My Neighbor Totoro (1988)
He's your friendly neighbourhood forest spirit!
Director: Hayao Miyazaki · Writer: Hayao Miyazaki
Two sisters move to the country with their father in order to be closer to their hospitalized mother, and discover the surrounding trees are inhabited by Totoros, magical spirits of the forest. When the youngest runs away from home, the older sister seeks help from the spirits to find her.
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Trailer
Director
Hayao Miyazaki
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) User Reviews (5)
**"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.**
(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 impresse…
Aggressively cute. 'My Neighbor Totoro' 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. 🐱
cute & sweet. that's it
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 adventu…
