Totoro’s Lasting Popularity

One of the most recognizable mascot characters in anime history is the lovable, fluffy Totoro, who has been the face of Studio Ghibli ever since being introduced nearly 40 years ago, when My Neighbor Totoro first arrived. The film, one of Hayao Miyazaki’s best-known, made its debut in April 1988.

The story takes place in the 1950s, where a university professor, Tatsuo, moves out to an old country house with his daughters, Satsuki and Mei, to be closer to a hospital where the girls’ mother is recovering from an illness. The girls begin to discover spirits and other creatures in and around the house, such as the small soot spirits and the cat-bus, as well as Totoro himself. They begin a friendship with the creatures and enjoy various adventures with them, though the story is not without strife as their mother’s recovery stalls.

My Neighbor Totoro was being developed by Miyazaki while his colleague Isao Takahata worked on Grave of the Fireflies – an equally impactful but far darker film produced by Studio Ghibli. Totoro was also some of the earliest work that artist Kazuo Oga did for Studio Ghibli, and his distinct style became associated with the studio at large.

The film was critically acclaimed upon its original release, winning the Animage Anime Grand Prix Prize and the Mainichi Film Award in 1988. It was translated and dubbed twice for English audiences, once in 1993 by Fox Video/Streamline Pictures and again in 2005 by Disney; the Disney dub is generally considered the better of the two.

While Miyazaki had already established himself in animation directing at that point with his previous works such as The Castle of Cagliostro and Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, it was Totoro that really put his name up as one to pay attention to. Meanwhile, Totoro himself went on to become one of the most recognizable mascot characters in Japan, and he’s made numerous cameos in other Ghibli films as well as in other animated features such as Toy Story 3.