03-01-2014, 01:40 AM
The Cat bus in My Neighbor Totoro is based off of a shape shifting cat in Japanese folklore. Many may believe it was a variation of the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland but while Miyazaki does admit to liking that character, he also says he didn't get any influence from it.
The Totoro name came for Miyazaki's own hometown called Tokorozawa. Miyazaki admits, the idea was nothing special.
My Neighbor Totoro was actually a failure at the box office. It wasn't until a year later, when it made it's first Television appearance that it gained in popularity. To celebrate this, Studio Ghibli had a contest where they would give out free Totoro dolls to fans. Since they didn't have e-mail back then, people mailed in to receive these gifts. The total number of letters sent to studio Ghibli isn't known, but it took ten 3 ton trucks to transport them all.
My neighbor Totoro took 15 years from when Miyazaki first started making it to it becoming a movie to happen. He started it off as a manga idea but as it developed he decided he eventually wanted it to be a movie, but thought the timid and innocent nature, as well as characters without superpowers wouldn't be entertaining enough to grasp an audience so he patiently waited until the film had a chance to be successful.
The Totoro name came for Miyazaki's own hometown called Tokorozawa. Miyazaki admits, the idea was nothing special.
My Neighbor Totoro was actually a failure at the box office. It wasn't until a year later, when it made it's first Television appearance that it gained in popularity. To celebrate this, Studio Ghibli had a contest where they would give out free Totoro dolls to fans. Since they didn't have e-mail back then, people mailed in to receive these gifts. The total number of letters sent to studio Ghibli isn't known, but it took ten 3 ton trucks to transport them all.
My neighbor Totoro took 15 years from when Miyazaki first started making it to it becoming a movie to happen. He started it off as a manga idea but as it developed he decided he eventually wanted it to be a movie, but thought the timid and innocent nature, as well as characters without superpowers wouldn't be entertaining enough to grasp an audience so he patiently waited until the film had a chance to be successful.