Studio Ghibli might not have any plans to transform its beloved anime films into live-action anime adaptations but that doesn’t mean that the legendary studio hasn’t explored some real-life projects. Most notably, the Studio Ghibli theme park in Japan has taken the chance to recreate environments and characters from their many films. My Neighbor Totoro recently received live-action Cat Buses to help parkgoers traverse the park, though wandering Totoros aren’t as frequent. Now, one cosplayer has taken the opportunity to bring the fictional supernatural cat from My Neighbor Totoro to life with eerie perfection.
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Aside from not diving into live-action anime adaptations, Studio Ghibli isn’t in the business of creating sequels to their beloved films. Shockingly enough, this wasn’t the case with My Neighbor Totoro as Ghibli would go on to create a “mini-sequel” that would revisit this magical world. Mei And The Kittenbus would introduce anime fans to a new magical creature while bringing back one of the young girls who starred in the beloved film. Unfortunately, the film is not readily available to watch on any streaming service as it has primarily aired at the Studio Ghibli Museum and the Ghibli Theme Park. Originally airing in 2002, the short film is only thirteen minutes long but acts as a break from tradition for Ghibli.
A Live-Action Totoro
Recently, the World Cosplay Summit was held in Japan from August 2nd to August 4th. The Summit itself has been running for twenty-one years and is billed as one of the “largest cosplay events in the world”. During a recently released video, one cosplayer created a life-life take on Totoro, with the costume’s mouth and eyes moving to make it appear as life-like as humanly possible.
Ghibli saw serious success thanks to the recently released The Boy And The Heron, which scored the studio its second Academy Award for “Best Animated Picture” following Spirited Away. While director Hayao Miyazaki originally stated that he would retire following the latest movie’s release, he has since stated that he will continue creating new works despite currently being in his early 80s. As of the writing of this article, Ghibli has yet to reveal their next big project though rest assured, anime fans will be interested in seeing whatever it might be.
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