If you love Legos, these photos from the University of Tokyo’s Lego Club will make you want to go back to school and play with blocks!
Catbus (Page 4)
Out of all the Studio Ghibli films, My Neighbor Totoro remains one of the most beloved, with the tale of two young girls and their magical forest friends capturing hearts and imaginations around the world.
While the story centres on Totoro, the furry, forest-dwelling giant, his unique mode of transport very nearly upstages him. What’s not to love about a multi-legged bus-shaped cat that bounds over hills beaming trails of light from its huge yellow eyes and carrying mice along as tail-lights?
Now it’s time to take the iconic catbus home and when we do, we’ll be making him entirely from scratch, with a specially designed kit made from lasercut paper materials.
Out of all the things we wish would spring to life from Studio Ghibli’s animated films, the catbus from My Neighbor Totoro would have to be at the top of the list. Who wouldn’t want to ride an enormous, fluffy, bright orange cat over hills and through forests on their daily commute?
As with all great things, if it can’t exist in real life, it can at least exist in the imagination. And there’s one imaginative lad who’s found a way to bring the catbus to life in the cutest way possible. All it takes is two ingredients: a fluffy, compliant cat and some Finnish beer.
My Neighbor Totoro is one of the most magical of all of Studio Ghibli‘s films, and instantly recognisable all over the world due to its iconic and other-worldly characters: cuddly Totoro, the loveable soot mites, and the magical Catbus which main characters Mei and Satsuki are treated to a ride inside. At the Studio Ghibli Museum in Mitaka, Tokyo, kids can even climb inside a life-size Catbus replica.
But if that wasn’t reason enough to fit a visit to the Ghibli house into your Japan sightseeing schedule, here’s another – it’s the only place in the world you can watch the 2002 short sequel to the much-beloved 1988 film, Mei and the Kittenbus!