Studio Ghibli might have opened the doors of its first-ever amusement park, but the anime-based locale was predated by another installation in Japan by decades. The Ghibli Museum first opened in 2001, and for decades has housed artwork and other various memorabilia from the legendary production studio. With the museum even having a life-sized recreation of the robot from Castle in The Sky, Ghibli recently released several new images of the physical location in winter, creating quite the mood for anime fans.
Videos by ComicBook.com
Aside from housing relics from Ghibli’s past, the Ghibli Museum also stored a rather amazing exclusive in its walls. My Neighbor Totoro is one of the most beloved anime films from the studio, weaving a magical tale that sees a family living in the countryside and encountering magical creatures as a result. The Museum for some time housed the exclusive sequel to the movie titled, “Mei And The Cat Bus”, which was a short film that revisited the character Mei and gave her a new friend in a much smaller and younger iteration of the Cat Bus. The movie did make its way to Ghibli’s theme park for a limited run, though it has yet to make its way to North America for an official release in the West.
Ghibli in The Winter
The Ghibli Museum shared a special message to anime fans during this winter season alongside images from the physical location. Here’s what Studio Ghibli had to say, “It’s been snowing quite a bit.To everyone who is heading home, please be careful when you return home.”
Ghibli has been in the news as of late thanks to The Boy And The Heron, the critically acclaimed anime film that was originally billed as director Hayao Miyazaki’s last. While Miyazaki has since stated that he is not retiring from making animated movies, the latest Ghibli effort has been receiving some major accolades, including a nomination for “Best Animated Picture” at this year’s Academy Awards. Should The Boy And The Heron win the Oscar, it will join Ghibli’s Spirited Away as the only other film from the studio to receive this honor.
What do you think of the Ghibli Museum in the dead of winter? Do you think an anime museum will one day make its way to the West? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, and the world of Ghibli.
