You Love This Hayao Miyazaki Classic — But Forgot Elle Fanning Starred in It
Elle Fanning may be dominating headlines with Predator: Badlands, but a forgotten chapter of her early career is resurfacing: in 2005, she and sister Dakota played two overlooked roles in one of Hayao Miyazaki’s most beloved films. Fans are revisiting the sibling duo’s deep-cut credits as her latest project trends.
While everyone is busy talking about Elle Fanning and Predator: Badlands, here is a fun rewind: before the Disney castles and prestige TV, Elle and her sister Dakota quietly anchored the 2005 English dub of one of Hayao Miyazaki's most loved films. If you ever watched My Neighbor Totoro in English in the mid-2000s, you were basically hanging out with the Fanning sisters the whole time.
The Fannings in Totoro, before Totoro was Totoro (in the West)
In Disney's 2005 English-language dub of My Neighbor Totoro, Elle Fanning voiced Mei, the pint-sized chaos agent who befriends forest spirits, while Dakota Fanning voiced Satsuki, Mei's big sister and resident emergency contact. The original film is a 1988 classic from director Hayao Miyazaki, runs a brisk 1 hour 26 minutes, and sits at a 94% on Rotten Tomatoes. Totoro later became the literal mascot of Studio Ghibli, but the Fanning-led dub helped it reach a whole new audience.
Elle Fanning's low-key run as an animation regular
People tend to think of Elle's career in terms of Maleficent, The Great, and now Predator: Badlands, but she logged some solid voice work along the way. Exhibit A:
- 2005: My Neighbor Totoro (English dub) — Mei Kusakabe
- 2009: Astro Boy — Grace, in the CG feature based on the classic manga/anime
- 2014: The Boxtrolls — Winnie Portley-Rind, in Laika's stop-motion film that went on to score a 2015 Oscar nomination
- 2016: Ballerina (aka Leap! in some regions) — Felicie, the lead
Point is, long before the live-action spotlight, Elle had already built a sturdy foundation in animation.
Totoro's bumpy start (and very quick redemption arc)
Here is the part that always surprises people: Totoro did not launch as a hit. In 1988, producer Toshio Suzuki paired it as a double feature with Grave of the Fireflies to help secure support and get butts in seats. Even with that clever two-for-one, Totoro's initial theatrical run was one of Studio Ghibli's weakest.
"Out of all the movies made by Ghibli, Totoro had the worst opening box office."
"A year later, it aired on TV. When it aired on NTV, the ratings went off the charts."
After that TV broadcast, the movie snowballed into a cultural staple. Totoro himself became Ghibli's mascot and popped up all over pop culture: South Park, The Powerpuff Girls, Bob's Burgers, and most famously as one of the toys in Toy Story 3. Not bad for a film that face-planted on opening weekend.
Where to watch
In the US, My Neighbor Totoro is streaming on Max (formerly HBO Max) and available to rent on Prime Video.