50 Fun Facts About My Neighbor Totoro

Who wrote and directed My Neighbor Totoro?

He based Mei on his niece and said the Totoros were 'supposedly the forest keeper, but that's only a half-baked idea'.

In what year was My Neighbor Totoro released in Japan?

It shared a double bill with Grave of the Fireflies, a pairing critics called one of the most remarkable ever offered.

What is the surname of the family who move into the old house?

Early concept paintings and the theatrical poster show only one girl; the bus-stop scene forced the split into two.

What is the girls' father's job?

His occupation and the reason for the move were added as the film grew from its planned one-hour length.

Why does the family move to the old country house?

The hospitalised mother is often read as drawing on the director's own childhood with a chronically ill mother.

What are the small, dark dust-like house spirits called?

Often translated as soot sprites, they are only seen when moving from bright places into dark ones.

Inside what kind of tree does Mei first find the big spirit sleeping?

The tree sits in a Shinto shrine wrapped in a sacred rope, which scholars say gives the spirit kami status.

What does Satsuki lend the spirit at the rain-soaked bus stop?

Delighted, he hands over a bundle of nuts and seeds in return before boarding his own transport.

What does the spirit give Satsuki in exchange for her gift at the bus stop?

Days later the girls wake at midnight to find him dancing around the planted seeds until they sprout into a giant tree.

What vehicle picks the spirit up from the bus stop?

It has twelve legs, a grinning face and fur-covered seats; Naoki Tatsuta voices it in Japanese.

What do the spirits and the girls ride on after the midnight seed dance?

In the morning the enormous tree is gone but the seeds really have sprouted.

What is Mei carrying to the hospital when she gets lost?

The girls later leave the ear of corn on the hospital windowsill for their parents to find.

What discovery makes the neighbours fear the worst during the search for Mei?

Satsuki then begs the spirit for help, and he summons the Catbus to carry her to Mei.

Which film shared the original 1988 double bill with My Neighbor Totoro?

The two were made simultaneously at Ghibli; Isao Takahata's tragedy drove some family audiences away.

Who composed the film's score?

He had already scored Nausicaä and Castle in the Sky, and later co-announced the RSC stage adaptation.

Which instrument did the composer primarily use alongside a hired orchestra?

He cited Terry Riley, Philip Glass, Steve Reich, Stockhausen and John Cage as inspirations.

Who sang the film's vocal songs such as 'Stroll' and 'My Neighbor Totoro'?

The soundtrack came out on May 1, 1988; an image-song CD had preceded it in 1987.

Who was the film's art director, whose backgrounds became a Ghibli trademark?

He and the director argued over soil colour: Oga wanted Akita black, the director Kantō red.

How many animators worked on the film?

They finished it in eight months, and spent a whole month just on the four-colour tadpoles.

Which company produced the first English dub in 1989?

It was made for Japan Airlines in-flight screenings; Troma gave it a theatrical run in 1993.

Which company produced the 2004 English dub with a star cast?

It premiered in October 2005 and reached DVD on March 7, 2006.

Which sisters voice Satsuki and Mei in the 2004 English dub?

Timothy Daly plays their father, Lea Salonga their mother and Pat Carroll Granny.

Which veteran voice actor plays both the spirit and the Catbus in the 2004 dub?

Hitoshi Takagi voiced the spirit in the original Japanese.

Who voices Satsuki in the original Japanese version?

She also played Akane Tendo in Ranma ½ and Minami Asakura in Touch.

Which network held the TV premiere of the 2004 English dub in January 2006?

It was part of the network's tribute to the director and also aired the subtitled original.

Roughly how much has the film grossed worldwide at the box office?

Home video alone passed $250 million by 2018, and merchandise far more.

In which country did the film get a theatrical release 30 years late, in December 2018?

It opened at number two behind Aquaman and made $25.8 million there by February 2019.

Which Hollywood film kept the 2018 Chinese release of Totoro off the top spot?

Totoro took $13 million in its opening weekend there, ahead of the Bollywood film Padman.

Which critics' poll named it the top animated film of all time in 2012?

It placed joint 154th overall that year and climbed to joint 72nd in the 2022 critics' poll.

Which Chicago critic listed it among his 'Great Movies'?

He wrote that it 'depends on a situation instead of a plot'.

Which legendary Japanese director named it one of his favourite films?

The Guardian's Steve Rose and Time Out's Trevor Johnston each gave it five stars.

The spirit's popularity with Japanese children has been compared to which British character?

The Financial Times said he is 'more genuinely loved than Mickey Mouse could hope to be'.

After the film's release, what role did the spirit take on for Studio Ghibli?

The Independent called him one of the greatest cartoon characters ever.

What kind of object was named 10160 Totoro?

It was discovered on December 31, 1994 in the main belt.

Which creature discovered in Vietnam was named Eoperipatus totoro in 2013?

The collectors thought its many legs resembled the spirit's cat vehicle.

In which prefecture does the 'Totoro Hometown Fund' preserve satoyama land?

Started in 1990, the fund held an art auction at Pixar in 2008 with over 210 original works.

At which animation studio did the Totoro fund hold an art auction in 2008?

Over 210 paintings, illustrations and sculptures inspired by the film were sold.

What is the 2003 short sequel about Mei's night adventure called?

The director himself voices Granny Cat and the big spirit; it only screens at the Ghibli Museum.

Where is the 13-minute sequel regularly shown?

It has never been released on home video.

Which theatre troupe staged a My Neighbour Totoro adaptation in 2022?

Tom Morton-Smith adapted it and Phelim McDermott directed; it won six Olivier Awards.

At which London venue did the stage show premiere in October 2022?

It later moved to the Gillian Lynne Theatre, where the run was extended to August 2026.

Whose record for one-day ticket sales at the Barbican did the stage show break?

Tickets went on sale on 19 May 2022.

How many Olivier Awards did the stage adaptation win?

The show returned to the Barbican in 2023 before a West End run.

Which Ghibli Park area holds the girls' house?

The name comes from the 'Dondoko Odori' dance the spirits perform around the seeds.

Which Japanese publisher financed and released the film?

Executive producer Yasuyoshi Tokuma bankrolled it; the company also put out the VHS and LaserDisc in August 1988.

In which decade is the film set?

The director said it was meant to be exactly 1955 but the team settled on 'the recent past'.

How many legs does the Catbus have?

Frank Welker and Carl Macek voiced it in the English versions.

Which US distributor reissued the film on Blu-ray and DVD in October 2017?

WarnerMedia then bought the streaming rights to the whole Ghibli library from GKIDS in 2019.

What was the film originally planned to run?

It grew as the team added the reason for the move and the father's job.

How was the rain effect created?

The scratches were superimposed to give the rain a soft feel; ripples used two colours of highlight and shade.