My Neighbor Totoro is often seen as having environmental themes, but it never directly calls for environmental action. Totoro, a friendly but mysterious forest creature, has become something of a symbol for natural balance. But does Totoro really promote environmental awareness, or does it merely paint nature in an idealized light without urging real-world action? By looking at the film through ideas like environmentalism, broader ecological philosophy, and discussions of cultural ecology, we can better see how it creates this subtle push-pull between how people see nature and how nature actually exists.
That is, Stibbe (2008) criticizes standard environmental education for focusing too much on large, global problems and technological solutions, while ignoring local ecosystems and real-life experiences. Stibbe suggests Totoro flips this narrow approach by immersing viewers in the sensory richness of rural Japan, celebrating direct interaction with nature itself.
From the perspective of broader ecological philosophy (Naess, 2019), Totoro presents a different worldview where nature isn’t just there for human use but forms a connected system with its own inherent value—to put it simply, everything has worth beyond human use. This philosophy challenges human-centered views and argues that we should no longer view nature as a separate resource, but rather as something that exists within us. In Totoro, nature feels alive, responsive, and independent: the character Totoro does not exist to help humans, but lives on his own terms, emphasizing that nature operates outside of human goals.
However, Totoro also exists within a capitalist system of environmental aesthetics, whereby nature is commodified into a pastoral ideal (Ivy, 2010). The fact that Totoro's cultural presence is so ubiquitous, as a plush toy, corporate mascot, and symbol of Studio Ghibli’s brand—raises questions about the manner in which environmental messages can become compromised when nature is commercialized.
Totoro invites spectators to reflect on their own relationship to the natural world, fostering a sort of environmental awareness that is effective rather than didactic. Whether this aestheticized vision of nature can be translated into actual environmental activism remains to be seen.