My Neighbor Totoro

Name: My Neighbor Totoro
Genre: Fantasy, Animation, Family
Released: April 16, 1988
Duration: 86 min
Rating: 86
Cast: Chika Sakamoto, Hitoshi Takagi, Machiko Washio, Masashi Hirose, Noriko Hidaka

1988

METASCORE

Universal acclaim based on 15 Critics

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USER SCORE

Universal acclaim based on 55 Ratings

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8.7

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8.7	Your Score
8.7	User Score Universal acclaim based on 55 Ratings

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My Neighbor Totoro (Trailer 1)

Movie Details & Credits

50th Street Films | Release Date: April 16, 1988

Starring: Chika Sakamoto, Hitoshi Takagi, Machiko Washio, Masashi Hirose, Noriko Hidaka, Reiko Suzuki, Shigesato Itoi, Sumi Shimamoto, Tanie Kitabayashi, Yûko Maruyama

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

Director: Hayao Miyazaki

Genre(s): Fantasy, Animation, Family

Rating: G

Runtime: 86 min

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Awards & Rankings

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

100

The A.V. Club - Sam Adams

Miyazaki so effectively captures the feeling of a child’s life, inside as well as out, that little ones are often mesmerized by the movie, and adults are returned to a time when they could enjoy mystery for its own sake. Read full review

100

Empire - Dan Jolin

An otherworldly tale of childhood and a definitive work of imagination. Read full review

100

San Francisco Chronicle - Peter Stack

My Neighbor Totoro is drawn in an expansive, naturalistic way that makes an atmosphere of trees, rice fields and hills unraveling in the distance a hypnotic shadow character. In some scenes this nature is so delicious it becomes a poetical presence. [08 May 1993, p.C3]

100

Chicago Sun-Times - Roger Ebert

Here is a children's film made for the world we should live in, rather than the one we occupy. A film with no villains. No fight scenes. No evil adults. No fighting between the two kids. No scary monsters. No darkness before the dawn. A world that is benign. A world where if you meet a strange towering creature in the forest, you curl up on its tummy and have a nap. Read full review

Slant Magazine - Jordan Cronk

It’s a film that proves time and again that life itself is the grandest, most galvanizing of all dramas. Read full review

Chicago Reader - Ted Shen

Sheer enchantment, this 1989 animated feature is a key early work by Hayao Miyazaki. It exemplifies Ghibli's style of fanciful realism, paying close attention to minute details as well-drawn figures move across a fluid backdrop. It also deals straightforwardly with substantial emotions like fear of death, though at times it veers toward the heart-tugging cuteness of the Pokemon series. Read full review

Variety - Staff (Not Credited)

Writer-director Hayao Miyazaki has essentially padded a television half-hour into a sluggish theatrical feature. Read full review

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User Reviews

hollowMask

Apr 30, 2019

A beautifully innocent fantasy. I love this film.

Relive the innocence of childhood and escape to the satoyama!

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Vectis99

Oct 18, 2018

A cute and relatively short film which is beautiful, pleasant, positive, and relaxing. Studio Ghibli was able to perfectly craft a wonderful experience. The movie never strays into any unnecessarily dark or uncomfortable territory, and is able to capture a very positive, dreamlike set ofA cute and relatively short film which is beautiful, pleasant, positive, and relaxing. Studio Ghibli was able to perfectly craft a wonderful experience. The movie never strays into any unnecessarily dark or uncomfortable territory, and is able to capture a very positive, dreamlike set of emotions which are so often missing from our daily lives.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

alejandro970

Apr 5, 2019

From same school that graduated Tom & Jerry and The pink panther comes the cuddliest, charming and iconic character of Studio Ghibli, always coming for rescue and giving a hand (or paw) to children in distress. Every anime collector shall have it.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

ahmedaiman9999

Jun 5, 2018

I can't describe how delighted am I after I've just finished watching this movie. This is the best movie that captured the childhood very accurately. The children characters behave so realistically that I couldn't believe my eyes while watching them play, cry, laugh, or doing anything. II can't describe how delighted am I after I've just finished watching this movie. This is the best movie that captured the childhood very accurately. The children characters behave so realistically that I couldn't believe my eyes while watching them play, cry, laugh, or doing anything. I didn't felt like I was watching a child in front of me, but I felt like I was watching my younger self. I felt like I was watching myself as a child. As if my childhood memories were being displayed before me. Even if I haven't done that thing the characters did, I feel that my younger self would do the exact thing. That doesn't mean anything but that Hayao Miyazaki is a real genius! But the greatest thing about My Neighbor Totoro isn't how realistic it feels, but it's the fabulous message it delivers, and the thing that is more fascinating is the way it delivers this message. I really shouldn't spoil anything about this gorgeous film, but it delivers a message about facing the fear; the fear of everything, and the fear in all its kinds and levels. Miyazaki merged this message with this story that almost has no plot! I shouldn't call it delivering the message, instead, I should call it merging or combining the message with the story, or rather I should say that Miyazaki created an entire story from a message! Hayao Miyazaki proved that it's not even necessary for a movie to have an antagonist, or at least not a common one, as I mentioned above, the story itself is about a message about facing the fear. And I didn't feel at any time throughout the movie that I need a common antagonist or a usual problem to be invested in the movie. I was engaged and hooked from the very beginning of the movie till the end credits scene, which is very cool, by the way. The thing is that at the third act the movie changed completely in terms of the plot; it turned from a plot-free movie to a movie that has a real plot and a very serious problem. The plot and its problem didn't come from nowhere; they are attached very well to the story from its beginning, and it's been appeared later that the plot is kinda share the same message of the story, but the problem is that the movie changed a great deal when it moved from its second to the third act. It was like the movie betrayed itself after promising that it well keep the audience on the edge of their seat without using any problem or obstacle. Yes I've been engaged again and invested in the story with its plot because I cared about every single character, but it took me a little time, and I really felt disturbed and annoyed with this inconsistency. Overall, I can say that My Neighbor Totoro is an imaginative tale that every parent should take his child and watch it with him or her. Because it's message is actually more important to the adults.

I prefer My Neighbor Totoro to Spirited Away, but let's face it, Spirited Away is the best Miyazaki movie!

(8.5/10)… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

LoletinAlexis

Jul 11, 2018

My neighbor Totoro is a perfect movie to enjoy as a family, with great audiovisual quality, an incredible world and a very simple story but very well told. While I expected more from this for the opinion of my friends, it's still a great movie.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Tuneison

Jan 2, 2019

First Act - 6/10
Second Act - 6/10
Third Act - 10/10 Seriouslly, that was probably one of the best endings I've seen to any movie ever. This film is a very cute, and initially doesn't strive to be anything better than above average. However, it grows into quite a fantastic little film. If IFirst Act - 6/10
Second Act - 6/10
Third Act - 10/10
Seriouslly, that was probably one of the best endings I've seen to any movie ever. This film is a very cute, and initially doesn't strive to be anything better than above average. However, it grows into quite a fantastic little film. If I have any issue the soundtrack sounded a little to similar to Hausu at points, but overall, this was just sweet. I want to watch this one again.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

CharleyNewman

Jan 27, 2019

The film certainly has a lot of positives within it. It does a good job of establishing the characters as relatable, in a way that a lot of animated films never do. The imagination and the joy of youth really does come through in the presence of the two girls. However, the movie probablyThe film certainly has a lot of positives within it. It does a good job of establishing the characters as relatable, in a way that a lot of animated films never do. The imagination and the joy of youth really does come through in the presence of the two girls. However, the movie probably spends too much time with them in its lackadaisical state and not enough time on story. Half an hour into the film, the novelty of the movies encapsulation of youthfulness and subtly implied magical world-building, start to wear thin. You may find yourself questioning where the film is going. Be prepared to wait nearly another hour wondering, as this film is very light on plot. At the end of the film it does pull out everything it can to provide an emotional and satisfying conclusion, and succeeds quite well at doing so in fact. But I'm not sure the meandering journey was quite worth the destination. The movie could have probably been helped by a harsher edit; a good twenty minutes or so cut from the movie might have helped the pacing. Also, worth mentioning is that the music is quite good, if not sometimes a little elevator music-y. The Totoro theme that plays over the credits is quite catchy.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

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