My Neighbour Totoro

YMA recommendation

	Approved as non-violent media, with caution. Distressing scenes; Supernatural themes
Most suitable age range: 5-7

Availability

Many items on the list of non-violent media may be available for either purchase or hire. Click here for some ideas of where to look for them.

About the movie

Synopsis

Satsuki and Mai are two young sisters who move house with their father, while their mother is sick in the hospital. The new house presents a few problems as it’s full of ‘soot sprites’ but when Mai falls down a hole and meets a large troll called Totoro, their life meets a new dimension.

Points to consider

Words of caution

There are several scary scenes in this film that might frighten younger children such as:

• the soot sprites that ‘live in old, empty houses’, come out of corners scaring the girls
• Totoro is a large rabbit-like creature but he roars quite fiercely
• a ‘cat bus’, which has many feet, appears in the night and Totoro gets onto it;
• Satsuki is worried that her mother is going to die
• Mei goes missing for several hours

There are some cultural aspects that children may find confusing such as

• the father takes a bath with the girls
• a teacher raps a student on the head with a book for not paying attention

Positive aspects

• fosters imagination and creativity
• introduces children to a different culture

Questions to ask

• Are the creatures in the movie real or ‘make-believe’?
• Do you think it’s strange that people in the movie talk about spirits as if they’re quite normal?
• What should Mei have done to get the corn to her mother instead of trying to walk to the hospital?