My Neighbor Totoro (1988)
Movie · 1988 · Fantasy, Animation, Family · 1h 26m · G · Japanese
Curator score: 9.2/10 (2.3M ratings)
Tagline: He's your friendly neighbourhood forest spirit!
Two sisters move to the country with their father in order to be closer to their hospitalized mother, and discover the surrounding trees are inhabited by Totoros, magical spirits of the forest. When the youngest runs away from home, the older sister seeks help from the spirits to find her.
Ratings:
- Curator score: 9.2/10
- IMDb: 8.1/10
- Letterboxd: 4.19/5
- Rotten Tomatoes: 94%
- Metacritic: 87
- TMDB: 8.1/10
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Production: Studio Ghibli, Nibariki, Tokuma Shoten
Cast: Noriko Hidaka, Chika Sakamoto, Hitoshi Takagi, Shigesato Itoi, Sumi Shimamoto, Tanie Kitabayashi, Toshiyuki Amagasa, Yuko Maruyama, Masashi Hirose, Reiko Suzuki, Machiko Washio, Naoki Tatsuta, Tomohiro Nishimura, Chie Koujiro, Yuko Mizutani, Shigeru Chiba, TARAKO, Mitsuko Ishida, Daiki Nakamura, Akiko Hiramatsu
Where to watch: Max
Curator Review
Verdict: A gentle, deeply felt fantasy about childhood, grief, and the consolations of nature. Its magic is quiet rather than plot-driven, but the emotional clarity and visual imagination make it a landmark family film.
Best for: Viewers who love soothing, low-stakes fantasy; Families with kids who respond to wonder over action; Fans of animation with hand-crafted detail and atmosphere; Anyone looking for a comforting film about childhood and nature
Skip if: You need a fast-moving plot or clear villain; You prefer jokes, twists, or conventional three-act structure; You want high-stakes fantasy adventure; You dislike films that are more mood and feeling than narrative machinery
Overview: My Neighbor Totoro is one of cinema’s purest expressions of childhood wonder. It turns a rural house, a patch of woods, and a family’s anxious wait for a mother’s recovery into something luminous and alive, where the ordinary and the magical coexist without explanation. That restraint is the point: the film trusts sensation, memory, and emotional truth more than plot mechanics.
Worth noting: What makes it endure is how gently it handles fear and comfort. The sisters’ loneliness is real, but the movie never becomes heavy-handed about it; instead, it offers companionship, curiosity, and the possibility that the world is kinder and stranger than adults often assume. The forest spirits feel less like fantasy creatures than embodiments of attention and care.
Bottom line: The animation is exquisitely observed, from weather and foliage to small domestic gestures. It’s a film that can feel almost weightless on first viewing and yet leave a lasting imprint. Few family films are this serene, this funny in passing, or this emotionally generous without ever announcing that generosity.
Top Letterboxd reviews:
- David Jenkins: No plot.
No central character.
No antagonist.
No defined purpose for side characters.
No threat.
No three acts.
No jokes.
No punchlines.
No explanations.
No internal references.
No catchphrases.
No political polemical voice.
No melodrama.
No lessons.
No beginning.
No end.
One of the best films ever made.
- mia lee vicino: Totoro has leaf on head : )
- maria: IS THIS WHAT HAPPINESS FEELS LIKE?????
- Lucy: CAT BUS
- James (Schaffrillas): I love how Totoro calls the cat bus for Satsuki and then he's like "Alright, I ain't getting on that shit, my work here is done, peace"
Recommended similar titles:
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- Song of the Sea (2014 · Family, Animation, Fantasy · 1h 34m · PG · Curator 9.4/10 (205.3K ratings))
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- The NeverEnding Story (1984 · Adventure, Fantasy, Family · 1h 41m · PG · Curator 3.0/10 (173.1K ratings))
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- The Princess Bride (1987 · Adventure, Family, Fantasy · 1h 39m · PG · Curator 8.7/10 (1.5M ratings) · Where to watch: Disney Plus, Hulu, fuboTV)
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- E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982 · Science Fiction, Adventure, Family · 1h 55m · PG · Curator 8.2/10 (1.7M ratings))
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- A Little Princess (1995 · Drama, Family, Fantasy · 1h 37m · G · Curator 8.1/10 (105.9K ratings))
Shares the same faith in imagination, resilience, and the emotional power of a child’s inner world.
- The Boy and the Heron (2023 · Animation, Fantasy, Drama · 2h 4m · PG-13 · Curator 8.2/10 (1.4M ratings) · Where to watch: Max)
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- The Tale of The Princess Kaguya (2013 · Animation, Drama, Fantasy · 2h 17m · PG · Curator 9.4/10 (338.4K ratings) · Where to watch: Max)
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Topics: hand-drawn animation, family fantasy, coming-of-age, slice of life, nature spirits, childhood wonder, gentle tone, 1980s cinema, Japanese animation, comfort viewing
https://watchlist.tannermartz.com/apple/movie/my-neighbor-totoro/8392
My Neighbor Totoro (1988)
Movie · 1988 · Fantasy, Animation, Family · 1h 26m · G · Japanese
Curator score: 9.2/10 (2.3M ratings)
He's your friendly neighbourhood forest spirit!
Overview Two sisters move to the country with their father in order to be closer to their hospitalized mother, and discover the surrounding trees are inhabited by Totoros, magical spirits of the forest. When the youngest runs away from home, the older sister seeks help from the spirits to find her.
Ratings
Curator score: 9.2/10
IMDb: 8.1/10
Letterboxd: 4.19/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 94%
Metacritic: 87
TMDB: 8.1/10
Production Studio Ghibli, Nibariki, Tokuma Shoten
Cast Noriko Hidaka, Chika Sakamoto, Hitoshi Takagi, Shigesato Itoi, Sumi Shimamoto, Tanie Kitabayashi, Toshiyuki Amagasa, Yuko Maruyama, Masashi Hirose, Reiko Suzuki, Machiko Washio, Naoki Tatsuta, Tomohiro Nishimura, Chie Koujiro, Yuko Mizutani, Shigeru Chiba, TARAKO, Mitsuko Ishida, Daiki Nakamura, Akiko Hiramatsu
Curator Review
Verdict
A gentle, deeply felt fantasy about childhood, grief, and the consolations of nature. Its magic is quiet rather than plot-driven, but the emotional clarity and visual imagination make it a landmark family film.
Best for
Viewers who love soothing, low-stakes fantasy
Families with kids who respond to wonder over action
Fans of animation with hand-crafted detail and atmosphere
Anyone looking for a comforting film about childhood and nature
Skip if
You need a fast-moving plot or clear villain
You prefer jokes, twists, or conventional three-act structure
You want high-stakes fantasy adventure
You dislike films that are more mood and feeling than narrative machinery
Overview
My Neighbor Totoro is one of cinema’s purest expressions of childhood wonder. It turns a rural house, a patch of woods, and a family’s anxious wait for a mother’s recovery into something luminous and alive, where the ordinary and the magical coexist without explanation. That restraint is the point: the film trusts sensation, memory, and emotional truth more than plot mechanics.
Worth noting
What makes it endure is how gently it handles fear and comfort. The sisters’ loneliness is real, but the movie never becomes heavy-handed about it; instead, it offers companionship, curiosity, and the possibility that the world is kinder and stranger than adults often assume. The forest spirits feel less like fantasy creatures than embodiments of attention and care.
Bottom line
The animation is exquisitely observed, from weather and foliage to small domestic gestures. It’s a film that can feel almost weightless on first viewing and yet leave a lasting imprint. Few family films are this serene, this funny in passing, or this emotionally generous without ever announcing that generosity.
Top Letterboxd reviews
David Jenkins (5★) · 34618 likes
No plot.
No central character.
No antagonist.
No defined purpose for side characters.
No threat.
No three acts.
No jokes.
No punchlines.
No explanations.
No internal references.
No catchphrases.
No political polemical voice.
No melodrama.
No lessons.
No beginning.
No end.
One of the best films ever made.
mia lee vicino (4.5★) · 15563 likes
Totoro has leaf on head : )
maria (5★) · 13331 likes
IS THIS WHAT HAPPINESS FEELS LIKE?????
Lucy (4★) · 8388 likes
CAT BUS
James (Schaffrillas) (4.5★) · 7979 likes
I love how Totoro calls the cat bus for Satsuki and then he's like "Alright, I ain't getting on that shit, my work here is done, peace"
Recommended similar titles
1999 · Animation, Drama, Family · 1h 26m · PG · Curator 9.4/10 (886K ratings)
A tender, emotionally direct animated film about friendship, fear, and the innocence of seeing the world differently.
2017 · Adventure, Comedy, Family · 1h 44m · PG · Curator 9.1/10 (752.1K ratings) · Where to watch: Max
Shares the same rare warmth, kindness, and belief that small acts of care can feel magical.
2016 · Animation, Drama, Fantasy · 1h 21m · PG · Curator 8.0/10 (131.6K ratings)
A wordless, contemplative animated fable that finds emotion in landscape, rhythm, and quiet observation.
2014 · Family, Animation, Fantasy · 1h 34m · PG · Curator 9.4/10 (205.3K ratings)
A lyrical family fantasy rooted in folklore, grief, and the protective power of imagination.
2014 · Animation, Drama, Family · 1h 43m · PG · Curator 7.6/10 (358.9K ratings) · Where to watch: Max
A gentle, melancholy childhood mystery with a similar sensitivity to loneliness and emotional refuge.
1984 · Adventure, Fantasy, Family · 1h 41m · PG · Curator 3.0/10 (173.1K ratings)
A classic children’s fantasy that treats imagination as a real shelter from fear and loss.
1987 · Adventure, Family, Fantasy · 1h 39m · PG · Curator 8.7/10 (1.5M ratings) · Where to watch: Disney Plus, Hulu, fuboTV
For viewers who want fairy-tale charm, warmth, and a storybook sense of wonder.
1982 · Science Fiction, Adventure, Family · 1h 55m · PG · Curator 8.2/10 (1.7M ratings)
A beloved childhood film about secret companionship, wonder, and the emotional scale of small experiences.
2016 · Animation, Comedy, Drama · 1h 6m · PG-13 · Curator 9.3/10 (277.9K ratings)
An empathetic animated film about children navigating loss and building a fragile sense of home.
1995 · Drama, Family, Fantasy · 1h 37m · G · Curator 8.1/10 (105.9K ratings)
Shares the same faith in imagination, resilience, and the emotional power of a child’s inner world.
2023 · Animation, Fantasy, Drama · 2h 4m · PG-13 · Curator 8.2/10 (1.4M ratings) · Where to watch: Max
A more surreal companion piece that also explores grief, childhood, and passage into strange worlds.
2013 · Animation, Drama, Fantasy · 2h 17m · PG · Curator 9.4/10 (338.4K ratings) · Where to watch: Max
A visually exquisite animated film that balances wonder with deep feeling and a strong sense of nature.
Topics
hand-drawn animation, family fantasy, coming-of-age, slice of life, nature spirits, childhood wonder, gentle tone, 1980s cinema, Japanese animation, comfort viewing
Open My Neighbor Totoro (1988) on Curator TV