My Neighbor Totoro: The Movie Behind the Logo

Totoro Ghibli logo

Ever seen that cute, chubby, grey, cat-like dude pictured to the right?  That’s Totoro.  So many have seen this iconic character, not knowing who or what he is.  Well, Totoro comes from yet another memorable Ghibli classic and has effectively become the logo for everything Ghibli. The film he comes from is, you guessed it, My Neighbor Totoro, which I’ll review below.

My Neighbor Totoro is a fairly well-known classic that has touched countless hearts and triggered several “Aw, how cute!” reflexes.  The film is about a small family, the Kusakabes, who move to a remote town in Japan to be closer to their hospitalized mother.  At the beginning of the film, the two children, sisters named Mei and Satsuki, are a little frightened by the rural setting and they find some interesting creatures called “soot sprites,” who are terribly cute. As the film progresses, the girls find out what life is like in the country and discover a giant forest spirit named “Totoro.”  He can only be seen from time to time, but is always helpful to Mei and Satsuki. 

I left a lot out of the summary because you really have to experience the story for yourself to really get everything, but I think that about covers the major points.

So, my opinion about this film is that it is indeed a work of art.  The landscapes are gorgeous, the human characters are drawn well, and the non-human characters are drawn amazingly.  10/10 for visuals for sure.

The character development was also great, 10/10, because the kids are portrayed almost perfectly (Miyazaki is really good at creating child characters).  The dad is characterized well too; you get to know him as a good, playful father who can parent well, despite the challenges he faces with his wife always being away at the hospital.  The family also faces real-life challenges, which automatically makes them more relatable and likable.

The storyline was cute, but I wouldn’t give it more than 7/10.  It just didn’t reach the Ghibli bar for storylines because, really, not much happens over the course of the film.  I mean, the story goes:

Family moves to a new town—>They meet Totoro there—>Mei gets in trouble—>She is saved by Totoro and friends.  

Like I said, cute but a little simplistic.  However, it is a kid’s film, which is why I gave it no less than a 7.

The music at first seemed the same as the storyline—cute but simple.  But it ended up turning into an iconic soundtrack when the movie really got going (after the intro).  With that, the music is also super catchy.  In fact, I once showed it to a roomful of kids in a class I was teaching and they all started humming along at one point.  It was really cute and made me appreciate the soundtrack of the movie even more.  9/10 total score because it is amazing, but not necessarily perfect the whole movie through.

Overall, I give this adorable, iconic classic a 9/10.  It is nearly perfect in some ways and could be a little better in some others.  This is one of the best anime films of all time and I think it really deserves a watch.  I know I’ll be seeing it again sometime soon.  :)

Well, that’s all for the moment.  I hope you consider watching Totoro if you haven’t seen it already.  

Corey Cherrington