The Forest Spirit

My Neighbor Totoro

6 May 2015 | From Lucia of Spain

POSTCROSSING SWAP (INSTAGRAM) | POSTCARD SENT FROM SPAIN

My Neighbor Totoro is a heartwarming, sentimental masterpiece that captures the simple grace of childhood. It is a 1988 Japanese animated fantasy film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki and produced by Studio Ghibli. It tells the story of the two young daughters (Satsuki and Mei) of a professor and their interactions with friendly wood spirits in postwar rural Japan.

'My Neighbor Totoro' has become one of the most beloved of all family films, and the film's central character, Totoro, is as famous among Japanese children as Winnie-the-Pooh is among British ones. They have become such Japanese cultural icons.

Miyazaki has said that Totoro is "not a spirit: he's only an animal. I believe he lives on acorns. He's supposedly the forest keeper, but that's only a half-baked idea, a rough approximation.