Film Review & Study Guide: My Neighbor Totoro Appropriate for all ages Run time: 86 mins
This film review and study guide was created by Christie Phillips during the University of Rhode Island’s LSC 597: Library Film Education taught by Dr. Renee Hobbs. This review and guide are for My Neighbor Totoro, a 1988 Japanese English-subbed animated feature film directed by Hayao Miyazaki. It includes terms and vocabulary, themes, questions for discussion, activities, and relevant resources.
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A Film Review and Study Guide
Christie Phillips
LSC 597
Library Film Education
Film Review
My Neighbor Totoro
(1988)
Writer-Director Hayao Miyazaki takes us back to the innocence and magic of childhood in the internationally renowned animated film, “My Neighbor Totoro.” Echoing some elements from “Alice in Wonderland,” the audience is drawn into this mysterious adventure where sometimes things are not always as they seem.
Starring Hitoshi Takagi as the voice of Totoro, Noriko Hidaka as the voice of Satsuki, and Chika Sakamoto as the voice of Mei, the film follows the lives of two little girls in post war Japan who move to the countryside with their father in order to be close to their sick mother. Soon mysterious and magical things begin happening. Adventures abound as a big colony of black fuzzy dots scurry about when they enter a room and the girls meet the huge, yet gentle, Totoro and other creatures who live in the forest at the bottom of a camphor tree trunk. Totoro has magical powers, can only be seen by them, and only appears when he is needed.
“My Neighbor Totoro” seems to deal with the themes of life, family, fears, and childhood. Delightful in its depiction of the two young sisters, refreshing in its dialogue, and gorgeous with its vivid scenery and details of the time period, this film evokes a great cinematic experience in my mind.
My Neighbor Totoro
Study Guide
Film title: My Neighbor Totoro
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Country of Origin: Japan
Brief Summary: Two little girls move with their father to the countryside in Japan in order to be close to their sick mother. Soon, mysterious and magical things begin happening. They meet and have adventures with forest spirits and other woodland creatures who are only visible to them.
Suggested Age Group: All ages (study guide- elementary)
Genre/ Type of Film: Animation, Family, Fantasy
Before Viewing:
Relevant Film Terms and Vocabulary: Anime, Totoro, Catbus, Susuwatari or dustbunnies, Shintoism, camphor tree Major Themes: Life, family, fears, childhood
Questions for discussion:
What do you know about My Neighbor Totoro? Do you think Totoro’s are real? By looking at the cover of the film, what can you tell about where they live? In the movie, two girls move to the countryside with their father to be closer to their sick mother, have you ever had an experience like this where you had to move for a specific reason? What were your feelings about this?
Analyzing The Film / The Filmmaker Choices:
Discussion Questions:
The Story:
What time period is being depicted in this film? How do we know? Where does this story take place? What tools does the filmmaker use to show what season it is in the story? How are the character’s of the girls portrayed? Mei follows two rabbit like creatures through a tunnel to the base of a camphor tree and falls down a hole at the bottom of the tree. Later she claims to meet a Totoro after he sister finds her and wakes her up. Does this remind you of another anything?
The Context:
The girls are worried when their father does not show up at the bus stop and decide to wait for the next bus. Why is Mei so insistent on waiting there and why is this a big deal? The Totoros and catbus only seem to appear when the girls need them most and disappear the rest of the time, only to be seen first by Mei, in the beginning, and then by both girls later on. What do you think is the significance of this? What can we learn from this film about life, family, and childhood?
Going Beyond The Film:
Activities:
Writing Prompts:
Think back to your family and other families that you know, what are some similarities and some differences between these families and the family in My Neighbor Totoro?
What are some life lessons you learned as a child and how?
What was one of the most meaningful events or situations that happened in your childhood?
Activity Option #1:
Write a poem about families.
Activity Option #2: Create an anime-influenced animation storyboard showing a time in your childhood where you used your imagination to escape a difficult situation.
Resources:
Books:
Winnie the Pooh
Friends by Helme Heine
Kimonos by Annelore Parot
Aesop’s Fables
Alice in Wonderland
Films:
Alice in Wonderland
Winnie the Pooh
Links: https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/my-neighbor-totoro https://www.teachervision.com/families/teacher-resources/6617.html