Review - My Neighbor Totoro: 8 Reasons to Watch

Two sisters, an old house in the country, and a forest spirit who waits for the bus in the rain.

Words by Jamie Harper 10 November 2026

My Neighbor Totoro: the main characters

Two sisters, an old house in the country, and a forest spirit who waits for the bus in the rain.

My Neighbor Totoro is a film where almost nothing bad happens, and we think that is exactly why it is the most loved film Studio Ghibli ever made. Here are eight reasons, one on each slide.

Reason 1 - An old house and a summer in the country

Studio Ghibli: an old house and a summer in the country

Satsuki and her little sister Mei move with their father to an old house in the countryside, to be near the hospital where their mother is getting better.

The first minutes are just two girls running through a new house and shouting with joy, and it is enough.

Reason 2 - Soot sprites in the dark corners

Studio Ghibli: soot sprites in the dark corners

The house is full of tiny black soot sprites that scatter when the girls stomp in. Mei tries to catch one and gets black palms for her trouble.

It is the first hint that this countryside is full of things grown-ups no longer see.

Reason 3 - Two sisters who feel real

Studio Ghibli: two sisters who feel real

Satsuki is ten and tries hard to be the grown-up of the house. Mei is four and copies everything her big sister does.

Hayao Miyazaki writes children the way they really behave: loud, brave, stubborn and suddenly scared.

Reason 4 - Mei follows the little ones into the forest

Studio Ghibli: mei follows the little ones into the forest

One afternoon Mei spots two small spirits in the garden and chases them through a tunnel of bushes, all the way into a giant camphor tree.

Nothing in the film is ever explained, and nothing needs to be.

Reason 5 - A nap on Totoro

At the bottom of the tree Mei finds Totoro, huge, furry and fast asleep, and she climbs on his belly and asks his name.

That one scene made Totoro the face of the studio: he is in the Ghibli logo at the start of every film.

Reason 6 - The bus stop in the rain

Satsuki waits at a bus stop at night with Mei on her back, and a very large neighbor steps out of the dark to wait beside her.

She lends him an umbrella, and his roar when the raindrops hit it is the purest joy in animation.

Reason 7 - The Catbus

A twelve-legged cat that is also a bus, with glowing eyes for headlights and a sign that changes on its forehead.

It appears for less than ten minutes, and fans have loved it for nearly forty years.

Reason 8 - Where to start

Studio Ghibli released it in Japan in 1988, on a double bill with Grave of the Fireflies, and Joe Hisaishi wrote the songs the whole country still sings.

It runs under 90 minutes, so watch it with someone of any age. It is the film to show a child first, and the one adults return to.

Where to watch

Streaming catalogues for Studio Ghibli differ between the USA, the UK, Canada and Australia, and they change from month to month, so check the services you use.