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My Neighbor Totoro
となりのトトロ
1988 86 min Japan G 0+
★8.4
Fantasy, Animation, Family
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Trailers
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EN
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Teaser
Description
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.
Budget:
$3.7M
US Gross:
$2.25M
Worldwide:
$41M
Starring
Hitoshi Takagi
Actor
Noriko Hidaka
Actor
Chika Sakamoto
Actor
Awards
Georges Awards 2009
— Best Animated Feature
Saturn Awards 1995
— Best Genre VHS Edition
Key opinion
My Neighbor Totoro is widely celebrated as a gentle, visually masterful classic that captures the wonder of childhood and the restorative power of nature. While most viewers find it an emotionally resonant and joyful experience, a minority find its lack of traditional narrative tension and episodic structure to be aimless or slow.
| Production | The film’s hand-drawn animation is universally lauded for its high quality, detail, and ability to create a living, immersive world. | |
| Score | Miyazaki’s score is praised for its organic fit with the film's emotions and its ability to enhance the atmosphere without becoming repetitive. | |
| Theme | The thematic focus on the healing power of nature and the innocence of childhood perspective is highly effective and universally appreciated. | |
| Screenplay | The film adopts a slice-of-life approach rather than a traditional conflict-driven plot, which some find beautifully meditative but others perceive as a lack of stakes or significance. | |
| Pacing | The leisurely, observational pacing is viewed by many as a soothing escape, yet others find the lack of a clear climax and the focus on mundane scenes to be boring or erratic. |