnormi
English dub haters please get over yourselves. JockeyFullOfBourbon
Why such a high score for this? MoeHartman
comparison camwright1999
Bizarre theory: Totoro is Death? whaleking
Mei or Satsuki? cockatielninja
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