Editing My Neighbor Totoro (section)

== Plot ==
<!-- Per WP:FILMPLOT, plot summaries for feature films should be between 400 to 700 words. Please check the word count before making any additions. Please discuss any major changes on the talk page. -->In 1950s Japan, university professor Tatsuo Kusakabe and his daughters Satsuki and Mei (approximately ten and four years old, respectively) move into an old house close to the hospital where the girls' mother, Yasuko, is recovering from a long-term illness. The house is inhabited by small, dark, dust-like [[house spirits]] called ''[[susuwatari]]'' that can be seen when moving from bright places to dark ones.{{efn|The spirits are called "black soots" in early subtitles and "soot sprites" in the later English-dubbed versions.|group=lower-alpha}} The ''susuwatari'' leave to find another empty house. Mei discovers two small spirits that lead her into the hollow of a large [[Cinnamomum camphora|camphor tree]]. She befriends a larger spirit, which identifies itself using a series of roars that she interprets as "Totoro". Mei thinks Totoro is the [[troll]] from her illustrated book ''[[Three Billy Goats Gruff]]''. She falls asleep atop Totoro but when Satsuki finds her, she is on the ground. Despite many attempts, Mei cannot show her family Totoro's tree. Tatsuo comforts her, saying Totoro will reveal himself when he wants to.

The girls wait for Tatsuo's bus, which is late. Mei falls asleep on Satsuki's back and Totoro appears beside them, allowing Satsuki to see him for the first time. Totoro has only a leaf on his head for protection against the rain, prompting Satsuki to offer her umbrella to him. Delighted, he gives her a bundle of nuts and seeds in return. A giant, bus-shaped cat ([[Catbus]]) arrives; Totoro boards it and leaves. A few days after planting the seeds, the girls awaken at midnight to find Totoro and his fellow spirits engaged in a [[ceremonial dance]] around the planted seeds. They join in, causing the seeds to grow into an enormous tree. Totoro takes the girls for a ride on a magical flying [[Spinning top|top]]. In the morning, the tree is gone but the seeds have sprouted.

The girls discover that a planned visit by their mother has been postponed because of a setback in her treatment. Mei is upset and argues with Satsuki. She leaves for the hospital to take fresh corn to their mother, but gets lost on the way. Mei's disappearance prompts Satsuki and the neighbors to search for her, thinking that Mei has died. In desperation, Satsuki pleads for Totoro's help. Totoro summons the Catbus, which carries Satsuki to Mei's location, and the sisters reunite. The bus then takes them to the hospital, where the girls learn that their mother has been kept in the hospital by a minor cold but is otherwise recovering well. The girls secretly leave the ear of corn on the windowsill, where their parents discover it.

Eventually, their mother returns home and the girls play with other children while Totoro and his friends watch from afar.