History Anime / MyNeighborTotoro

* RousseauWasRight: Satsuki and Mei are all round innocent and good...until they hears news of her mother's illness seemingly getting worse, causing Satsuki and Mei to take their fear and anger out on each other.

You only see him when your very young, a magical adventure for you!\\

-->-- '''Main theme'''.

''My Neighbor Totoro'' (Japanese: ''となりのトトロ''/''Tonari no Totoro'', 1988) is Creator/StudioGhibli's second feature film and the fourth animated feature directed by Creator/HayaoMiyazaki (the first being ''Anime/TheCastleOfCagliostro'').

[[caption-width-right:350:''Look at all my many friends. Ready, set, let's go!'']]

In 2022, a ScreenToStageAdaptation opened at London's Barbican Centre for a limited run. The show is a collaboration between the Royal Shakespeare Company and Ghilbi's own Music/JoeHisaishi, and features puppetry courtesy of Creator/JimHensonsCreatureShop.

* {{Novelization}}: A novel based on the film would be written by Tsugiko Kubo in 2001, with an English translation by Jim Hubbert releasing in 2013. The novel is largely faithful to the film, though it [[AdaptationExpansion slightly expands on the story and explains a few details that were not readily explained in the film]], such as why Mei and Satsuki's mother was hospitalized]].

The film would later get a short-form sequel in 2002 titled ''Mei and the Kittenbus'' (making ''Totoro'' the first Ghibli film to get a sequel), which revolves around Mei having a lighthearted adventure with a tiny kitten-sized Catbus. Unfortunately, the only way you can see the film as of right now is if you go to the Ghibli Museum in Mitaka, Tokyo, Japan.

[-[[caption-width-right:350:''Look at all my many friends. Ready, set, let's go!'']]-]

But the girls' seemingly idyllic rural existence is soon shattered when a health crisis forces their mother to cancel a much-anticipated visit home. Heartbroken, the two girls take out their fear and anger on each other, and Mei eventually sets out for the hospital alone, determined to deliver an ear of corn she believes will make her mother well. The remainder of the film revolves around Satsuki's increasingly desperate search for Mei; when all other options are exhausted, Satsuki appeals directly to Totoro for help--and he is more than delighted to be of assistance.

* AnimalsLackAttributes: Averted; the Catbus has visible testicles. So does the Kittenbus in the short.

* BreakTheCutie: Mei is a CheerfulChild who enjoys the simple pleasures in life - but learning that her mother's illness got worse and she can't come back from the hospital breaks her and makes her run off from home.
* ByTheEyesOfTheBlind: The Catbus can be seen by Satsuki who wants to find Mei who also sees it while desiring to see their mother. To everyone else, it's a sudden gust of wind. The soot spirits and totoros can also be seen by the two girls but the adults can't see them probably because they don't want to be seen by folks.

* {{Novelization}}: A novel based on the film would be written by Tsugiko Kubo in 2001, with an English translation by Jim Hubbert releasing in 2013. The novel is largely faithful to the film, but it [[AdaptationExpansion slightly expands on the story and explains a few things that were not readily explained in the film, such as why Mei and Satsuki's mother was hospitalized]].

->''"No plot. No central character. No antagonist. No defined purpose for side characters. No threat. No three acts. No jokes. No punchlines. No explanations. No internal references. No catch phrases. No political polemical voice. No melodrama. No lessons. No beginning. No end. One of the best movies ever made."''
-->-- '''Website/{{Letterboxd}} [[https://letterboxd.com/daveyjenkins/film/my-neighbor-totoro/ review]] by David Jenkins'''

''My Neighbor Totoro'' (Japanese: ''Tonari no Totoro'', 1988) is Creator/StudioGhibli's second feature film and the fourth animated feature directed by Creator/HayaoMiyazaki (the first being ''Anime/TheCastleOfCagliostro'').

The film would later get a short-form sequel in 2002 titled ''Mei and the Kittenbus'' (making ''Totoro'' the first Ghibli film to get a sequel), which revolves around Mei having an lighthearted adventure with a tiny kitten-sized Catbus. Unfortunately, the only you can see the film as of right now is if you go to the Ghibli Museum in Mitaka, Tokyo, Japan.

* AliceAllusion: Mei's first encounter with the Totoros starts with her following the white rabbit-looking one (and the medium blue one) until she falls down the hole where King Totoro is laying. She's found after the encounter sleeping on the ground and Satsuki and Kusakabe think it might have been a dream. The allusion further helped that the scenery of the forest areas is drawn a bit more dream-like in Mei's initial explanations then just looks like an overgrown bit of wood when she tries to find it again. The cat bus also has a Cheshire Cat grin.

* AnimalsLackAttributes: Averted; the Catbus has prominent testicles. So does the Kittenbus in the short.

* CompositeCharacter: Miyazaki is actually one of four children but he used two siblings in the film to streamline the story and save time. The film clocks in at about 90 minutes which is average for a children's animated film.

* GentleGiant: Totoro, of course. A playful, kind creature who takes a liking to the girls.

* HandInTheHole: Short creepy moment, when Mei reaches into the crack in the wall behind which the dustbunnies disappeared.

* MixAndMatchCritters: The Totoros look like a rather adorable combination of rabbits, cats, and bears, with King Totoro being the most prominent.

* SceneryCensor: During the bath scene, Mei is conveniently protecting the audience from her father.

A 2022 ScreenToStageAdaptation, produced by the Royal Shakespeare Company, opened in London for a limited run.

A 2023 ScreenToStageAdaptation, produced by the Royal Shakespeare Company, is set to open in London for a limited run.

* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: This is a major theme of the movie. An example: The huge tree that grows when the girls and Totoro are together is gone the next morning, but the much smaller plants that grew around it remain.

%%* GhibliHills: The Ur-example.

* AdultFear: The film triggers this with the audience when Mei falls asleep on Totoro's stomach mere inches from his enormous maw. That'd be enough to make any parent cringe.

%% Image restored per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1457797597011153900

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/totorogang.png]]

* TheFifties: This movie is set in the fifties. According to [[WordOfGod Miyazaki]], it's the very time period "when televisions were yet to be brought to homes".

** The film triggers this with the audience when Mei falls asleep on Totoro's stomach mere inches from his enormous maw. That'd be enough to make any parent cringe.

** However, Mei is shown drawing "a Totoro" with crayons (and the Cat Bus in chalk during the epilogue), both of which are...done by a four-year-old, shall we say.

* AdultFear:
** Mei running away from home and getting lost in the climax is something any adult or older sibling can understand. This goes UpToEleven when the villagers find a little girl's sandal in the pond and fear that Mei has drowned.
** Satsuki's fear that her mother will die is relatable and, given the nature of her illness, well-grounded in reality. Granny is unable to comfort her when she begins to cry, because both characters know there is a very real possiblity her mother will die.

* PantyShot: Mei and Satsuki wear very short skirts throughout the movie, which often come up while they're running, in a completely innocent way. "Bloomer Shots," if you will.