Background and Trivia |
- Tokuma Shoten submitted the film to the US copyright office on September 20th, 1993 with the registration number of PA0000677930. This registration contained the international title, My Neighbor Totoro, and the Romaji title, Tonari no Totoro.
- Theatrically it was double billed with Tombstone for Fireflies (1988) in Japan.
- Director Hayao Miyazaki laments that it took 15 years to get the project off the ground, and the concept was originally envisioned as a storybook rather than an animated feature. Noted in the Behind the Studio features found on home video releases in the US starting in 2010.
- Oddly, some of the posters for the movie display the Daiei logo. This is due to Tokuma Shoten, who jointly produced My Neighbor Totoro and at the time also owned Studio Ghibli. In 1974 Tokuma Shoten purchased then troubled studio Daiei, meaning it was a brand under their control. Following this, the publishing company would sometimes place the Daiei logo on their movie productions even if they weren't directly involved. Another example of this is 1986's Castle in the Sky, also a Studio Ghibli film and released by Toei but has some posters with the Daiei logo.
- Director Hayao Miyazaki originally intended to introduce Totoro at the start of the film. When asking producer Toshio Suzuki about this, the producer resisted the idea, saying he wanted to tease the audience a little. In fact, he said it could work to show off the character later in the movie, around the halfway mark, using E.T. as the defense stating the movie took awhile to show off the alien. Miyazaki eventually agreed. Mentioned in the Behind the Studio features.
- For 10 years while the film was in development, there was only one main girl character. The director, however, felt focusing on two sisters would make the movie stronger and so another was added. Cited in the Behind the Studio features.
- Totoro's name comes from the name of the city of Tokorozawa. Noted in the Behind the Studio features.
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