Totoro is a forest spirit that little Mei, and later her older sister Satsuki, encounter in a giant camphor tree near their new home in the countryside. Although their father, a university professor, is with them when they move, their mother is in the hospital, recovering from some unnamed illness. When Mei hears that her mother`s condition may be getting worse, she resolves to visit her all by herself. When everyone realizes she`s missing, only Totoro knows how to find her!