Tonari no Totoro (1988)

Director:

Hayao Miyazaki

Writer:

Hayao Miyazaki (written by)

Release Date:

16 April 1988 (Japan)

Genre:

Animation | Adventure | Family | Fantasy

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Mother | Spirit | Father | Forest Spirit | Sick Mother

Awards:

5 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Noriko Hidaka	...	Satsuki (voice)
Chika Sakamoto	...	Mei (voice)
Shigesato Itoi	...	Tatsuo Kusakabe (voice)
Sumi Shimamoto	...	Yasuko Kusakabe (voice)
Tanie Kitabayashi	...	Kanta no obâsan (voice)
Hitoshi Takagi	...	Totoro (voice)
Yûko Maruyama	...	Kanta no okâsan (voice)
Machiko Washio	...	Teacher (voice)
Reiko Suzuki	...	Furoi on'na no hito (voice)
Masashi Hirose	...	Kanta no otôsan (voice)
Toshiyuki Amagasa	...	Kanta (voice)
Shigeru Chiba	...	Kusakari-Otoko (voice)
Naoki Tatsuta	...	(voice)
Tarako	...	(voice)
Tomohiro Nishimura	...	(voice)

Also Known As:

My Neighbor Totoro (USA)
My Neighbour Totoro (UK)

Runtime:

86 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Canada:G (Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Quebec) | Finland:S | Sweden:Btl | South Korea:All | Germany:o.Al. | Argentina:Atp | Australia:G | France:U | Hong Kong:I | UK:U | USA:G | Singapore:G

Company:

Tokuma Japan Communications Co. Ltd.

Trivia:

During the 2005 World Expo in Japan, a classic Japanese house modeled after Satsuki and Mei's house, was built and opened to the public.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Mei and Satsuki are running back home from school because of the rain, Mei trips and there is mud on her skirt. After a few scenes, her skirt does not have the mud.

Quotes:

Satsuki, Mei Kusakabe: Come out, come out, whereever you are!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Mimi wo sumaseba (1995)

Beautiful

Whilst Pixar are producing some pretty entertaining movies, Disney's most recent efforts have been OK at best. Mulan was a great adventure but its forgettable. Why? Because the film, like many other modern Disney efforts, is always bouncing around with annoying energy, giving us joke after joke, song after song, action sequence after action sequence until we finally (and thankfully) reach the end credits. You know you had a good time but you probably won't remember much because it all happened so fast.

My Neighbour Tororo is a movie set in the still countryside of early 20th century Japan. It doesn't feature grandiose action set pieces, it doesn't uncomfortably shift between the only 2 moods many of Disney's latest movies know of (i.e. goofy comedy or tearful tragedy), and it actually does not have a lot going on within its admittedly short runtime. And yet this movie is as magical as Walt Disney's best work.

It focuses on a few days in the life of two sisters, Satsuki (about 10 years old) and Mei (about 5 years old). They have just moved into a peaceful Japanese village with their father Tatsuo, a University professor who has to take the bus every night to work. Their mother Yasuko is recovering from an unknown condition at a hospital some three hours away. Inbetween visits to the hospital to check on Yasuko, the two girls explore the great woodlands and forests around them. One day little Mei, who I can only describe as cute, loud and curious, bumps into a forest dwelling "spirit" named Totoro. He's like a huge cuddly bear but only the two girls can see him. But everyone else is open minded about their existence. Tatsuo and the locals do not admonish the girls for believing in spirits, they almost encourage it.

It is a peaceful existence but there are moments of real, unforced drama. I wouldn't really like to say more, because I'm unable to do so without spoiling the movie!

So what's so great about this film? Its really hard to articulate -- for one the girls are endearing. Mei, the loudmouthed little critter that loves to explore and play and who we are really concerned for when she....damn nearly spoiled the film again! And Satsuki, the brave and courageous little girl who is maintaining a balancing act as a kind of mother to Mei whilst still being a playful kid herself. They are so real and likable. When the film is seemingly doing nothing, it is in fact developing the characters so that once moments of crisis occur we sit up and become genuinely worried about the outcome. In spite of the fantasy element, the movie seems so grounded in reality we really do get upset for the characters when things go wrong. Unlike a many Disney movies, it lacks the assurance that "it'll all be alright in the end".

There are images from the film that won't leave my mind. The movie takes time to meditate on scenes of stillness and quiet. Like rainfall on a dusky sky outside the girls' house. Or the kid Kanta playing with a model airplane whilst sitting on his porch, arguing his way out of doing some chore his mother is yelling for him to do, from within the house.

This is a film made for everyone. Kids will love it but I suspect they won't know what to put their finger on as far as why the love it is concerned. And you know, I feel the same way. This film just captures you so naturally, without trying and without even having much of anything to show you but a couple of excited young sisters exploring their new house, the forest that surrounds and it and the cuddly spirit that inhabits it.