Talk:My Neighbor Totoro/Archive 1

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Contents

Need more on the catbus

Needs more about the Cat Bus, the enchanting music, the village -- and Totoro --edit made prior to February 2002 conversion, original editor and date unknown.

Needs work. The current disctription has problems relating to the dumbing down of translation in the Carl Maeck dub that is on the US VHS of this film... Will fix at a later date... -AW --edit made prior to February 2002 conversion, original date unknown.

Grave

About Totoro and Grave of the Fireflies: It is well-known that the two films were produced and screened together, but has anyone else noticed that they are in many aspects mirror images of each other? There are many elements in Totoro that are mirrored in Grave of the Fireflies in a negative form, most notably the black "dust bunnies" echoing the fireflies/firebombs. Both films are broadly about siblings separated from their parents, the younger one running around and the older trying to care. There is also the postman (Totoro)/policeman (Fireflies) connection, and more. I would really like to discuss this with somebody. --Black Phoenix 06:39, 8 Mar 2004 (UTC)

Roger Ebert mentions Grave of the Fireflies in his wonderful review of Totoro. I should rent that one. He goes on to say about Totoro that "Here is a children's film made for the world we should live in, rather than the one we occupy. A film with no villains. No fight scenes. No evil adults. No fighting between the two kids. No scary monsters. No darkness before the dawn. A world that is benign. A world where if you meet a strange towering creature in the forest, you curl up on its tummy and have a nap." I need to figure out a way to paraphrase that. Screetchy cello 06:58, Jun 13, 2004 (UTC)

Why not cite it? Brutannica 10:09, 26 February 2007 (UTC)

What is totoro?

There has been some talk going around suggesting that Totoro is a chinchilla. Can anyone verify or address this? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.160.232.253 (talk • contribs) December 2004

is that some kind of corollary to the Chewbacca Defense? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Binkymagnus (talk • contribs) 24 December 2005

Totoro is a totoro, i've heard it refered to as a mouse and an owl...and on numerous occations a cat, but i think he is just a thing on his own. Fitandhappy

The Totoro seem take on different animal aspects depending on what they are doing. They are clearly owl like when they are sitting at the top of the tree (they even make hooting noises using some kind of wind instrument) but they are very much like rabbits on the ground (the small white one disapears down a hole when being chased) and the large totoro seems quite like a bear when it is asleep or tired. --DanielRigal 18:40, 12 August 2006 (UTC)
There really is an animal related to totoro, i think it is a combination of mouse and hamster... i only know it chinese name is 龙猫 (long mao), but i could not find an article for it... Ragnaroknike 14:52, 6 March 2007 (UTC)

Voice actors

Should the differences with voice actors between the Fox and Disney release be noted? JEmfinger 21:28, August 27, 2005 (UTC) COMMENT: similar to this, differences between the Japanese and American DVDs should be noted, in particular that the Japanese version has, but the other lacks: 1) extras DVD 2) English literal subtitles (different from English subtitles). Santaduck 08:19, 26 December 2005 (UTC)

Disney DVD release

Will Disney DVD rlease of the film ever include both Japanese and English language tracks, including both English versions of the film, with Disney dialouge and original theatrical dialouge? I haven't seen the original English dub. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.74.3.152 (talk • contribs) 4 February 2006

Totoro names

Where in the movie are the smaller totoros named? Nareek 18:42, 1 March 2006 (UTC)

I think they're only mentioned in books and promotional materials, not in the movie. TCC (talk) (contribs) 22:51, 8 March 2006 (UTC)
That's what I thought--I did a search through the transcripts and couldn't find them in dialogue. Nareek 00:42, 9 March 2006 (UTC)
I thought perhaps that Mei might have used those words when she's first describing the Totoros to Satsuke and her father since the dialogue in the Fox dub is suggestive of that, but the more literal Japanese translation shows that she only says "so big" accompanying her gestures until she gets to Ō-Totoro. And even then I'm not too sure what word she's using. I obviously have to get the Disney release and watch it subtitled...TCC (talk) (contribs) 00:56, 9 March 2006 (UTC)

Catbus

Per Talk:Catbus, the Catbus does not fade away like the Cheshire Cat, but uniformly. TCC (talk) (contribs) 22:43, 20 March 2006 (UTC)

Even so, I think this is one of at least two seemingly deliberate references to Alice In Wonderland in the movie. The Catbus has a very wide grin and a face similar to Disney's Cheshire Cat. The smallest totoro is white and rabbit like. Mei follows it and falls down a large hole deep hole. This closely mirrors Alice's inital entry into wonderland following the white rabbit. --DanielRigal 18:54, 12 August 2006 (UTC)
The problem with responding to months-old comments is that you've lost context. At the time, there was a claim in the article that the Catbus faded away in a manner identical to the Cheshire Cat. He didn't. That was all.
As for comparisons to Alice -- add all you like if you can find references. We cannot engage in original critical analysis here. TCC (talk) (contribs) 23:36, 12 August 2006 (UTC)
Do we really need the link to the transit system at the top of this page? Is anyone really going to accidentally come to "My Neighbor Totoro" when they really mean to find a transit system (which may happen to be called the CAT bus)? Geoffreynham 00:45, 9 December 2006 (UTC)
Sheesh, when did that get there? It's reasonable to put that hatnote on Catbus, but it's just silly here. TCC (talk) (contribs) 02:14, 9 December 2006 (UTC)

Totoro's roar

I've only heard the Fox dub, but I suspect it's the same sound effect as on the Japanese version. If so, I think getting "Totoro" ought of the roar requires a lot of interpretation. (I've seen the movie well over a dozen times--I've never been able to say for sure what he's saying.) I would support the "decides" language over attributing the word "totoro" to Totoro. Nareek 14:46, 14 April 2006 (UTC)

The tri-syllabic roar could be construed as "totoro". How about saying that she thinks he called himself that? Finite 15:23, 14 April 2006 (UTC)
Because it's wrong. Mei hears the roar not as totoro but as tororo -- the Japanese rendering of "troll". I thought this could be heard very clearly in the Fox dub; I haven't heard the original track often enough to recall clearly. (My kid insists on English.) "Totoro" is her habitual mispronunciation of this word. This is probably why, when Satsuki asks O-Totoro at the bus stop if he's "Totoro", she gets a "meh, good enough" kind of reaction from him.
The trolls in question are from the Three Billy Goats Gruff, which the girls' mother is reading to them at one point during the end sequence. The troll illustrations on the book cover look a lot like the Totoros.
I grant that Disney may have made it sound much more like "totoro" than it had in any previous vocal. TCC (talk) (contribs) 20:12, 14 April 2006 (UTC)
I have no problem with a longer explanation for the tororo-totoro business. Finite 21:13, 14 April 2006 (UTC)
Yes, I think Totoro's "name" is a significant enough piece of the movie and is confusing enough that it could warrant its own section. — Saxifrage ✎ 21:39, 14 April 2006 (UTC)
I wouldn't mind writing it, but first I need to watch the original version of that scene to make sure it sounds like what I remember, and I don't know when I'll have time to do that. TCC (talk) (contribs) 21:54, 14 April 2006 (UTC)
If you would write the substantial portion of the section here before it goes into the article, I can do the necessary ear-test to confirm it. I have all three versions (plus the French one!) right here and can do that over the weekend at some point. If not, well... the article's not going anywhere and this can certainly wait a little longer. — Saxifrage ✎ 22:10, 14 April 2006 (UTC)
OK, the Japanese track has an indistinct roar that sounds for all the world like "Ro-ro-rō" to me. (Maybe Totoro attended the Scooby-Doo school of diction.) Fox clearly redubbed it along with the other voices, but didn't change it much otherwise as far as I could tell. Disney made it sound like "Totoro" in their English dub. I didn't listen to the French dub. So how's this?
When Mei first encounters Ō-Totoro in his lair and asks his name, he replies in an indistinct tri-syllabic roar. She evidently hears it as "Tororo", the Japanese rendering of "troll", which she repeats as "Totoro", her habitual mispronunciation of this word. The trolls with which she is familiar are those from the Three Billy Goats Gruff, which the girls' mother is pictured as reading to them in the end sequence and which features an illustration of a very Totoro-like troll on the cover.
When Mei reports this encounter to her father and sister, Satsuki asks, "Totoro? You mean tororo [troll] that was in the picture book?" which makes it clear to a Japanese audience what word Mei is mispronouncing. It is less clear to other audiences. Different dubs have presented it differently. In the Fox version, the roar remains indistinct, and "Totoro" is accepted by Satsuki without explanation, her line altered to confirm that Totoro is "like in our picture book". Disney chose to redub the roar so that it sounds much more like "Totoro".
Obviously some cites are needed here. The fact about Mei's mispronuncuation of "Tororo" can probably be sourced at [1] or some other fansite. I got the literal translation of Satsuki's line from here. I quoted the Fox version of Satsuki's line from memory because I didn't feel like fast-forwarding through the tape, so please correct if you know differently. You also might want to edit to take the French dub into consideration, if you've listened to it. TCC (talk) (contribs) 06:36, 16 April 2006 (UTC)
I have the original Japanese version as well (and much prefer to watch that over either the Fox or Disney translations), and I've always heard Totoro's indistinct roars as "Toh...doh...RAAAAOOOOOHHH" - the second time he does it, it's much more subdued. Basically, the first syllable is clearly "Toh", but the second syllable is somewhere between "Toh" and "Roh" (hence my "doh") there. Given that, I think it's pretty easy to see how Mei could misinterpret it as "Totoro" rather than "Tororo". — KieferSkunk (talk) — 21:41, 2 October 2006 (UTC)

I just noticed over on the article about Wagyu that there is a kind of Japanese cattle called Tottori. Doesn't the Totoro's roar sound a bit like the lowing of a cow? And they are in a rural setting after all. Neoprote 21:08, 2 October 2006 (UTC)

If Totoro's roar was "Tororo", wouldnt the movie be called "My Neighbor Tororo"?Totoro Fan99 17:20, 14 February 2007

Note: "Troll" isn't "tororo" in Japanese; it's "torôru". --Bakuryuu 16:39, 2 May 2007 (UTC)