Most of the events of My Neighbor Totoro happen because Satsuki and Mei's mother is at the hospital, but it's never really explained why she's there. The sisters catch sight of a magical world when they move to an old house near a hospital where their mother is recovering from a long illness. In their new home in the isolated countryside, Satsuki and Mei find comfort in the mythical forest creatures, including Totoro, a kind and big woodland spirit that resembles a large rabbit. My Neighbor Totoro blends magical realism into a sweet hand-drawn animation style that is easy to fall in love with as it brings elements of Japanese folklore to life.
Director Hayao Miyazaki found the inspiration to create this early Studio Ghibli movie after a fantastic visit to rural Japan, bewildered at the beauty of the nature that surrounded him. My Neighbor Totoro perfectly represents those real natural landscapes while also brimming with heartwarming symbolism, starting with Satsuki and Mei's mother's condition, which is never clearly explained.
Yasuko's Illness Could Be Several Things
Yasuko, Satsuki and Mei's mother, is only seen a couple of times in My Neighbor Totoro. She's recovering from a long illness, and despite showing signs of improvement, her condition goes through a series of setbacks throughout the movie's story. That is why the father, Tatsuo, wants to move close to her. Her condition is never clarified, but it's possible to draw a few conclusions from the clues provided by the movie.
One of Studio Ghibli's best movies, My Neighbor Totoro is notable for its period setting. The movie takes place in 1958, a time when tuberculosis was still in the process of being eradicated. Considering Yasuko's exhaustion and numbness and the layout of her room, consisting of other patients who seem to be in the same state, it looks like a tuberculosis ward. However, clear symptoms are never shown. My Neighbor Totoro could be an autobiographical movie by Hayao Miyazaki: during his childhood, he and his brothers witnessed their mother go through a long treatment for spinal tuberculosis, which lasted nine years, and sent her to the hospital multiple times.
Her Illness Changes Things For Satsuki & Mei
While My Neighbor Totoro is a lighthearted movie and deals with its heavier themes subtly, there's a sad truth about the movie: Totoro and the other spirits being among Studio Ghibli's creatures too cute to take seriously seems to be part of Satsuki and Mei's coping mechanism. In order to maintain their optimism in the face of Yasuko's complications and the postponement of their visit, they time with fantastical friends who may be imaginary. Another theory is the forest spirits are real and come to the sisters' aid to distract them, but it's reasonable that Satsuki and Mei are just trying to postpone having to confront bad news.
