The Essentials

Name: My Neighbor Totoro, Tonari no Totoro
Genre: Family
Episodes: N/A
Released: April 1, 1988
Based On: N/A
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Produced By: Studio Ghibli
US Distribution By: Fox (1993), Walt Disney (2004)

Major Japanese Cast

Satsuki Kusakabe: Noriko Hidaka
Mei Kusakabe: Chika Sakamoto
Tatsuo Kusakabe: Shigesato Itoi
Mrs. Kusakabe: Sumi Shimamoto
Totoro: Hitoshi Takagi
Nanny: Tanie Kitabayashi
Kanta: Toshiyuki Amagasa

Major English Cast (Walt Disney)

Satsuki Kusakabe: Dakota Fanning
Mei Kusakabe: Elle Fanning
Tatsuo Kusakabe: Timothy Daly
Mrs. Kusakabe: Lea Salonga
Totoro: Frank Welker
Nanny: Pat Carroll
Kanta: Paul Butcher

Scores

Animation: 10/10 (x 4 = 40 pts)
Story: 8/10 (x 4 = 32 pts)
Music: 9/10 (x 4 = 36 pts)
Coherency/Story Arc: N/A
English Dubs: 9/10 (x 1 = 9 pts)
Gut Score: 8/10 (x 5 = 40 pts)

Total: 157/180 (87.2%)

Review

I should start off by saying that this is a family film targeted towards a younger crowed (probably more so than anything else I’ve reveiwed tot his point – or perhaps even watched) so I’ve taken that into consideration when reviewing this film.

Having said that, this is a pretty good film. Not necessarily overflowing with plot, but as I said, it’s a family film. One can easily see why Studio Ghibli made Totoro their mascot and why he is one of the most loved anime characters of all time.

When one gets right down to it, this is just a fun film of two sisters who just moved out to the country with their father so they’ll be closer to the hospital their mother is staying at. Having moved, they discover Totoro, a giant spirit of the forest and his friends (including a cat bus) and become friends with him.

As is the case with all Ghibli films, the animation and music is fantastic, while Walt Disney does another fine job dubbing the movie for English audiences.

This is one of the cant-miss Ghibli films out there.

First Watched: August, 2006
Do I Own: No
Do I Recommend: Yes