My Neighbor Totoro - Ending Explained

The central, albeit gentle, climax of 'My Neighbor Totoro' is precipitated by a setback in the mother's recovery. A telegram arrives informing the family that they must cancel their planned weekend visit to the hospital. Satsuki, trying to be mature, internalizes her fear, but it manifests as frustration towards Mei. This leads to an argument, and a distraught Mei, believing that her offering of a fresh ear of corn will magically cure their mother, sets off for the hospital on foot.

When Mei's disappearance is discovered, the entire village joins in a frantic search. The tension peaks when a small sandal is found in a pond, raising the terrifying possibility that she has drowned. However, Satsuki confirms it is not Mei's. At her lowest point, having exhausted all real-world options, Satsuki runs to the great camphor tree and begs Totoro for help. This is the ultimate narrative turn, where the magical world becomes the explicit solution to a real-world crisis. Totoro responds with a mighty roar, summoning the Catbus. Satsuki boards the fantastical creature, which takes her directly to Mei, who is found safe but lost and crying. Reunited, the Catbus then transports them to the hospital. They perch in a tree outside their mother's window, where they see that she is well and laughing with their father. The 'setback' was only a minor cold. They leave the ear of corn on the windowsill, where their parents find it, and the mother remarks that she felt Satsuki and Mei smiling in the tree. The ending reveals that the magical adventure didn't solve the mother's underlying illness but it did resolve the immediate crisis and, more importantly, provided the children with the emotional reassurance and agency they needed to overcome their fear. The film concludes with scenes during the credits showing the mother returning home, signifying the family's happy reunion and the successful navigation of their period of hardship, aided by their mystical neighbor.

The most famous alternative interpretation of 'My Neighbor Totoro' is a dark fan theory suggesting that Totoro is a 'God of Death' (shinigami) and that the two sisters are actually dead or dying by the end of the film. Proponents of this theory point to several 'clues': the fact that the Catbus's destination sign changes to 'Mei' could be interpreted as her being a lost soul; a sandal found in a pond is initially thought to be Mei's, suggesting she drowned; and in the final scenes, the sisters appear to lack shadows. The theory often connects the story to the Sayama Incident, a real-life crime case involving the murder of two sisters.

However, Studio Ghibli has officially and emphatically debunked this theory. In a public statement, the studio confirmed that Totoro is not a God of Death and the girls are alive and well. They explained the lack of shadows in the final scene was a conscious artistic choice by the animation team, who decided that shadows were not stylistically necessary for that particular shot. The accepted and intended interpretation of the film is the one presented at face value: a heartwarming tale of children whose imaginative connection with benevolent nature spirits helps them through a difficult time.