My Neighbor Totoro | |||||
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![]() Theatrical release poster | |||||
Japanese name | |||||
Kana | となりのトトロ | ||||
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Directed by | Hayao Miyazaki | ||||
Written by | Hayao Miyazaki | ||||
Produced by | Toru Hara | ||||
Starring | |||||
Cinematography | Hisao Shirai | ||||
Edited by | Takeshi Seyama | ||||
Music by | Joe Hisaishi | ||||
Production company | |||||
Distributed by | Toho | ||||
Release date |
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Running time | 86 minutes | ||||
Country | Japan | ||||
Language | Japanese | ||||
Box office | $41 million |
My Neighbor Totoro (Japanese: となりのトトロ, Hepburn: Tonari no Totoro) is a 1988 Japanese animated fantasy film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki and animated by Studio Ghibli for Tokuma Shoten. It stars the voices of Noriko Hidaka, Chika Sakamoto and Hitoshi Takagi, and focuses on two young sisters and their interactions with friendly wood spirits in postwar rural Japan.
In 1989, Streamline Pictures produced an English-language dub for exclusive use on transpacific flights of Japan Airlines. Troma Films, under their 50th St. Films banner, distributed the dub of the film. This dub was released in 1993 to United States theaters, and the following year on VHS and LaserDisc in the US by Fox Video in 1994, and on DVD in 2002. The rights to this dub expired in 2004, so Walt Disney Home Entertainment re-released the film on March 7, 2006, with a new dub cast.[1] This DVD release is the first version of the film in the US to include both Japanese and English language tracks.
The film explores themes such as animism, Shinto symbology, environmentalism and the joys of rural living. My Neighbor Totoro received worldwide critical acclaim, and has grossed over $41 million worldwide at the box office as of September 2019; the film also grossed significantly more from home video sales and merchandise.
My Neighbor Totoro received numerous awards, including the Animage Anime Grand Prix prize, the Mainichi Film Award, and Kinema Junpo Award for Best Film in 1988. It also received the Special Award at the Blue Ribbon Awards in the same year. The film is considered as one of the top animation films, ranking 41st in Empire magazine's "The 100 Best Films of World Cinema" in 2010 and the number-one animated film on the 2012 Sight & Sound critics' poll of all-time greatest films.[2][3] The film and its titular character have become cultural icons, and made multiple cameo appearances in other films. Totoro also serves as the mascot for Studio Ghibli and is recognized as one of the most popular characters in Japanese animation.
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