My Neighbor Totoro
Encyclopedia
, is a 1988 Japanese animated
fantasy film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki
and produced by Studio Ghibli
. The film follows the two young daughters of a professor and their interactions with friendly wood spirits in postwar rural Japan. The film won the Animage
Anime Grand Prix prize and the Mainichi Film Award for Best Film in 1988.
The film was released on VHS and laserdisc in the United States
by Tokuma Japan Communications
' US subsidiary in 1993 with the title My Friend Totoro.
Streamline Pictures
produced an exclusive dub for Japan Airlines
' transpacific flights in 1988.
Troma Films
, under their 50th St. Films banner, distributed the dub of the film co-produced by Jerry Beck
. It was released on VHS and DVD by Fox Video. Troma's and Fox's rights to this version expired in 2004. The film was re-released by Disney
on March 7, 2006. It features a new dub cast. This DVD release is the first version of the film in the United States to include both Japanese and English language tracks, as Fox did not have the rights to the Japanese audio track for their version.
— small house spirits seen when moving from light to dark places. When the girls become comfortable in their new house and laugh with their father, the soot spirits (identified as "black soots" in early subtitles and "soot sprites" in the later English dubbed version) leave the house to drift away on the wind.
While she is playing outside one day, Mei sees two white, rabbit-like ears in the grass. She follows the ears under the house where she discovers two small magical creatures, who lead her through a briar patch and into the hollow of a large camphor tree. She meets and befriends a larger version of the same kind of spirit, which identifies itself by a series of roars that she interprets as "Totoro" (in the original Japanese dub, it stems from Mei's mispronunciation of the word for "troll"). Her father later tells her that this is the "keeper of the forest".
One rainy night, the girls are waiting for their father's bus and grow worried when he does not arrive on the bus they expect him on. As they wait, Mei eventually falls asleep on Satsuki's back and Totoro appears beside them, allowing Satsuki to see him for the first time. He only has a leaf on his head for protection against the rain, so Satsuki offers him the umbrella she had taken along for her father. Totoro is delighted at both the shelter and the sounds made upon it by falling raindrops. In return, he gives her a bundle of nut
s and seed
s. A bus-shaped giant cat
halts at the stop, and Totoro boards it, taking the umbrella. Shortly after, their father’s bus arrives.
The girls plant the seeds. A few days later, they awaken at midnight to find Totoro and his two miniature colleagues engaged in a ceremonial dance
around the planted nuts and seeds. The girls join in, whereupon the seeds sprout and then grow into an enormous tree. Totoro takes his colleagues and the girls for a ride on a magical flying top
. In the morning, the tree is gone, but the seeds have indeed sprouted.
The girls find out that a planned visit by their mother has to be postponed because of a setback in her treatment. Satsuki takes this very hard, having reached the age where she fully understands the concept of death. Frustrated and frightened, she yells at Mei, then stomps away. Mei, believing that her mother can be cured by healthy food, sets off on foot to the hospital with an ear of corn.
Her disappearance prompts Satsuki and the neighbors to search for her; eventually, Satsuki returns in desperation to the camphor tree and pleads for Totoro's help. Delighted to be of assistance, he summons the Catbus, which carries her to where the confused Mei sits. Having rescued her, the Catbus then whisks her and Satsuki over the countryside to see their mother in the hospital. The girls perch in a tree outside of the hospital, overhearing a conversation between their parents and discovering that she has been kept in hospital by a minor cold and is otherwise doing well. They secretly leave the ear of corn on the windowsill, where it is discovered by the parents, and return home on the Catbus. When the Catbus departs, it fades away from the girls' sight.
The closing credits show Mei and Satsuki's mother returning home and feature scenes of Satsuki and Mei playing with other children, with Totoro and his friends as unseen observers.
was Kazuo Oga
, who was drawn to the film when Hayao Miyazaki showed him an original image of Totoro standing in a satoyama
. The director challenged Oga to raise his standards, and Oga's experience with My Neighbor Totoro jump-started the artist's career. Oga and Miyazaki debated the palette of the film, Oga seeking to paint black soil from Akita Prefecture
and Miyazaki preferring the color of red soil from the Kantō region
. The ultimate product was described by Studio Ghibli
producer Toshio Suzuki: "It was nature painted with translucent colors."
Oga described his approach to painting background art: "I appreciate my role and I draw with the feeling that if I don't make a good effort, I will be somehow punished." Oga's conscientious approach to My Neighbor Totoro was a style that the International Herald Tribune recognized as "[updating] the traditional Japanese animist sense of a natural world that is fully, spiritually alive". The newspaper described the final product, "Set in a period that is both modern and nostalgic, the film creates a fantastic, yet strangely believable universe of supernatural creatures coexisting with modernity. A great part of this sense comes from Oga's evocative backgrounds, which give each tree, hedge and twist in the road an indefinable feeling of warmth that seems ready to spring into sentient life." Oga's work on My Neighbor Totoro led to his continued involvement with Studio Ghibli. The studio assigned jobs to Oga that would play to his strengths, and Oga's style became a trademark style of Studio Ghibli.
Miyazaki's niece was the model for the character of Mei.
(1986), Hayao Miyazaki began directing My Neighbor Totoro for Studio Ghibli
. Miyazaki's production paralleled his colleague Isao Takahata
's production of Grave of the Fireflies
. Miyazaki's film was financed by executive producer Yasuyoshi Tokuma, and both My Neighbor Totoro and Grave of the Fireflies were released on the same bill in 1988. The dual billing was considered "one of the most moving and remarkable double bills ever offered to a cinema audience".
In 1993, Tokuma Japan Communications
' US subsidiary released the first English-language version of My Neighbor Totoro, with the title My Friend Totoro. However, because of his disappointment with the result of the heavily edited English version of Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, Miyazaki would not permit any part of the movie to be edited out, all the names had to be remain the same (with the exception being Catbus), the translation had to be as close to the original Japanese as possible, and no part of the movie could be changed for any reason, cultural or linguistic (which was very common back then) despite creating problems with some English viewers, particularly in explaining the origin of the name "Totoro". It was produced by John Daly
and Derek Gibson, with co-producer Jerry Beck
, and was available on VHS
and laserdisc
. This was the only United States home video release of the film from Tokuma (20th Century Fox
would release all upcoming English-language releases of the film until Fox and Troma's rights to the film expired in 2004). Disney's English-language version premiered on October 23, 2005; it then appeared at the 2005 Hollywood Film Festival. The Turner Classic Movies
cable television network held the television premiere of Disney's new English dub on January 19, 2006, as part of the network's salute to Hayao Miyazaki. (TCM aired the dub as well as the original Japanese with English subtitles.) The Disney version was initially released on DVD on March 7, 2006, but is now out of print. A reissue of Totoro, Castle in the Sky
, and Kiki's Delivery Service
featuring updated cover art highlighting its Studio Ghibli origins was released on March 2, 2010, coinciding with the US DVD and Blu-ray debut of Ponyo.
As is the case with Disney's other English dubs of Miyazaki films, the Disney version of Totoro features a star-heavy cast, including Dakota
and Elle Fanning
as Satsuki and Mei, Timothy Daly
as Mr. Kusakabe, Pat Carroll
as Granny, Lea Salonga
as Mrs. Kusakabe, and Frank Welker
as Totoro and Catbus
. The songs for the new dub retained the same translation as the previous dub, but were sung by Sonya Isaacs
.
reported that 90 percent of critics gave the film positive write-ups, based upon a sample of 29, with an average
score of 8.1/10.
Film critic Roger Ebert
of the Chicago Sun-Times
identified My Neighbor Totoro as one of his "Great Movies", calling it "one of the lovingly hand-crafted works of Hayao Miyazaki". Ebert reviewed the film, "My Neighbor Totoro is based on experience, situation and exploration—not on conflict and threat," and described its appeal: "...it would never have won its worldwide audience just because of its warm heart. It is also rich with human comedy in the way it observes the two remarkably convincing, lifelike little girls... It is a little sad, a little scary, a little surprising and a little informative, just like life itself. It depends on a situation instead of a plot, and suggests that the wonder of life and the resources of imagination supply all the adventure you need."
Leonard Klady of the entertainment trade newspaper Variety
wrote that My Neighbor Totoro demonstrated "adequate television technical craft" that was characterized by "muted pastels, homogenized pictorial style and [a] vapid storyline". Klady described the film's environment, "Obviously aimed at an international audience, the film evinces a disorienting combination of cultures that produces a nowhere land more confused than fascinating."
Stephen Holden of The New York Times
described My Neighbor Totoro as "very visually handsome", and believed that the film was "very charming" when "dispensing enchantment". Despite the highlights, Holden wrote, "Too much of the film, however, is taken up with stiff, mechanical chitchat."
Matthew Leyland of Sight & Sound
reviewed the DVD released in 2006, "Miyazaki's family fable is remarkably light on tension, conflict and plot twists, yet it beguiles from beginning to end... what sticks with the viewer is the every-kid credibility of the girls' actions as they work, play and settle into their new surroundings." Leyland praised the DVD transfer of the film, but noted that the disc lacked a look at the film's production, instead being overabundant with storyboards.
Ranked #41 in Empire
magazines "The 100 Best Films Of World Cinema" in 2010.
Phillip E. Wegner makes a case for the film being an example of alternative history.
is among British ones. The Independent
recognized Totoro as one of the greatest cartoon characters, describing the creature, "At once innocent and awe-inspiring, King Totoro captures the innocence and magic of childhood more than any of Miyazaki's other magical creations." The Financial Times
recognized the character's appeal, "[Totoro] is more genuinely loved than Mickey Mouse
could hope to be in his wildest—not nearly so beautifully illustrated—fantasies."
The environmental journal Ambio described the influence of My Neighbor Totoro, "[It] has served as a powerful force to focus the positive feelings that the Japanese people have for satoyama
and traditional village life." The film's central character Totoro was used as a mascot by the Japanese "Totoro Hometown Fund Campaign" to preserve areas of satoyama in the Saitama Prefecture
. The fund, started in 1990 after the film's release, held an auction in August 2008 at Pixar Animation Studios to sell over 210 original paintings, illustrations, and sculptures inspired by My Neighbor Totoro.
A main-belt asteroid was named 10160 Totoro
after the film's central character Totoro.
Totoro has made cameo appearances in multiple Studio Ghibli films, including Pom Poko
, Kiki's Delivery Service
, and Whisper of the Heart
. Additionally, various other anime series and films have featured cameos, including one episode of the Gainax
TV series His and Her Circumstances
. Totoro has also had cameo appearances in various non-Japanese works, including on Comedy Central
's Drawn Together
and in the "Imaginationland
" episodes of South Park
as a background character, in Neil Gaiman
's The Sandman: Brief Lives
in which Delirium
blows bubbles into a number of impossible shapes, including a Totoro holding an umbrella. My Neighbor Totoro is also parodied in the South Park episode "Mysterion Rises
" in a couple of scenes where Cartman
plays on the belly of the dark lord Cthulhu
and later flies on the inderdimensional monster to the tune of the iconic end credits song from the film's soundtrack. Miyazaki also uses Totoro as a part of his Studio Ghibli company logo. Volume 9 of the Gin Tama manga has a spoof of the film entitled "My Neighbor Pedro". Also, the episode of Samurai Jack
entitled "Jack and the Creature" pays homage to this film. A Totoro plush makes an appearance in Pixar
's Toy Story 3
.
The susuwatari
, or "soot sprites", appear in the Miyazaki's 2001 Studio Ghibli film Spirited Away
.
, which released the books from November 10, 2004 through February 15, 2005.
A 112-picture book based on the film and aimed at younger readers was released by Viz on November 8, 2005. On the same day, Viz released a 176 page art book containing conceptual art from the film and interviews with the production staff.
, who voiced Mei in Totoro, returned to voice Mei in this short. Hayao Miyazaki himself did the voice of the Granny Cat (Neko Ba-chan), as well as Totoro. It concentrates on the character of Mei Kusakabe from the original film and her adventures one night with the Kittenbus (the offspring of the Catbus
from the film) and other cat-oriented vehicles.
Originally released in Japan in 2003, the short is regularly shown at the Ghibli Museum
, but has not been released to home video. It was shown briefly in the United States in 2006 to honor the North American release of fellow Miyazaki film Spirited Away
and at a Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation
fundraiser a few days later.
. The CD primarily features the musical score used in the film composed by Joe Hisaishi
, except for five vocal pieces performed by Azumi Inoue
. It has since been re-released twice, once on November 21, 1996 and again on August 25, 2004.
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
fantasy film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki
Hayao Miyazaki
is a Japanese manga artist and prominent film director and animator of many popular anime feature films. Through a career that has spanned nearly fifty years, Miyazaki has attained international acclaim as a maker of animated feature films and, along with Isao Takahata, co-founded Studio Ghibli,...
and produced by Studio Ghibli
Studio Ghibli
is a Japanese animation and film studio founded in June 1985. The company's logo features the character Totoro from Hayao Miyazaki's film My Neighbor Totoro...
. The film follows the two young daughters of a professor and their interactions with friendly wood spirits in postwar rural Japan. The film won the Animage
Animage
is a Japanese anime and entertainment magazine which Tokuma Shoten began publishing in July 1978. Hayao Miyazaki's internationally renowned manga, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, was serialized in Animage from 1982 through 1994...
Anime Grand Prix prize and the Mainichi Film Award for Best Film in 1988.
The film was released on VHS and laserdisc in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
by Tokuma Japan Communications
Tokuma Shoten
is a publisher in Japan, that was established in 1954.The company was also the parent company for the film studio Daiei Motion Pictures, bought in 1974, and the record label Tokuma Japan Communications, bought in 1972, until both were sold off when Yasuyoshi Tokuma, who established this company,...
' US subsidiary in 1993 with the title My Friend Totoro.
Streamline Pictures
Streamline Pictures
Streamline Pictures was an American media company that was best known for its distribution of English dubbed Japanese animation. -Founding:Founded in Los Angeles, California, in 1988, Streamline Pictures was one of the first North American companies that was created primarily for the intention of...
produced an exclusive dub for Japan Airlines
Japan Airlines
is an airline headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo, Japan. It is the flag carrier of Japan and its main hubs are Tokyo's Narita International Airport and Tokyo International Airport , as well as Nagoya's Chūbu Centrair International Airport and Osaka's Kansai International Airport...
' transpacific flights in 1988.
Troma Films
Troma Entertainment
Troma Entertainment is an American independent film production and distribution company founded by Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz in 1974.The company produces low-budget independent movies that play on 1950s horror with elements of farce...
, under their 50th St. Films banner, distributed the dub of the film co-produced by Jerry Beck
Jerry Beck
Jerry Beck is a well-known animation historian, with ten books and numerous articles to his credit. He is also an animation producer, an industry consultant to Warner Bros., and has been an executive with Nickelodeon and Disney....
. It was released on VHS and DVD by Fox Video. Troma's and Fox's rights to this version expired in 2004. The film was re-released by Disney
Walt Disney Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures is an American film studio owned by The Walt Disney Company. Walt Disney Pictures and Television, a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Studios and the main production company for live-action feature films within the Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group, based at the Walt Disney...
on March 7, 2006. It features a new dub cast. This DVD release is the first version of the film in the United States to include both Japanese and English language tracks, as Fox did not have the rights to the Japanese audio track for their version.
Plot
In 1958, the Kusakabe family reunites when a university professor and his two daughters, Satsuki and Mei (approximately ten and four years old, respectively) move into an old house in rural Japan to be closer to the hospital where their mother is recovering from an unnamed, long-term illness. The daughters find that the house is inhabited by tiny animated dust creatures called susuwatariSusuwatari
Susuwatari are the "dust bunnies" or "soot sprites" that appear in two Studio Ghibli anime movies, My Neighbor Totoro and Spirited Away...
— small house spirits seen when moving from light to dark places. When the girls become comfortable in their new house and laugh with their father, the soot spirits (identified as "black soots" in early subtitles and "soot sprites" in the later English dubbed version) leave the house to drift away on the wind.
While she is playing outside one day, Mei sees two white, rabbit-like ears in the grass. She follows the ears under the house where she discovers two small magical creatures, who lead her through a briar patch and into the hollow of a large camphor tree. She meets and befriends a larger version of the same kind of spirit, which identifies itself by a series of roars that she interprets as "Totoro" (in the original Japanese dub, it stems from Mei's mispronunciation of the word for "troll"). Her father later tells her that this is the "keeper of the forest".
One rainy night, the girls are waiting for their father's bus and grow worried when he does not arrive on the bus they expect him on. As they wait, Mei eventually falls asleep on Satsuki's back and Totoro appears beside them, allowing Satsuki to see him for the first time. He only has a leaf on his head for protection against the rain, so Satsuki offers him the umbrella she had taken along for her father. Totoro is delighted at both the shelter and the sounds made upon it by falling raindrops. In return, he gives her a bundle of nut
Nut (fruit)
A nut is a hard-shelled fruit of some plants having an indehiscent seed. While a wide variety of dried seeds and fruits are called nuts in English, only a certain number of them are considered by biologists to be true nuts...
s and seed
Seed
A seed is a small embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some stored food. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant...
s. A bus-shaped giant cat
Catbus
The is a character in the Studio Ghibli film My Neighbor Totoro, directed by Hayao Miyazaki. It is a large creature, depicted as a grinning male cat with a hollow body that serves as a bus, complete with windows and seats coated with fur, and a large bushy tail...
halts at the stop, and Totoro boards it, taking the umbrella. Shortly after, their father’s bus arrives.
The girls plant the seeds. A few days later, they awaken at midnight to find Totoro and his two miniature colleagues engaged in a ceremonial dance
Ceremonial dance
Ceremonial dance is a major category or classification of dance forms or dance styles, where the purpose is ceremonial or ritualistic.This compares to other major dance categories based on purpose:* Celebration dance** Festival dance...
around the planted nuts and seeds. The girls join in, whereupon the seeds sprout and then grow into an enormous tree. Totoro takes his colleagues and the girls for a ride on a magical flying top
Top
A top is a toy that can be spun on an axis, balancing on a point. This motion is produced in the most simple forms of top by twirling the stem using the fingers. More sophisticated tops are spun by by holding the axis firmly while pulling a string or twisting a stick or pushing an auger as shown...
. In the morning, the tree is gone, but the seeds have indeed sprouted.
The girls find out that a planned visit by their mother has to be postponed because of a setback in her treatment. Satsuki takes this very hard, having reached the age where she fully understands the concept of death. Frustrated and frightened, she yells at Mei, then stomps away. Mei, believing that her mother can be cured by healthy food, sets off on foot to the hospital with an ear of corn.
Her disappearance prompts Satsuki and the neighbors to search for her; eventually, Satsuki returns in desperation to the camphor tree and pleads for Totoro's help. Delighted to be of assistance, he summons the Catbus, which carries her to where the confused Mei sits. Having rescued her, the Catbus then whisks her and Satsuki over the countryside to see their mother in the hospital. The girls perch in a tree outside of the hospital, overhearing a conversation between their parents and discovering that she has been kept in hospital by a minor cold and is otherwise doing well. They secretly leave the ear of corn on the windowsill, where it is discovered by the parents, and return home on the Catbus. When the Catbus departs, it fades away from the girls' sight.
The closing credits show Mei and Satsuki's mother returning home and feature scenes of Satsuki and Mei playing with other children, with Totoro and his friends as unseen observers.
Cast
| Character | Japanese | English (Streamline Streamline Pictures Streamline Pictures was an American media company that was best known for its distribution of English dubbed Japanese animation. -Founding:Founded in Los Angeles, California, in 1988, Streamline Pictures was one of the first North American companies that was created primarily for the intention of... ) |
English (Disney Buena Vista Distribution Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures is a motion picture and television feature distribution company owned by Disney Enterprises, Inc. Buena Vista International was the international distribution arm, Buena Vista Home Entertainment was the firm's video and DVD distribution arm, and Buena Vista... ) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Noriko Hidaka Noriko Hidaka , real name , maiden name is a seiyū, or voice actor. Hidaka is most known for the roles of Mikage Matsunaga , Minami Asakura , Akane Tendo , Satsuki Kusakabe , Near , Seta Sōjirō , Jean , Kikyo , and Noriko Takaya .Hidaka... |
Lisa Michelson Lisa Michelson Lisa P. Michelson was an American voice actress best known for her English roles in the Streamline dubs. She is best known for providing the voices of Satsuki in My Neighbor Totoro and Kiki in Kiki's Delivery Service... |
Dakota Fanning Dakota Fanning Hannah Dakota Fanning , better known as Dakota Fanning, is an American actress. Fanning's breakthrough performance was in I Am Sam in 2001. As a child actress, she appeared in high-profile films such as Man on Fire, War of the Worlds, and Charlotte's Web... |
|
| Chika Sakamoto Chika Sakamoto is a Japanese voice actress from Tokyo affiliated with Arts Vision.-Television animation:*Baby and Me *Ashita no Nadja *Legend of the Mystical Ninja *Fighting Foodons *Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ... |
Cheryl Chase Cheryl Chase Cheryl Chase is an American voice actress best known as the voice of Angelica Pickles on Rugrats, All Grown Up! and Angelica and Susie's Pre-School Daze... |
Elle Fanning Elle Fanning Mary Elle Fanning , credited as Elle Fanning, is an American actress. She is the younger sister of actress Dakota Fanning and mainly known for her starring roles in Phoebe in Wonderland, Somewhere, Super 8 and We Bought a Zoo which will receive a theatrical release on December 23,... |
|
| (father) | Shigesato Itoi Shigesato Itoi is one of the most influential cultural figures in Japan, known for his copywriting, essays, lyrics, Nintendo game creation, and as editor-in-chief of his popular website “Hobo Nikkan Itoi Shinbun.” He is best known outside of Japan as a game designer for his work on Nintendo's EarthBound... |
Greg Snegoff | Tim Daly |
| (mother) | Sumi Shimamoto Sumi Shimamoto , real name , is a veteran Japanese voice actress born on December 8, 1954, in Kōchi, Kōchi Prefecture, Japan. After graduating from the Toho Gakuen School of Music, she joined Gekidan Seinenza, a theatrical acting troupe... |
Alexandra Kenworthy Alexandra Kenworthy Alexandra Kenworthy is an American voice actress. She is married to fellow voice actor Marc Snegoff and have two sons Her son, voice actor Gregory Snegoff and stuntman Tony Snegoff.-Filmography:*3×3 Eyes - Pai*Lensman - Lens... |
Lea Salonga Lea Salonga Lea Salonga-Chien is a mezzo-soprano singer and actress from the Philippines well known for originating the lead role of Kim in the musical Miss Saigon, for which she won the Olivier, Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics and Theatre World awards.She was the first Asian to play the roles of Éponine and... |
| Hitoshi Takagi Hitoshi Takagi was a Japanese voice actor. He died at age 78 due to partial ischemic heart disease.He was most well known for providing the voice of Totoro.-Anime:*Galaxy Express 999 *Gregory Horror Show... |
not stated | Frank Welker Frank Welker Franklin Wendell "Frank" Welker is an American actor who specializes in voice acting and has contributed character voices and other vocal effects to American television and motion pictures.-Acting career:... |
|
| Naoko Tatsuka | Carl Macek Carl Macek Carl F. Macek was an American writer and controversial anime pioneer and producer of the 1980s and 1990s.-Robotech and Harmony Gold USA:... |
Frank Welker | |
| Nanny / Granny | Tanie Kitabayashi Tanie Kitabayashi was a Japanese actress.Born Reiko Ando in Tokyo, she began as a stage actress. Early in her career, she became well known for portraying older women. Kitabayashi was a founding member of the famed Mingei Theatre, founded in 1950. In 1960, she won best actress awards at the 10th Blue Ribbon Awards... |
Natalie Core | Pat Carroll Pat Carroll (actress) Patricia Ann “Pat” Carroll is an American actress. She performed in numerous stage productions, and portrayed the roles of "Bunny Halper" on CBS's The Danny Thomas Show, Shirley Feeney's mother on ABC's Laverne and Shirley, and is the voice of the villainous Ursula in The Little Mermaid film... |
| Toshiyuki Amagasa | Kenneth Hartman | Paul Butcher |
Production
The art directorArt director
The art director is a person who supervise the creative process of a design.The term 'art director' is a blanket title for a variety of similar job functions in advertising, publishing, film and television, the Internet, and video games....
was Kazuo Oga
Kazuo Oga
is an art director and background artist for many Studio Ghibli anime films. He also published two artbooks and directed a short animated film.-Background art director:* Barefoot Gen - , 1983...
, who was drawn to the film when Hayao Miyazaki showed him an original image of Totoro standing in a satoyama
Satoyama
is a Japanese term applied to the border zone or area between mountain foothills and arable flat land. Literally, sato means arable and livable land or home land, and yama means mountain...
. The director challenged Oga to raise his standards, and Oga's experience with My Neighbor Totoro jump-started the artist's career. Oga and Miyazaki debated the palette of the film, Oga seeking to paint black soil from Akita Prefecture
Akita Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku Region of northern Honshu, the main island of Japan. The capital is the city of Akita.- History :The area of Akita has been created from the ancient provinces of Dewa and Mutsu....
and Miyazaki preferring the color of red soil from the Kantō region
Kanto region
The is a geographical area of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. The region includes the Greater Tokyo Area and encompasses seven prefectures: Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki, Saitama, Tokyo, Chiba, and Kanagawa. Within its boundaries, slightly more than 40 percent of the land area is the Kantō Plain....
. The ultimate product was described by Studio Ghibli
Studio Ghibli
is a Japanese animation and film studio founded in June 1985. The company's logo features the character Totoro from Hayao Miyazaki's film My Neighbor Totoro...
producer Toshio Suzuki: "It was nature painted with translucent colors."
Oga described his approach to painting background art: "I appreciate my role and I draw with the feeling that if I don't make a good effort, I will be somehow punished." Oga's conscientious approach to My Neighbor Totoro was a style that the International Herald Tribune recognized as "[updating] the traditional Japanese animist sense of a natural world that is fully, spiritually alive". The newspaper described the final product, "Set in a period that is both modern and nostalgic, the film creates a fantastic, yet strangely believable universe of supernatural creatures coexisting with modernity. A great part of this sense comes from Oga's evocative backgrounds, which give each tree, hedge and twist in the road an indefinable feeling of warmth that seems ready to spring into sentient life." Oga's work on My Neighbor Totoro led to his continued involvement with Studio Ghibli. The studio assigned jobs to Oga that would play to his strengths, and Oga's style became a trademark style of Studio Ghibli.
Miyazaki's niece was the model for the character of Mei.
Release
After writing and filming Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984) and Castle in the SkyCastle in the Sky
All compositions by Joe Hisaishi.#"The Girl Who Fell from the Sky" – 2:27#"Morning in Slag Ravine" – 3:04#"A Fun Brawl " – 4:27#"Memories of Gondoa" – 2:46#"Discouraged Pazu" – 1:46#"Robot Soldier " – 2:34...
(1986), Hayao Miyazaki began directing My Neighbor Totoro for Studio Ghibli
Studio Ghibli
is a Japanese animation and film studio founded in June 1985. The company's logo features the character Totoro from Hayao Miyazaki's film My Neighbor Totoro...
. Miyazaki's production paralleled his colleague Isao Takahata
Isao Takahata
is a Japanese anime filmmaker that have earned critical international acclaim for his work as a director. Takahata is co-founder of Studio Ghibli with long-time collaborative partner Hayao Miyazaki. He has directed films such as the war-themed Grave of the Fireflies, the romantic-drama Only...
's production of Grave of the Fireflies
Grave of the Fireflies
is a 1988 Japanese animated war tragedy film written and directed by Isao Takahata. This is the first film produced by Shinchosha, who hired Studio Ghibli to do the animation production work...
. Miyazaki's film was financed by executive producer Yasuyoshi Tokuma, and both My Neighbor Totoro and Grave of the Fireflies were released on the same bill in 1988. The dual billing was considered "one of the most moving and remarkable double bills ever offered to a cinema audience".
In 1993, Tokuma Japan Communications
Tokuma Shoten
is a publisher in Japan, that was established in 1954.The company was also the parent company for the film studio Daiei Motion Pictures, bought in 1974, and the record label Tokuma Japan Communications, bought in 1972, until both were sold off when Yasuyoshi Tokuma, who established this company,...
' US subsidiary released the first English-language version of My Neighbor Totoro, with the title My Friend Totoro. However, because of his disappointment with the result of the heavily edited English version of Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, Miyazaki would not permit any part of the movie to be edited out, all the names had to be remain the same (with the exception being Catbus), the translation had to be as close to the original Japanese as possible, and no part of the movie could be changed for any reason, cultural or linguistic (which was very common back then) despite creating problems with some English viewers, particularly in explaining the origin of the name "Totoro". It was produced by John Daly
John Daly (producer)
John Daly was a British film producer.-Personal life:John Daly was born in South East London, a part of London which was badly bombed and damaged in World War II. He attended a Roman Catholic school. Daly was father to Jenny, Michael, Julian, and Timothy...
and Derek Gibson, with co-producer Jerry Beck
Jerry Beck
Jerry Beck is a well-known animation historian, with ten books and numerous articles to his credit. He is also an animation producer, an industry consultant to Warner Bros., and has been an executive with Nickelodeon and Disney....
, and was available on VHS
VHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
and laserdisc
Laserdisc
LaserDisc was a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium. Initially licensed, sold, and marketed as MCA DiscoVision in North America in 1978, the technology was previously referred to interally as Optical Videodisc System, Reflective Optical Videodisc, Laser Optical...
. This was the only United States home video release of the film from Tokuma (20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
would release all upcoming English-language releases of the film until Fox and Troma's rights to the film expired in 2004). Disney's English-language version premiered on October 23, 2005; it then appeared at the 2005 Hollywood Film Festival. The Turner Classic Movies
Turner Classic Movies
Turner Classic Movies is a movie-oriented cable television channel, owned by the Turner Broadcasting System subsidiary of Time Warner, featuring commercial-free classic movies, mostly from the Turner Entertainment and MGM, United Artists, RKO and Warner Bros. film libraries...
cable television network held the television premiere of Disney's new English dub on January 19, 2006, as part of the network's salute to Hayao Miyazaki. (TCM aired the dub as well as the original Japanese with English subtitles.) The Disney version was initially released on DVD on March 7, 2006, but is now out of print. A reissue of Totoro, Castle in the Sky
Castle in the Sky
All compositions by Joe Hisaishi.#"The Girl Who Fell from the Sky" – 2:27#"Morning in Slag Ravine" – 3:04#"A Fun Brawl " – 4:27#"Memories of Gondoa" – 2:46#"Discouraged Pazu" – 1:46#"Robot Soldier " – 2:34...
, and Kiki's Delivery Service
Kiki's Delivery Service
is a 1989 Japanese animated fantasy film produced, written, and directed by Hayao Miyazaki. It was the fourth theatrically released Studio Ghibli film.The film won the Animage Anime Grand Prix prize in 1989...
featuring updated cover art highlighting its Studio Ghibli origins was released on March 2, 2010, coinciding with the US DVD and Blu-ray debut of Ponyo.
As is the case with Disney's other English dubs of Miyazaki films, the Disney version of Totoro features a star-heavy cast, including Dakota
Dakota Fanning
Hannah Dakota Fanning , better known as Dakota Fanning, is an American actress. Fanning's breakthrough performance was in I Am Sam in 2001. As a child actress, she appeared in high-profile films such as Man on Fire, War of the Worlds, and Charlotte's Web...
and Elle Fanning
Elle Fanning
Mary Elle Fanning , credited as Elle Fanning, is an American actress. She is the younger sister of actress Dakota Fanning and mainly known for her starring roles in Phoebe in Wonderland, Somewhere, Super 8 and We Bought a Zoo which will receive a theatrical release on December 23,...
as Satsuki and Mei, Timothy Daly
Timothy Daly
James Timothy "Tim" Daly is an American stage, screen and voice actor, director and producer. He is best known for his television role as Joe Hackett on the NBC sitcom Wings and for his voice role as Superman/Clark Kent in Superman: The Animated Series, as well as his recurring role of the...
as Mr. Kusakabe, Pat Carroll
Pat Carroll (actress)
Patricia Ann “Pat” Carroll is an American actress. She performed in numerous stage productions, and portrayed the roles of "Bunny Halper" on CBS's The Danny Thomas Show, Shirley Feeney's mother on ABC's Laverne and Shirley, and is the voice of the villainous Ursula in The Little Mermaid film...
as Granny, Lea Salonga
Lea Salonga
Lea Salonga-Chien is a mezzo-soprano singer and actress from the Philippines well known for originating the lead role of Kim in the musical Miss Saigon, for which she won the Olivier, Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics and Theatre World awards.She was the first Asian to play the roles of Éponine and...
as Mrs. Kusakabe, and Frank Welker
Frank Welker
Franklin Wendell "Frank" Welker is an American actor who specializes in voice acting and has contributed character voices and other vocal effects to American television and motion pictures.-Acting career:...
as Totoro and Catbus
Catbus
The is a character in the Studio Ghibli film My Neighbor Totoro, directed by Hayao Miyazaki. It is a large creature, depicted as a grinning male cat with a hollow body that serves as a bus, complete with windows and seats coated with fur, and a large bushy tail...
. The songs for the new dub retained the same translation as the previous dub, but were sung by Sonya Isaacs
Sonya Isaacs
Sonya Melissa Isaacs is an American country and Christian music singer. Isaacs grew up near Morrow, Ohio, and graduated from Little Miami High School in 1992....
.
Critical reception
Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
reported that 90 percent of critics gave the film positive write-ups, based upon a sample of 29, with an average
Weighted mean
The weighted mean is similar to an arithmetic mean , where instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others...
score of 8.1/10.
Film critic Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
of the Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Sun-Times
The Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship paper of the Sun-Times Media Group.-History:The Chicago Sun-Times is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the city...
identified My Neighbor Totoro as one of his "Great Movies", calling it "one of the lovingly hand-crafted works of Hayao Miyazaki". Ebert reviewed the film, "My Neighbor Totoro is based on experience, situation and exploration—not on conflict and threat," and described its appeal: "...it would never have won its worldwide audience just because of its warm heart. It is also rich with human comedy in the way it observes the two remarkably convincing, lifelike little girls... It is a little sad, a little scary, a little surprising and a little informative, just like life itself. It depends on a situation instead of a plot, and suggests that the wonder of life and the resources of imagination supply all the adventure you need."
Leonard Klady of the entertainment trade newspaper Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
wrote that My Neighbor Totoro demonstrated "adequate television technical craft" that was characterized by "muted pastels, homogenized pictorial style and [a] vapid storyline". Klady described the film's environment, "Obviously aimed at an international audience, the film evinces a disorienting combination of cultures that produces a nowhere land more confused than fascinating."
Stephen Holden of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
described My Neighbor Totoro as "very visually handsome", and believed that the film was "very charming" when "dispensing enchantment". Despite the highlights, Holden wrote, "Too much of the film, however, is taken up with stiff, mechanical chitchat."
Matthew Leyland of Sight & Sound
Sight & Sound
Sight & Sound is a British monthly film magazine published by the British Film Institute .Sight & Sound was first published in 1932 and in 1934 management of the magazine was handed to the nascent BFI, which still publishes the magazine today...
reviewed the DVD released in 2006, "Miyazaki's family fable is remarkably light on tension, conflict and plot twists, yet it beguiles from beginning to end... what sticks with the viewer is the every-kid credibility of the girls' actions as they work, play and settle into their new surroundings." Leyland praised the DVD transfer of the film, but noted that the disc lacked a look at the film's production, instead being overabundant with storyboards.
Ranked #41 in Empire
Empire (magazine)
Empire is a British film magazine published monthly by Bauer Consumer Media. From the first issue in July 1989, the magazine was edited by Barry McIlheney and published by Emap. Bauer purchased Emap Consumer Media in early 2008...
magazines "The 100 Best Films Of World Cinema" in 2010.
Phillip E. Wegner makes a case for the film being an example of alternative history.
Cultural impact
My Neighbor Totoro helped bring Japanese animation into the global spotlight, and set its writer-director Hayao Miyazaki on the road to success. The film's central character, Totoro, is as famous among Japanese children as Winnie-the-PoohWinnie-the-Pooh
Winnie-the-Pooh, also called Pooh Bear, is a fictional anthropomorphic bear created by A. A. Milne. The first collection of stories about the character was the book Winnie-the-Pooh , and this was followed by The House at Pooh Corner...
is among British ones. The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
recognized Totoro as one of the greatest cartoon characters, describing the creature, "At once innocent and awe-inspiring, King Totoro captures the innocence and magic of childhood more than any of Miyazaki's other magical creations." The Financial Times
Financial Times
The Financial Times is an international business newspaper. It is a morning daily newspaper published in London and printed in 24 cities around the world. Its primary rival is the Wall Street Journal, published in New York City....
recognized the character's appeal, "[Totoro] is more genuinely loved than Mickey Mouse
Mickey Mouse
Mickey Mouse is a cartoon character created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks at The Walt Disney Studio. Mickey is an anthropomorphic black mouse and typically wears red shorts, large yellow shoes, and white gloves...
could hope to be in his wildest—not nearly so beautifully illustrated—fantasies."
The environmental journal Ambio described the influence of My Neighbor Totoro, "[It] has served as a powerful force to focus the positive feelings that the Japanese people have for satoyama
Satoyama
is a Japanese term applied to the border zone or area between mountain foothills and arable flat land. Literally, sato means arable and livable land or home land, and yama means mountain...
and traditional village life." The film's central character Totoro was used as a mascot by the Japanese "Totoro Hometown Fund Campaign" to preserve areas of satoyama in the Saitama Prefecture
Saitama Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of the island of Honshu. The capital is the city of Saitama.This prefecture is part of the Greater Tokyo Area, and most of Saitama's cities can be described as suburbs of Tokyo, to which a large amount of residents commute each day.- History...
. The fund, started in 1990 after the film's release, held an auction in August 2008 at Pixar Animation Studios to sell over 210 original paintings, illustrations, and sculptures inspired by My Neighbor Totoro.
A main-belt asteroid was named 10160 Totoro
10160 Totoro
10160 Totoro is a main-belt asteroid discovered on December 31, 1994 by T. Kobayashi at Oizumi. It was named after Hayao Miyazaki's Totoro from 1988 anime My Neighbor Totoro.- External links :*...
after the film's central character Totoro.
Totoro has made cameo appearances in multiple Studio Ghibli films, including Pom Poko
Pom Poko
is a 1994 Japanese animated film, the eighth written and directed by Isao Takahata and animated by Studio Ghibli.Consistent with Japanese folklore, the tanuki are portrayed as a highly sociable, mischievous species, able to use "illusion science" to transform into almost anything, but too...
, Kiki's Delivery Service
Kiki's Delivery Service
is a 1989 Japanese animated fantasy film produced, written, and directed by Hayao Miyazaki. It was the fourth theatrically released Studio Ghibli film.The film won the Animage Anime Grand Prix prize in 1989...
, and Whisper of the Heart
Whisper of the Heart (film)
is a 1995 Japanese animated drama film based on the manga of the same name by Aoi Hiiragi. It was directed by Yoshifumi Kondō and written by Hayao Miyazaki. It was the first theatrical Studio Ghibli feature to be directed by someone other than Miyazaki or Takahata, and the only film to be directed...
. Additionally, various other anime series and films have featured cameos, including one episode of the Gainax
Gainax
is a Japanese anime studio famous for productions such as Gunbuster, The Wings of Honneamise, Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water, Neon Genesis Evangelion, FLCL and Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann which have gone on to critical acclaim and commercial success, as well as for their association with...
TV series His and Her Circumstances
Kare Kano
, is a manga series by Masami Tsuda. It was serialized in LaLa from 1996 to 2005 and collected in 21 tankōbon volumes by Hakusensha. It depicts the romance between "perfect" student Yukino Miyazawa and her academic rival Soichiro Arima, and the relationships of several of their friends.The series...
. Totoro has also had cameo appearances in various non-Japanese works, including on Comedy Central
Comedy Central
Comedy Central is an American cable television and satellite television channel that carries comedy programming, both original and syndicated....
's Drawn Together
Drawn Together
Drawn Together is an American animated television series, which ran on Comedy Central from October 27, 2004 to November 14, 2007. The series was created by Dave Jeser and Matt Silverstein, and uses a sitcom format with a TV reality show setting...
and in the "Imaginationland
Imaginationland
"Imaginationland" is a three-part episode of the American animated television series South Park.*Episode I*Episode II*Episode III...
" episodes of South Park
South Park
South Park is an American animated television series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone for the Comedy Central television network. Intended for mature audiences, the show has become famous for its crude language, surreal, satirical, and dark humor that lampoons a wide range of topics...
as a background character, in Neil Gaiman
Neil Gaiman
Neil Richard Gaiman born 10 November 1960)is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, graphic novels, audio theatre and films. His notable works include the comic book series The Sandman and novels Stardust, American Gods, Coraline, and The Graveyard Book...
's The Sandman: Brief Lives
The Sandman: Brief Lives
Brief Lives is the seventh collection of issues in the DC Comics series, The Sandman. Written by Neil Gaiman, penciled by Jill Thompson, inked by Vince Locke and Dick Giordano, coloured by Danny Vozzo, and lettered by Todd Klein....
in which Delirium
Delirium (DC Comics)
Delirium is one of The Endless, fictional characters from Neil Gaiman's comic book series The Sandman.-Fictional character history:Delirium, known to the Greek culture as Mania, is the youngest of the Endless, yet still older than the rest of existence. She is usually quite short, and thin, and...
blows bubbles into a number of impossible shapes, including a Totoro holding an umbrella. My Neighbor Totoro is also parodied in the South Park episode "Mysterion Rises
Mysterion Rises
"Mysterion Rises" is the twelfth episode of the fourteenth season of South Park. It aired on Comedy Central on November 3, 2010 and is the second of a three-part arc that began with the episode "Coon 2: Hindsight"....
" in a couple of scenes where Cartman
Eric Cartman
Eric Theodore Cartman is a fictional character in the American animated television series South Park. One of four main characters, along with Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, and Kenny McCormick, he is generally referred to within the series by his last name...
plays on the belly of the dark lord Cthulhu
Cthulhu
Cthulhu is a fictional character that first appeared in the short story "The Call of Cthulhu", published in the pulp magazine Weird Tales in 1928. The character was created by writer H. P...
and later flies on the inderdimensional monster to the tune of the iconic end credits song from the film's soundtrack. Miyazaki also uses Totoro as a part of his Studio Ghibli company logo. Volume 9 of the Gin Tama manga has a spoof of the film entitled "My Neighbor Pedro". Also, the episode of Samurai Jack
Samurai Jack
Samurai Jack is an American animated television series created by animator Genndy Tartakovsky that aired on both Cartoon Network and Toonami from 2001 to 2004. It is noted for its highly detailed, outline-free, masking-based animation, as well as for its cinematic style and pacing...
entitled "Jack and the Creature" pays homage to this film. A Totoro plush makes an appearance in Pixar
Pixar
Pixar Animation Studios, pronounced , is an American computer animation film studio based in Emeryville, California. The studio has earned 26 Academy Awards, seven Golden Globes, and three Grammy Awards, among many other awards and acknowledgments. Its films have made over $6.3 billion worldwide...
's Toy Story 3
Toy Story 3
Toy Story 3 is a 2010 American 3D computer-animated comedy-adventure film, and the third installment in the Toy Story series. It was produced by Pixar and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It was directed by Lee Unkrich. The film was released worldwide from June through October in Disney Digital...
.
The susuwatari
Susuwatari
Susuwatari are the "dust bunnies" or "soot sprites" that appear in two Studio Ghibli anime movies, My Neighbor Totoro and Spirited Away...
, or "soot sprites", appear in the Miyazaki's 2001 Studio Ghibli film Spirited Away
Spirited Away
is a 2001 Japanese animated fantasy-adventure film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki and produced by Studio Ghibli. The film tells the story of Chihiro Ogino, a sullen ten-year-old girl who, while moving to a new neighborhood and after her parents are transformed into pigs by the witch Yubaba,...
.
Books
A four-volume series of ani-manga books, which use color images and lines directly from the film, were published in Japan in May 1988 by Tokuma. The series was licensed for English language release in North America by Viz MediaVIZ Media
VIZ Media, LLC, headquartered in San Francisco, is an anime, manga, and Japanese entertainment company. It was founded in 1986 as VIZ LLC. In 2005, VIZ LLC and ShoPro Entertainment merged to form the current VIZ Media LLC, which is jointly owned by Japanese publishers Shogakukan and Shueisha, and...
, which released the books from November 10, 2004 through February 15, 2005.
A 112-picture book based on the film and aimed at younger readers was released by Viz on November 8, 2005. On the same day, Viz released a 176 page art book containing conceptual art from the film and interviews with the production staff.
Anime short
is a thirteen minute sequel to My Neighbor Totoro, written and directed by Miyazaki. Chika SakamotoChika Sakamoto
is a Japanese voice actress from Tokyo affiliated with Arts Vision.-Television animation:*Baby and Me *Ashita no Nadja *Legend of the Mystical Ninja *Fighting Foodons *Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ...
, who voiced Mei in Totoro, returned to voice Mei in this short. Hayao Miyazaki himself did the voice of the Granny Cat (Neko Ba-chan), as well as Totoro. It concentrates on the character of Mei Kusakabe from the original film and her adventures one night with the Kittenbus (the offspring of the Catbus
Catbus
The is a character in the Studio Ghibli film My Neighbor Totoro, directed by Hayao Miyazaki. It is a large creature, depicted as a grinning male cat with a hollow body that serves as a bus, complete with windows and seats coated with fur, and a large bushy tail...
from the film) and other cat-oriented vehicles.
Originally released in Japan in 2003, the short is regularly shown at the Ghibli Museum
Ghibli Museum
is a museum featuring the Japanese anime work of Studio Ghibli, and is located in Inokashira Park in Mitaka, a western suburb of Tokyo, Japan.The museum is a fine arts museum, but does not take the concept of a usual fine arts museum. With many features that are child-oriented and a sprawling and...
, but has not been released to home video. It was shown briefly in the United States in 2006 to honor the North American release of fellow Miyazaki film Spirited Away
Spirited Away
is a 2001 Japanese animated fantasy-adventure film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki and produced by Studio Ghibli. The film tells the story of Chihiro Ogino, a sullen ten-year-old girl who, while moving to a new neighborhood and after her parents are transformed into pigs by the witch Yubaba,...
and at a Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation
Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation
JDRF is the leading global organization focused on type 1 diabetes research. Driven by volunteers connected to children, adolescents, and adults with this disease, JDRF is the largest charitable supporter of T1D research...
fundraiser a few days later.
Soundtrack
The Tonari no Totoro Soundtrack was originally released in Japan on May 1, 1988 by Tokuma ShotenTokuma Shoten
is a publisher in Japan, that was established in 1954.The company was also the parent company for the film studio Daiei Motion Pictures, bought in 1974, and the record label Tokuma Japan Communications, bought in 1972, until both were sold off when Yasuyoshi Tokuma, who established this company,...
. The CD primarily features the musical score used in the film composed by Joe Hisaishi
Joe Hisaishi
, known professionally as , is a composer and director known for over 100 film scores and solo albums dating back to 1981.While possessing a stylistically distinct sound, Hisaishi's music has been known to explore and incorporate different genres, including minimalist, experimental electronic,...
, except for five vocal pieces performed by Azumi Inoue
Azumi Inoue
is a Japanese singer. She graduated from Yugakkan High School in Kanazawa. She is best known for singing the opening and ending theme songs for the Hayao Miyazaki film My Neighbor Totoro: "Sanpo" and "My Neighbor Totoro". She is known for having a clear, light voice.Inoue is managed by the talent...
. It has since been re-released twice, once on November 21, 1996 and again on August 25, 2004.
- (Azumi InoueAzumi Inoueis a Japanese singer. She graduated from Yugakkan High School in Kanazawa. She is best known for singing the opening and ending theme songs for the Hayao Miyazaki film My Neighbor Totoro: "Sanpo" and "My Neighbor Totoro". She is known for having a clear, light voice.Inoue is managed by the talent...
) - (Inoue)
- (Inoue)
- (Inoue and Suginami Children's Choir)
- Some bars from the opening theme, "Stroll", "watashiwa genki (I am okay)", are quoted in Ponyo, 2008 Ghibli product, by Risa, Sōsuke's mother. She had been angry and depressed when her husband told her he would deter his scheduled return home that night. But when she overhears Sōsuke's soliloquy expressing his concern for Ponyo, who was recaptured by her father that day, she gets abruptly vivid, holds tight her 5 year son, and sings the bars, and says she would take courage.
External links
- Mei and the Kittenbus at Nausicaa.netNausicaa.netNausicaa.net is an English-language fan website established in 1996 to contain information discussed on the Miyazaki Mailing List and to be a general resource for information regarding Hayao Miyazaki, Isao Takahata, Studio Ghibli, and related topics...