Studio Ghibli Series: My Neighbor Totoro Amigurumi

If you follow me on Instagram, you will most likely already know that I’m a huge fan of Studio Ghibli movies. Like most Japanese kids, I grew up watching them. I’ve crocheted a handful of characters already so I thought it’s the right time to start publishing them here.

Starting with the most iconic Studio Ghibli characters of all: Totoro (トトロ)!

My Neighbor Totoro (となりのトトロ) was actually released as a double bill with Grave of the Fireflies (火垂るの墓) in 1988. It played in movie theatres immediately after one of the most heartbreaking films of all time. (The semi-autobiographical story’s ending of the 2 siblings starving to death is foreshadowed right from the start.) You get major emotional whiplash during the double feature.

The big one stands about 33cm tall and the small one is 15cm.

Anyway, did you know that “Totoro” is a troll? Mei, the younger sister, mispronounces the Japanese word for troll as “totoro”. In Japanese, “troll” is “torōru” (トロール) but Mei mixed up the sounds and ends up saying “Totoro” (トトロ) instead. Satsuki, her older sister, asks if she’s referring to the troll in one of their storybooks, and Mei nods.

The trio 🌱

The trio of Totoro is action figure-sized. The tiny white Chibi Totoro stands just 3cm tall. They’re made with 100% mercerized cotton thread, my crocheting material of choice.

Everything is free-handed with the help of reference photos. Hope you enjoy them!

2 Comments

  1. Sal

    Oh, wow! This is so pretty! The attention to detail is incredible to me (I tried to learn to crochet long ago & failed). The first time I heard of Totoro was on YouTube (a dermatologist had a Totoro mug), but I always assumed it was from an Anime. I didn’t know it was from a classic children’s movie.

    1. G. Haruka

      Thank you! You’re not wrong since the Japanese word, anime, just means animation regardless of style or origin. So Disney films and The Simpsons series are all considered anime in Japan.

Leave a Reply