How did Totoro get his name?

Mei mispronounced the Japanese word for troll

Why is the girls' mother away?

She is in a hospital recovering from illness

My Neighbor Totoro Quiz: Forest Spirits and the Catbus

Two sisters move to an old country house and meet a giant, sleepy creature in a camphor tree, and this My Neighbor Totoro quiz returns to Hayao Miyazaki's 1988 classic. Play 10 interactive questions on Satsuki and Mei, the Catbus, soot sprites, the rainy bus stop, Chu and Chibi Totoro, Joe Hisaishi's music and the real Totoro Forest.

Start My Neighbor Totoro Quiz

🎯 Daily Trivia Challenge • 🧠 10 Questions • ⏱️ 150 Seconds

Question 1 / 10 Time: 150s

Sisters
What are the names of the two sisters?
Name
How did Totoro get his name?
Tree
Which kind of giant tree does Totoro live in?
Catbus
How many legs does the Catbus have?
Soot
What are the small black creatures in the old house?
Bus stop
What does Satsuki lend Totoro at the rainy bus stop?
Small
What are the two smaller Totoros called?
Mother
Why is the girls' mother away?
Double
Which film was released alongside Totoro as a double feature in 1988?
Forest
Which real area inspired Totoro's countryside and is now protected as Totoro Forest?

Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions

Q1: What are the names of the two sisters?
Answer: Satsuki and Mei
Satsuki is about ten and Mei about four.
Q2: How did Totoro get his name?
Answer: Mei mispronounced the Japanese word for troll
Mei turns tororu, from a picture book troll, into Totoro.
Q3: Which kind of giant tree does Totoro live in?
Answer: A camphor tree
The huge tree near the house is sacred, marked with a rope.
Q4: How many legs does the Catbus have?
Answer: Twelve
The grinning Catbus runs across fields and power lines.
Q5: What are the small black creatures in the old house?
Answer: Soot sprites
Soot sprites, or susuwatari, also appear in Spirited Away.
Q6: What does Satsuki lend Totoro at the rainy bus stop?
Answer: Her father's umbrella
Totoro delights in the sound of raindrops on the umbrella.
Q7: What are the two smaller Totoros called?
Answer: Chu Totoro and Chibi Totoro
The blue one is medium-sized and the white one tiny.
Q8: Why is the girls' mother away?
Answer: She is in a hospital recovering from illness
Her illness quietly shapes the girls' worries.
Q9: Which film was released alongside Totoro as a double feature in 1988?
Answer: Grave of the Fireflies
The pairing of a gentle fantasy and a war drama is famous.
Q10: Which real area inspired Totoro's countryside and is now protected as Totoro Forest?
Answer: The Sayama Hills
Conservation groups buy land there to protect the woods.

My Neighbor Totoro Quiz – A Gentle Forest Spirit

My Neighbor Totoro, released by Studio Ghibli in 1988 and directed by Hayao Miyazaki, follows sisters Satsuki and Mei, who move to the countryside with their father while their mother recovers in a hospital.

In the old house they find soot sprites, and in a camphor tree Mei discovers Totoro, a giant forest spirit whose name comes from her mispronunciation of troll. Smaller Chu and Chibi Totoros, a 12-legged Catbus and a rainy bus stop scene became iconic.

The film was first released as a double feature with Grave of the Fireflies. Joe Hisaishi composed the music, Totoro became Studio Ghibli's logo and the Sayama Hills that inspired the setting are protected as Totoro Forest.

What This Quiz Teaches

Animation fans and families will enjoy these questions.

Who the sisters are
How Totoro got his name
What the Catbus is
Which scenes became famous
Where the setting came from

Did You Know?

The Ghibli Museum has a giant Catbus for children.
Totoro appears briefly in Toy Story 3.
Mei plants seeds that Totoro helps grow overnight.
The father is an archaeology researcher.
Ghibli Park includes a full-size version of the house.