My Neighbor Totoro

My Neighbor Totoro, Tonari no Totoro, is the story of two young sisters, Satsuki and Mei, and their encounters with friendly woodland spirits as their mother recovers in the hospital.

Summary
My Neighbor Totoro is set in 1958. The Kusakabe family, consisting of a university professor and his two young daughters, Satsuki and Mei, move into an old house in the countryside so that they may be nearer to the hospital where the mother of the family is staying to recover from an illness. The girls notice tiny, black, moving dust specks that are called soot sprites. However, the laughter of the family as they become comfortable in their new home drives the spirits out.

The older daughter, Sutsuki, goes off to school during the day, leaving younger Mei to play by herself. One day the young girl notices two small magical creatures with rabbit-like ears. She follows them through some bushes into the hollow of a giant tree. Inside the tree is sleeping a giant version of the same type of creature. The spirit issues a few roars that Mei decides is its name, translating them as "Totoro." (Note that in the original Japanese dub of the movie, this name comes from Mei's mispronunciation of the Japanese pronunciation of "troll") Her father tells her that the spirit is the keeper of the forest.

One night, the girls decide to wait for their father at the bus stop with an umbrella for him as it began raining during the day. However, he is not on the bus they expected him to be. As the girls wait, Mei eventually falls asleep on Sutsuki's back. Suddenly, Totoro appears standing next to them. This is the first time Sutsuki has seen him. He only has a leaf to protect him from the rain, so Sutsuki offers him the umbrella they had brought for their father. Totoro is elated at the sound the raindrops make on the umbrella. In exchange, he hands Sutsuki a bundle of seeds and nuts. Suddenly, a giant cat with multiple pairs of legs that is shaped like a bus runs up and stops at the bus stop. Totoro gets on, keeping the umbrella. Soon after the catbus leaves, the bus with the girls' father on it arrives.



Mei and Satsuki plant the seeds Totoro gave

them in their backyard. They awaken one night to see Totoro and the two smaller spirits performing a dance ritual around the plot where the seeds are planted. The girls join in the dance, and the seeds sprout, then continue to grow into a giant tree. Totoro takes them all flying on a magic top up to the top of the tree. When the girls wake up in the morning, the giant tree is no longer there, but the seeds have sprouted.

After a worrying telegram from their mother's doctor, Mei believes that her mother's condition has gotten worse, so she decides to walk to the hospital, promptly getting lost. Satsuki and the other townspeople all search for Mei with no luck. Desperate, Satsuki goes to the giant treewhere Totoro lives, and begs him to help her. Happy to help, Totoro calls the catbus, who carries Satsuki to her sister, and continues on,

taking them both to their mother's hospital. They watch her from a tree outside to see that she is actually doing well.

Mei leaves an ear of corn she thinks will help her mother get better on the windowsill, and they return home on the catbus.

In the closing credits of the movie, scenes are depicted of the girls' mother returning home, and of the girls playing with other children. Totoro and the other spirits observe, but are unseen.

Themes
There are no real themes in My Neighbor Totoro. Its main purpose is to give us a glimpse into the lives of young children. We are taken on a fantastic journey throughout which we may experience the simplicity, the magic, the joy that lasted so fleetingly in our youth.

Influences
The world of Totoro came completely from Hayao Miyazaki's imagination. The Totoro is a blend of tanukis, cats, and owls. Also, the concept of forest spirits has been an integral part of Shinto religion. However, the main part of the story was entirely fabricated from Miyazaki's own mind.

Reception
Somehow, I cannot find a single mention of the revenue from My Neighbor Totoro. If anyone does know this information, please notify me.

In terms of reviews, Totoro generally did well, receiving a score of 88 from Rotten Tomatoes.

In the general populace, the character Totoro is wildly popular, especially in Japan, where he is as well-known and loved to children as Winnie-the-Pooh is in England. As the Financial Times wrote, "[Totoro] is more genuinely loved than Mickey Mouse could hope to be in his wildest - not nearly so beautifully illustrated - fantasies."

Awards

 * Saturn Award Nomination--Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films, USA
 * Special Award--Blue Ribbon Awards
 * Best Film--Kinema Junpo
 * Readers' Choice Award-Kinema Junpo
 * Best Film (Ofuji Noburo Award)--Mainichi Film Concours

Cast
Japanese:
 * Satsuki Kusakabe - Noriko Hidaka
 * Mei Kusakabe - Chika Sakamoto
 * Tatsuo Kusakabe (father) - Shigesato Itoi
 * Yasuko Kusakabe (mother) - Sumi Shimamoto
 * Kanta - Toshiyuki Amagasa
 * Nanny - Tanie Kitabayashi
 * Totoro - Hitoshi Takagi
 * Catbus - Hitoshi Takagi

English (Streamline dub):
 * Satsuki Kusakabe - Lisa Michelson
 * Mei Kusakabe - Cheryl Chase
 * Tatsuo Kusakabe (father) - Steve Kramer
 * Yasuko Kusakabe (mother) - Alexandra Kenworthy
 * Kanta - Kenneth Hartman
 * Nanny - Natalie Core

English (Disney dub):
 * Satsuki Kusakabe - Dakota Fanning
 * Mei Kusakabe - Elle Fanning
 * Tatsuo Kusakabe (father) - Timothy Daly
 * Yasuko Kusakabe (mother) - Lea Salonga
 * Kanta - Paul Butcher
 * Nanny - Pat Carroll
 * Totoro - Frank Welker
 * Catbus - Frank Welker