Studio Ghibli’s My Neighbor Totoro was first released in Japan in 1988. Hayao Miyazaki wrote and directed the film, which centers on sisters Satsuki and Mei after their family moves to the countryside.
The film was released as a double feature with Isao Takahata’s Grave of the Fireflies. That pairing gave audiences two very different stories about childhood and wartime-era Japan: My Neighbor Totoro is a gentle fantasy, while Grave of the Fireflies is a tragic historical drama.
Totoro became one of Studio Ghibli’s defining characters. The large forest spirit appears on the studio’s logo and is widely associated with Japanese animation around the world. The film’s setting draws on rural landscapes and childhood memories rather than following a conventional villain-driven plot. A common mix-up is placing the film’s release in 1986, the year Castle in the Sky was released; My Neighbor Totoro came two years later.