While Universal Studios Japan has incorporated some major anime franchises in its amusement park, with the likes of Neon Genesis Evangelion, Attack on Titan, Sailor Moon, Case Closed, and Hunter x Hunter being just a few examples of the stories that received attractions and places in the theme park. Not to be outdone, Studio Ghibli opened its own amusement park in Japan last year, promising to recreate environments from several of their classic films, with the production house promising to add a wild, and perhaps creepy, new element to the locale.
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My Neighbor Totoro is one of the most legendary movies in Studio Ghibli’s roster, which is really saying something considering the classic anime movies that have emerged since the production house opened its doors in 1985. Telling the story of a family that moves out to the countryside due to an ill mother, the two young daughters of the family are introduced to a number of forest spirits, one of which happens to be an amalgam that merges a feline with a bus, creating the now legendary “Cat Bus”. To help in creating a new attraction and move park-goers from one point to another, the Ghibli amusement park will be creating real-life Cat Buses.
My Cat Bus Totoro
The Ghibli Park announced that new “electric low-speed vehicles” will be modeled to look like My Neighbor Totoro’s Cat Bus, with the vehicles being added to the locale that is promising to have attractions honoring the likes of Kiki’s Delivery Service, Princess Mononoke, Whisper of the Heart, and more.
The next Studio Ghibli project will be the movie, How Do You Live, which is billed as the final movie from the legendary director Hayao Miyazaki. The movie is based on a novel released in 1937 and focuses on a teenage boy and his uncle as they traverse through life. The movie is slated to arrive this year on July 14th in Japan, though a North American release date has yet to be revealed.
Will you be planning to ride aboard the real-life cat buses that hit Studio Ghibli’s theme park later this year? What other Ghibli characters and creatures are you hoping will hit the amusement park in the near future? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly on Twitter @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, and the world of Ghibli.
