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My Neighbor Totoro (1988)
My Neighbor Totoro is a 1988 Japanese animated fantasy film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki and animated by Studio Ghibli for Tokuma Shoten. It stars the voices of Noriko Hidaka, Chika Sakamoto and Hitoshi Takagi, and focuses on two young sisters who, after moving with their father to the countryside, experience interactions with friendly wood spirits in postwar Japan.
Directed by Hayao Miyazaki · Shot by Hisao Shirai · Cut by Takeshi Seyama · Music by Joe Hisaishi · 86 min
How it was made
- Art director Kazuo Oga and Miyazaki debated the film's soil colour at length: Oga wanted the black soil of Akita Prefecture, while Miyazaki preferred the red soil of the Kantō region.
- The film's rain effects were achieved by scratching directly into the animation cels and superimposing the scratches to give the rain a soft feel.
- Animators spent one month developing the film's tadpoles alone, using four separate colours and blurring the surrounding water.
- Eight animators worked on the film, completing it in eight months.
- Composer Joe Hisaishi used a Fairlight instrument alongside a hired orchestra for the score, drawing on the minimalism of Terry Riley, Philip Glass and Steve Reich.
Behind the scenes
Elsewhere
More by Hayao Miyazaki
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