Miyazaki's Animism Abroad: The Reception of Japanese Religious Themes by American and German Audiences. This DVD release is the first version of the film in the US to include both Japanese and English language tracks. A Study of Japanese Animation as Translation: A Descriptive Analysis of Hayao Miyazaki and Other Anime Dubbed Into English. There's a World of books to choose from such as: Children's Books, Range includes Baby Books (0-3), Books for Toddlers (3-5), Early Readers (5-7), Childrens Story books (7-11), Young Teens (11-14), Young Adults (14-16) and Childrens Educational Books. The Financial Times recognized the character's appeal, commenting Totoro "is more genuinely loved than Mickey Mouse could hope to be in his wildest—not nearly so beautifully illustrated—fantasies".

Oga and Miyazaki debated the film's color palette; Oga wanted to paint black soil from Akita Prefecture and Miyazaki preferred the color of red soil from Kantō region.The soundtrack for My Neighbor Totoro was first released in Japan on May 1, 1988, by Tokuma Shoten, and includes the musical score used in the film, except for five vocal pieces that were performed by Azumi Inoue, including "Stroll", "A Lost Child", and "My Neighbor Totoro". These pictures are there, serving as a sort of anchor, to keep the fantasy and adventure very much grounded and alive inside the little readers' curious minds. However, complaints aside, more mature readers should be able to identify almost immediately the artsy and grandiloquent writing chops harnessed and displayed here sufficiently by Mrs. Don't get me wrong, there is that magical feel of adventure with Totoro and company but the struggles of country living, mixed with school, medical fees and work commutes plays out more strongly here.

The music for My Neighbor Totoro was composed by Joe Hisaishi, who previously collaborated with Miyazaki on the movies Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind and Castle in the Sky. Buena Vista Home Entertainment Japan (now Walt Disney Japan) reissued the VHS on June 27, 1997, as part of their series Ghibli ga Ippai.The girls are learning what its like to work hard like the country folk and Satsuki is becoming more of a big girl, helping her father keep up the house and cook food. He started his career in 1963 as an animator at the studio Toei Douga, and was subsequently involved in many early classics of Japanese animation. Disney's English-language dub premiered on October 23, 2005; it was screened at the 2005 Hollywood Film Festival. But when it all comes down to it the book was still kinda good, and it is still Totoro, so I can't help but like it.

Miyazaki said the film's opening sequence was not storyboarded; "The sequence was determined through permutations and combinations determined by the time sheets.My Neighbor Totoro was ranked third on the list of "Greatest Japanese Animated Films of All Time" by film magazine Kinema Junpo in 2009, 41st in Empire magazine's "The 100 Best Films of World Cinema" in 2010, second on a similar Empire list of best children's films, and number one in the greatest animated films in Time Out; a similar list by the editors ranked the film in third place. The first word that comes to mind when describing the books is magical; yes, as magical as the film. Tokuma later released another 176-page art book containing conceptual art from the film and interviews with production staff on July 15, 1988, and, in English translation, by Viz on November 8, 2005. Thirty years after its original release in Japan, My Neighbor Totoro received a Chinese theatrical release in December 2018.