what sticks with the viewer is the every-kid credibility of the girls' actions as they work, play and settle into their new surroundings". My Neighbor Totoro received numerous awards, including the Animage Anime Grand Prix prize, the Mainichi Film Award, and Kinema Junpo Award for Best Film in 1988.

The film and its titular character have become cultural icons, and made multiple cameo appearances in other films. The rights to this dub expired in 2004, so Walt Disney Home Entertainment re-released the film on March 7, 2006 with a new dub cast. Stephen Holden of The New York Times described the 1993 translation as "very visually handsome", and said the film is "very charming" when "dispensing enchantment". In 2023, the film was re-released in 970 United States locations as part of celebrations to mark the 35th anniversary of its first theatrical release, [36] with showings in both Japanese with English subtitles and with the English dub. This was sweet as a novelisation of one of my favourite childhood movies but also fantastic as a middle grade novel in its own right.My Neighbor Totoro follows Satsuki and her little sister Mei as they move into an old, dilapidated house in the middle of the countryside so that they can be near the hospital where there mother is sick with TB. Soon, Satsuki and Mei discover Totoro, a magical forest spirit who takes them on fantastic adventures through the trees and the clouds--and teaches them a lesson about trusting one another.

This edition features original illustrations by Miyazaki himself, accompanying a story by veteran children's author Tsugiko Kubo. My Neighbor Totoro ( Japanese: となりのトトロ, Hepburn: Tonari no Totoro) is a 1988 Japanese animated fantasy film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki and animated by Studio Ghibli for Tokuma Shoten. My Neighbor Totoro is a movie novelization of the eponymous iconic animated feature film, which stems from the creative imagination of a Japanese master animator, Hayao Miyazaki. Despite the highlights, Holden wrote "too much of the film, however, is taken up with stiff, mechanical chitchat".A 111-page picture book based on the film and aimed at young children was released by Tokuma on June 28, 1988, and, in a 112-page English translation, by Viz on November 8, 2005.

Miyazaki said the film's opening sequence was not storyboarded; "The sequence was determined through permutations and combinations determined by the time sheets.In the growing absence of the father, the book candidly showed the bond within small Asian countryside communities where neighbors look after each. The book itself is a beautifully presented hardback, and scattered throughout are gorgeous illustrations, that I think really add to the overall experience. Oga and Miyazaki debated the film's color palette; Oga wanted to paint black soil from Akita Prefecture and Miyazaki preferred the color of red soil from Kantō region.

To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average.The Financial Times recognized the character's appeal, commenting Totoro "is more genuinely loved than Mickey Mouse could hope to be in his wildest—not nearly so beautifully illustrated—fantasies". Besides, when one gets his momentum going, these disparities are often forgotten, or at least set aside. Tokuma later released another 176-page art book containing conceptual art from the film and interviews with production staff on July 15, 1988, and, in English translation, by Viz on November 8, 2005.