Every Studio Ghibli Film, Ranked - Vulture
Every Studio Ghibli Film, Ranked · Tales From Earthsea · Earwig and the Witch · The Cat Returns · My Neighbors the Yamadas · Ocean Waves · Pom Poko.
And Totoro remains one of the most iconic characters of modern animation
Every parent should pick a day and make their young kids watch My Neighbor Totoro. They won’t ever be the same. The gateway drug for an addiction to Studio Ghibli, this is quite simply one of the most delightful and enjoyable children’s films ever made. It’s a movie that can be watched over and over again, losing none of its power to inspire wonder. At its core, it’s a simple story of an imaginary creature discovered by two girls dealing with the emotional stress of a sick mother and a relocation. How we use fantasy to deal with reality has always been a theme of children’s entertainment, but Miyazaki and Ghibli don’t see that fantasy purely as escapism. They see it as something essential to human life, something beyond our control yet more essential than mere imagination. <anchor>And Totoro remains one of the most iconic characters of modern animation</anchor>. He has taken on a life much bigger than just one film, appearing on Ghibli merchandise for decades now. After you fall in love with this movie, you’ll understand why.
Japan Is Getting a My Neighbor Totoro Theme Park
Japan Is Getting a My Neighbor Totoro Theme Park

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[childhood nostalgia](//www.vulture.com/tags/childhood-nostalgia/)June 2, 2017

# Japan Is Getting a _My Neighbor Totoro_ Theme Park

By[Tolly Wright](//www.vulture.com/author/tolly-wright/)

![](https://pyxis.nymag.com/v1/imgs/428/28c/1dba595ed054cae99a1fe86f07534fcbef-01-my-neighbor-totoro.rsquare.w330.jpg)

They’re screaming “Hooray!”
Photo: Studio Ghibli/My Neighbor Totoro/IMDB

Hop aboard your friendly, neighborhood Catbus and make your way to Japan sometime in the 2020s: a _My Neighbor Totoro_–inspired “Ghibli Park” is in the works. Studio Ghibli, the animation studio behind critically acclaimed animes like _Spirited Away_ and _Princess Mononoke,_ [announced plans](http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/06/01/business/ghibli-theme-park-scheduled-open-former-aichi-expo-site-2020s/#.WTDRpRMrKCR) to develop the park at the site of the 2005 World Expo in Nagakute. The proposed attraction will reportedly bring the fantastical, idyllic world of Hayao Miyazaki’s 1988 classic to life by restaging the “situations and landscapes” of the film. Would one of these scenarios, perchance, be a giant, cuddly forest spirit you can nap on? Unclear. But the site already attracted over a million visitors last year with “Satsuki and Mei’s House,” an impressive re-creation of the character’s traditional Japanese house including many of the props and details seen only in the background.

## Sources

[Japan Times](http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/06/01/business/ghibli-theme-park-scheduled-open-former-aichi-expo-site-2020s/#.WTDRpRMrKCR)

### Tags:

- [studio ghibli](//www.vulture.com/tags/studio-ghibli/)
- [my neighbor totoro](//www.vulture.com/tags/my-neighbor-totoro/)
- [hayao miyazaki](//www.vulture.com/tags/hayao-miyazaki/)
- [japan](//www.vulture.com/tags/japan/)
- [childhood nostalgia](//www.vulture.com/tags/childhood-nostalgia/)
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Japan Is Getting a _My Neighbor Totoro_ Theme Park

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