My Neighbor Totoro Discussion Guide 1
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Film C L U B MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO Important note: The film is available in both the original subtitled Japanese and in a (delightful) English dubbed version. The version streaming on HBO Max is the latter, but the former is available to rent on several services as well. Be sure you’re renting/streaming the correct one! Introduction to the film When My Neighbor Totoro came out in 1988, it wasn’t a hit immediately. It first screened in a double bill with another film from Studio Ghibli, the now legendary Japanese animation studio that’s also created films like Ponyo, Spirited Away, and Howl’s Moving Castle. It wasn’t until the film made it to Japanese TV that it started to take off, and by the early 1990s the English dub had allowed it to become a hit in the US as well. (The English dubbed version we watch today, with its star-studded cast, was made for the film’s re-release in 2004.) Now, though, Totoro is a familiar figure who sometimes pops up in American animation (he notably makes a cameo in Toy Story 3) and whose image is so familiar that it is used in Studio Ghibli’s logo. Plenty of people -- including me -- have a stuffed Totoro somewhere in their house, just waiting to be hugged for comfort. And no wonder! Totoro is a forest spirit, discovered in the woods by a little girl named Mei, and though he is fearsome, with a huge size and a massive roar from his massive mouth, he’s also obviously cuddly. He’s accompanied by smaller Totoros, whose sizes mimic those of Mei and her older sister Satsuki. The roots of a character like Totoro lie in animism, particularly the Japanese religion of Shinto, which in part conceives of the natural world of being inhabited by spirits. The kindly Totoros, who watch over Mei and Satsuki during a frightening time in their young lives, can seemingly only be seen by the girls. But their loving father also seems to know that the world they inhabit is a little magical, and that his daughters using their imaginations to see friendly spirits rather than fear and terror around every corner can only help them out. Of course, you don’t have to believe in animism to love My Neighbor Totoro. Recently, a Christian friend was talking about the film, and noted something interesting: That they loved the big Totoro creature because he reminded them of something about God. God is big, and fearsome, and perhaps even a little frightening. God’s roar, as you might imagine, is considerable. But God also is a comfort in times of distress, a shelter from the storm, and a listener and protector for everyone in need, no matter how small they are. When we are afraid or hurting, God is near us, ready to show us that tiny acorns of hope and faith can grow into trees, if we’re willing to wait. God is always there, if we only have eyes to look. Totoro is a little like Aslan, from C.S. Lewis’s Narnia books: He isn’t safe, but he’s good. Where to watch: Streaming on HBO Max (English dub) Available to purchase on Amazon Video, YouTube (original subtitled Japanese version) QUESTIONS My Neighbor Totoro has a gentle, slow pace that often feels diametrically opposed to more frantic children’s entertainment we might encounter today (and even back when it was released). What kind of mood does the film put you in? How does that mood prepare you for the story to come? Mei and Satsuki’s story could be a frightening one -- they are worried about their mother’s health, and at one point Mei is lost. What did you feel at those times? How does the film create both tension and resolution? What creatures does Totoro remind you of? (I say a big rabbit crossed with kind of a dog.) If you watched the film with English dubbing instead of in the original Japanese, how do you think that affected your viewing experience? What are some benefits and drawbacks of watching it this way? The art in My Neighbor Totoro is incredibly imaginative, from the beautiful colorful sky to the design of the soot sprites to the evocative faces of the characters. It’s also different from much of our 3-D animated world today. Where do you see the influence of this art today? What elements makes it so distinctive? Frequently, contemporary children’s entertainment shies away from some of the darker themes in this movie, like fear of a parent dying, or being lost in a dark wood. What do you think of My Neighbor Totoro’s approach? Is it successful? If so, why? A running theme throughout this film is fascination with acorns, both for Mei and Satsuki and for the Totoros. They are beautiful objects of curiosity, a gift from a spirit to humans, and the subject of one of the film’s most fun nighttime scenes about growth. Why are acorns so important to this film? What meaning do you draw from them? FOR FURTHER READING Roger Ebert’s review of My Neighbor Totoro from 1993 “Toward a True Children’s Cinema: On My Neighbor Totoro” by Lauren Wilford “A Supernatural Neighbor” by S.E. Kesselring “My Neighbor Totoro Dispels the Myths of the Frozen Generation” by Matt Patches.