"Out of all the movies made by Ghibli, Totoro had the worst opening box office," Suzuki said in the anniversary DVD. My Neighbor Totoro didn't become a commercial success until it made its way to Japanese television, though. This idea was ultimately approved, and the two films premiered together in 1988. The latter film was being backed by publisher Shinchosha, which at the time was more established than Tokuma Shoten, the publisher that funded My Neighbor Totoro. In order to win over financiers, Suzuki suggested that My Neighbor Totoro be shown alongside another Studio Ghibli film- Grave of the Fireflies-as a double feature.
Also, I wanted to prove that a movie like this could be successful.” I wanted my movie to be peaceful, tranquil, and innocent. "Entertainment back then was all about guns, action, and speed.
"Back then, a story without a hero or a girl with superpowers, and the ordinary Japanese scenery as a backdrop, was not considered entertaining enough," Miyazaki said in an interview featured in the 30th anniversary edition Blu-ray. Miyazaki's previous feature films were set in fictional or unidentified places, and My Neighbor Totoro was the first one to take place in Japan. The setting-rural Japan in the 1950s-was also problematic. “Distributors simply didn’t believe there was an audience for a story about two little girls and a monster in modern Japan.” Miyazaki and producer Toshio Suzuki tried again in 1987, but the financiers and distribution executives “didn’t think the furry giant could take off, literally or figuratively,” wrote Maureen Furniss in Animation: Art and Industry. However, Miyazaki was still making a name for himself back in the early '80s, and his initial pitch for My Neighbor Totoro was rejected by the Tokuma Shoten Publishing Co. Hayao Miyazaki has been called the “Walt Disney of Japan” for his impressive oeuvre, which includes Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989), Princess Mononoke (1997), and Academy Award-winning Spirited Away (2001). THE IDEA FOR THE FILM WAS INITIALLY REJECTED. It also received the Special Award at the Blue Ribbon Awards in the same year. The film won the Animage Anime Grand Prix prize and the Mainichi Film Award and Kinema Junpo Award for Best Film in 1988. The film-which stars the voice actors Noriko Hidaka, Chika Sakamoto, and Hitoshi Takagi-tells the story of a professor's two young daughters (Satsuki and Mei) and their interactions with friendly wood spirits in post-war rural Japan. Please contact us if you have any questions about a comment or the Guidelines.My Neighbor Totoro is a 1988 Japanese animated fantasy film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki and animated by Studio Ghibli for Tokuma Shoten. These guidelines may be revised at any time without prior notice. Comments may be anonymously quoted for promotional purposes.Include information about shipping, delivery, customs issues, or customer service experiences.Attack other users or become overly argumentative.Include information that could become outdated, such as references to limited-time campaigns.Include information about other websites, stores, or sales.Include personal information, such as phone numbers, addresses, URLs, or email addresses.Use any language that others might find disturbing or NSFW language.Use profanity, derogatory comments, or violent language.Write information unrelated to the product.Compose the majority of your comment in non-English characters.Comment removal is at the sole discretion of TOM. If you have an inquiry related to the TOM Shop rather than purely about the product, please contact us through the contact form.Ĭomments that are not in accordance with the Guidelines and/or that violate TOM’s Terms of Use and/or other policies are eligible to be reported or removed. Important: Note that while this section will be somewhat monitored, personal topics related to your own orders, customer support related issues, and requests related to sales and promotion of the item are not guaranteed to be answered in a timely fashion by TOM staff.
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