What is Totoro?
I have been called many things from "a giant furry thing" to "a rabbit-like spirit". Some people who I will neglect to mention have even confused me with furbys. But I don't let it get me down, I am pretty easy-going. Basically, I am a spirit of the forest. I am not a traditional Japanese character: I came completely from Miyazaki's imagination. However, I am obviously a mixture of several animals: tanukis (the Japanese version of raccoons), cats (the pointed ears and the facial expressions), and owls (the chevron markings on their chests and the "ooo"-ing sound they make with their ocarinas at night).
My name "Totoro" comes from Mei mispronouncing (she has a tendency to do so) the word "tororu", which is the Japanese word for "troll". When Satsuki asks her "Totoro? You mean, the Troll in our book?" she is referring to their book "Three Mountain Goats" (The Three Billy Goats Gruff). In the closing credits you can see their mother reading the book to them. Although it's hard to see it on the tape, in the picture book for the movie you can see the picture on the cover shows a goat running over a bridge while a Totoro-like troll looks up from underneath the bridge.
Are the little ones also Totoros?
Yes. They are:
* Big Totoro (gray) Oh-Totoro (ME)
* Medium Totoro (blue) Chuu-Totoro
* Little Totoro (white) Chibi-Totoro
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"Oh" means "large" in Japanese, but Oh-Totoro has been translated as "King Totoro" in the U.S. "Chuu" and "Chibi" mean "medium" and "small", respectively. However, when people say "Totoro", they are usually referring to Oh-Totoro.
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Visit these sites for more information!:
♥Studio Ghibli company page (in Japanese)
♥Studio Ghibli Online!
♥internet movie database
♥miyazaki fansite (nausicaa.net)
♥totoro fansite (wingsee.com)
♥nekobus-stop
♥totoro organization
♥totoro movie backstory info
♥totoro kingdom
