When Sosuke, a young boy who lives on a clifftop overlooking the sea, rescues a stranded goldfish named Ponyo, he discovers more than he bargained for. Ponyo is a curious, energetic young creature who yearns to be human, but even as she causes chaos around the house, her father, a powerful sorcerer, schemes to return Ponyo to the sea.

One day, five kindergarten children suddenly disappear from a kindergarten in Tokyo, sending their teachers and parents into a panic. The five of them are connecting on trains and headed to an unfamiliar place for some purpose. Before their journey, they had made a promise to each other “not to cry no matter what happens”

Two sisters move to the country with their father in order to be closer to their hospitalized mother, and discover the surrounding trees are inhabited by Totoros, magical spirits of the forest. When the youngest runs away from home, the older sister seeks help from the spirits to find her.