My Neighbor Totoro
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
My Neighbor Totoro is a 1988 animated film directed by Hayao Miyazaki, starring Noriko Hidaka, Chika Sakamoto, Hitoshi Takagi. It drew a wide audience and shaped its genre.
Plot
In 1950s Japan, university professor Tatsuo Kusakabe and his daughters Satsuki and Mei (approximately ten and four years old, respectively) move into an old house close to the hospital where the girls' mother, Yasuko, is recovering from a long-term illness. The house is inhabited by small, dark, dust-like house spirits called susuwatari that can be seen when moving from bright places to dark ones. The susuwatari leave to find another empty house. Mei discovers two small spirits that lead her into the hollow of a large camphor tree. She befriends a larger spirit, which identifies itself using a series of roars that she interprets as "Totoro".
Production
Written by Hayao Miyazaki, the film was produced by Studio Ghibli. Joe Hisaishi composed the score. Hisao Shirai handled the cinematography. The film runs 86 minutes. The crew and editing refined every shot.
Reception
On a budget of $3,700,000, My Neighbor Totoro grossed $41,000,000 worldwide at the box office. A critic consensus praised its screenplay and score.
Legacy
My Neighbor Totoro is part of the となりのトトロ コレクション franchise; its influence and legacy endure in later cinema.
See also
References
- "The 100 Greatest Films of All Time". topfilms100. Retrieved 30 June 2026.
- Ebert, Roger. The Great Movies. Broadway Books.
This article incorporates text from Wikipedia, available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.