# My Neighbor Totoro (1988) Review: Wonder at a Child's Pace > My Neighbor Totoro is Hayao Miyazaki's gentle Studio Ghibli fantasy about two sisters, a country house and a giant forest spirit, a film of pure, unhurried wonder. Canonical: https://celluloidscore.com/reviews/my-neighbor-totoro-1988-review/ Published: 2026-07-23 Last updated: 2026-09-24 Author: Kaiser Khan — Founder & Editor Language: English Review basis: direct-viewing Spoilers: none Rating: 4/5 ## Verdict Yes. It is a warm, enchanting family film that captures childhood like few others, though its slight, episodic story may feel slow to viewers expecting adventure. ## Is My Neighbor Totoro worth watching? **Yes. My Neighbor Totoro is one of the gentlest and most enchanting family films ever made, a portrait of childhood wonder that works as well for adults as for small children.** Hayao Miyazaki builds the film from everyday moments, a new house, a rainy afternoon, a walk in the woods, and makes each one feel magical. The reservation is simply that it is slight: there is little conflict and no villain, and viewers expecting the adventure of later Studio Ghibli films may find its rhythm too relaxed. ## What is My Neighbor Totoro about? [My Neighbor Totoro](https://celluloidscore.com/movies/my-neighbor-totoro-1988/) follows two sisters, the responsible older girl Satsuki (voiced by Noriko Hidaka) and her boisterous little sister Mei (Chika Sakamoto), who move with their father (Shigesato Itoi) to an old house in the Japanese countryside. The move brings them closer to the hospital where their mother (Sumi Shimamoto) is recovering from a long illness. Exploring their new home and the fields and forests around it, the girls discover that the countryside is full of spirits. The largest of them, a huge, furry, sleepy creature Mei names Totoro (Hitoshi Takagi), lives inside an enormous camphor tree, and the sisters' encounters with him and his smaller companions bring magic into a period of worry and change. Miyazaki wrote and directed the film for Studio Ghibli. It is in Japanese, runs just 86 minutes, and was first released in 1988 on a double bill with Isao Takahata's Grave of the Fireflies. Totoro himself later became the studio's emblem. ## A world seen at a child's height What makes the film extraordinary is its patience. Miyazaki lets scenes unfold at the pace of children's attention: Mei chasing tiny creatures across the floorboards, the sisters shouting into a dusty house to scare away soot sprites, a bath with their father full of laughter. None of it advances a plot in any conventional sense, yet all of it builds a world that feels completely real. The rural setting, a Japan of rice paddies, dirt roads and wooden houses, is painted with astonishing care. The hand-drawn backgrounds are lush with greenery and weather, and the changes of light across a day or a storm give the film a tactile beauty that has hardly dated. ## Magic without menace Totoro is a brilliant creation because he is neither pet nor protector in any simple sense. He is enormous, strange and a little unknowable, and the film's most famous scene, the sisters waiting at a country bus stop in the rain when Totoro appears beside them, is a small masterpiece of timing and understatement. The Catbus, a grinning, many-legged vehicle, is equally unforgettable. Joe Hisaishi's score adds to the charm, moving between playful themes and quiet, wistful passages. Crucially, the film never turns the spirits into a source of danger. The fears it acknowledges are real ones, about illness and separation, and the magic offers comfort rather than escape. ## A small story by design The film's gentleness is also its limit for some audiences. The story is episodic, the stakes are modest for most of its running time, and older children raised on faster animation may grow restless. Adults who come to it expecting the scale of Spirited Away or Princess Mononoke should adjust their expectations. What it offers instead is atmosphere, observation and feeling, and on those terms it is almost flawless. ## Who should watch My Neighbor Totoro? It is ideal for young children, including those watching their first feature-length film, and for families who want something calm and kind. Adults who love animation, nature or stories about childhood will find plenty to admire. There is nothing frightening beyond a few moments of worry, and the short runtime suits even little viewers. If it charms you, explore more Studio Ghibli: - [Kiki's Delivery Service](https://celluloidscore.com/movies/kiki-s-delivery-service-2019/), another gentle Miyazaki story about a young girl finding her place in a new home. - [Spirited Away](https://celluloidscore.com/reviews/spirited-away-2001-review/), his richer, stranger journey into a spirit world, better suited to older children. - [Princess Mononoke](https://celluloidscore.com/reviews/princess-mononoke-1997-review/), a darker, more violent epic that shares Totoro's reverence for forests and nature spirits. ## The verdict My Neighbor Totoro is a quiet, luminous film that captures the texture of childhood with rare tenderness. Its slender story will not suit every viewer, but its beauty, warmth and sense of wonder make it one of animation's most enduring gifts. **Rating: 4/5** ## Related title - [My Neighbor Totoro (1988)](https://celluloidscore.com/movies/my-neighbor-totoro-1988/) ## Editorial - [Editorial standards](https://celluloidscore.com/about/editorial-policy/) - [Report a correction](https://celluloidscore.com/about/corrections/)