‘My Neighbor Totoro’ Storyboards Reveal Unseen Plots, Like How It Got Its Name
Image via IMDb
My Neighbor Totoro is one of the classic Studio Ghibli films. Now, fans can revel in some lesser-known details about the animated flick through its storyboards found in the 2010 book, My Neighbor Totoro (Studio Ghibli Storyboard Collection, Volume 3).
Some of the storyboards included written notes by the studio’s director and co-founder Hayao Miyazaki, adding another layer to the famous story of the beloved Totoro. SoraNews24 has pointed out some key facts in the storyboards that never made to the film. Here are some of them.
At the end of the movie, some eagle-eyed fans would have seen the characters, Satsuki and Kanta, mouthing some unheard dialogues.
According to the storyboard, Satsuki would tell Kanta, “Thank you Kan-chan,” for offering to help in the search for her younger sister Mei, who was presumed to be at the hospital with her mother.
Kanta would giggle and respond, “I got a flat tire so that I couldn’t make it to the hospital.”
Though the dialogue seems simple, it envelopes the characters’ chemistry and ties the knot of a loose plotline.
At the start of the film, Kanta and Satsuki had playful banter, where they mocked each other. However, Satsuki seemed to have developed a bond with Kanta, which was why, in the storyboard, she referred to him fondly as “Kanta-chan” instead of how she used to call him—“Kanta.”
Kanta also previously informed Satsuki to head home by promising her that he would go to the hospital to look for her missing younger sister Mei. However, Satsuki ended up seeking help from the big giant Totoro to find her sister.
It turns out that Kanta was unable to travel to the hospital because he had burst his bicycle’s tire. So, Kanta’s exchange with Satsuki at the end would’ve been important in narrating why he was nowhere to be seen when Satsuki found Mei.
If you look closely at the ending scene, you can even see Kanta’s damaged tire.
In the iconic scene, when Mei met Totoro for the first time, the creature would not speak to her, as it rested peacefully in the forest while she chatted away.
However, in the storyboard, Totoro actually had a conversation with Mei. In the film, Mei would ask, “Who are you? Are you a big dust bunny?” To which, Totoro yawned, making the sound “To-to-ro.”
In the storyboard, Totoro would reply, “‘I’m sleepy.” Mei then imitated Totoro’s yawn, and Totoro would ask, “Are you sleepy too?”
Mei then yelled out, “Totoro! You’re Totoro, aren’t you?” At this point, Totoro would have responded by saying, “I don’t know.”
In Miyazaki’s original vision, Totoro didn’t know what its name was or even understood the notion of a name. So, Mei gave the furry behemoth the name Totoro from the sound of its yawn.
Read more tidbits from the storyboards here.
my neighbor totoro / となりのトトロ (1988) dir. hayao miyazaki, cinematography by mark henley & hisao shirai
— mj (@emsbIunt) August 12, 2020
«i also believe that you met the king of the forest, mei, and meeting him is a sign of good luck. but there’s no guarantee that you’ll see him all the time.» pic.twitter.com/ve12J91m2i
look how tiny kanta riding that big bicycle just to help satsuki finds her sister omg it's adorable pic.twitter.com/T61pdLpEeV
— theia 🎭 (@chocolatyaa) May 20, 2016
[via SoraNews24, cover image via IMDb]
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