My Neighbor Totoro, a Hayao Mayazaki film by Studio Ghibli, centers on the story of two little girls who move to the country with their father in order to be closer to their mother, who is in hospital. From the moment they move into their new house the girls are pulled into a world of fantasy and wonder, meeting magical creatures and going on adventures.
This is one of Miyazaki's most mellow, purely feel-good films, remaining wholesome and featuring well-intentioned characters from beginning to end. There are many beautiful lines of dialogue to be experienced throughout the film, but here are the 10 best quotes to immerse you in the world of the fantastical creature Totoro, and his neighbors.
10 "It's Collapsing!" "It's Collapsing!"
Sisters Mei and Satsuki arrive at their new home and find that the front pillars of the porch are literally crumbling. They are not turned off by this, as would likely be expected of the children in most Disney movies--no, Miyazaki's protagonist children are multi-faceted, creative beings who always have a thrilling surprise up their sleeve. The girls are thrilled and amused by their new house, and run around doing cartwheels yawping of its state of near collapse.
9 "Normally You Can't See Soot Gremlins, But Every Once In A While When You Go From A Bright Place To A Dark One You Can Catch A Glimpse Of Them."
The girls open the back door to the house and witness hundreds of tiny black creatures scatter to the corners of the room, then disappear. When they call in their father to have him search for the creatures, he finds nothing. Once they explain to him what they saw, he at once understands, casually explaining what is commonly considered, in the real world, to be balls of dust that easily float when prodded by any moving air--but his description imparts a degree of whimsy and magic into the supposed "soot gremlins", or dust-bunnies, injected wonder into every-day banalities.
8 "Kanta Is Such A Dirty Kid, He Can Always Use A Good Drenching."
One could count this as both a great and terrible quote. The girls' new neighbors have a child, Kanta. He is very shy and will hardly speak to the girls, but we see him staring at Satsuki and clearly enthralled with her. One rainy day he insists they take his umbrella, and when they go to return it, apologizing to Kanta's mother for the fact that he likely got "drenched", this is her response. The honesty of the response is hilarious and surprising, typical Miyazaki style, but certainly not the sugar-coated way of speaking associated with "good" mothers in Disney and such other popular animation.
7 "Hide!...whoops. I Thought That Was A Policeman. Hello!"
This is another hilarious part of the film and one that opens us up to the tone of the movie in a short instance. The girls are driving with their dad on their way to their new home in the country, but they are tucked away beneath all of the furniture tied to the back of their vehicle.
They are perfectly cheerful to be doing so--another example of their endless amusement in all things strange and banal--but once Satsuki thinks she sees a police officer on the road she yells for Mei to hide. Realizing she was wrong, she reaches a hand out and waves at him--these characters are bright and quick, and friendly.
6 "We'll Have To Share Your Roof For A While, Sir, If You Don't Mind."
The girls are walking home and it begins to downpour. They step under a small roof covering a statue and immediately acknowledge entering a space that is not theirs, even if it is that of a statue and not a real person. There's some humor in this, but mostly sweetness and a note of genuine consideration. It's an example of children acting out good manners and mindfulness of those around them, as well as combining playfulness and lightness to less than preferable situations, such as being stuck in the rain.
5 "Try Laughing. Then Whatever Scares You Will Go Away."
Mei, Satsuki and their father are spending their first night in their new house. Throughout the moving-in process they came upon many spooky things, and now that they are gathered together having a bath they hear strange noises outside.
All freeze as if afraid, and then their father erupts in hysterical laughter. At first, it seems that maybe he is doing so as a result of some joke he played, but no--that's unlike the character, who is gentle and always a clear communicator with his children. Instead, he tells them to laugh along with him because it will help them to not feel overcome by fear.
4 "I Thought I Saw Satski And Mei Smiling At Us From Up In That Tree." "It Sounds Crazy, But Maybe You Did."
At the end of the film, the girls' mother who has been living in the hospital with illness throughout the movie, glimpses the girls sitting in the tree outside of her window. She says this to her husband, who is visiting her, and he responds with little surprise--he has been a believer in the spirit who lives in the woods, Totoro, since the moment Mei first told him that she saw Totoro.
3 "If The Soot Gremlins Decide You're Nice People, They Won't Harm You. And Eventually They'll Go Away."
The neighbor down the street, referred to as Granny, explains to the girls that soot gremlins often live in houses, and that it's nothing to be afraid of. As long as they think you're nice, they will move out. This is a lovely way of merging fantasy with reality, as it isn't clear in the film when grown-ups are playing along with the children or if they genuinely believe what they are saying. It's also nice to impart the message that someone is never the sole resident of a space, and that we must live amongst and consider other beings.
2 "You Must Have Seen One Of The Spirits Of The Forest, And That Means You're A Very Lucky Girl. You Can Only See The Spirits If They Want You To. Let's Go Give Them A Proper Greeting."
Mei and Satsuki's father listens to Mei's tale of having met the large, fluffy creature in the woods and followed him through a tree hole into his beautiful, mossy, butterfly-filled home. She insists to her father that she isn't lying, sure that he won't believe her. But he believes her at once, making no fuss over the matter and simply stating that they are going to go and say an official hello to the spirits of the forest, as if it's merely the polite thing to do, meeting new neighbors.
1 "Magnificent Tree. It's Been Around Since Long Ago, Back In The Time When People And Trees Used To Be Friends."
As made evident, some of the best quotes in the film come from Mei and Satsuki's father, Tatsuo. He is the glue that brings the whole film together, and what gives it an extra power beyond the pleasure of watching the children enthusiastically devour the world around them. Children's movies may feature children, but they are very much defined by the role of the parents within the narrative. Children look to their parents as an example, after all. In this quote, Tatsuo admires nature, acknowledges history, and asserts value on comradeship between humans and other species. Miyazaki has made a character that is a great example for children, in and out of the movie.
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