Totoro in Toy Story 3

Do you know 宮崎駿 (Hayao Miyazaki)?
He is the Japanese master animator. His studio, 「スタジオジブリ」 (Ghibli Studios), has released some of the best アニメ (cartoons) ever, not only in Japan…but in the world.

In the same way as the master American animator, Walt Disney,…Mr. Miyazaki draws his cartoons completely “by hand”.

Some of Ghibi Studios’ masterpiece movies include: 「ホタルの墓」 (“Grave of the Fireflies“), 「魔女の宅急便」 (“Kiki’s Delivery Service“), 「千と千尋の神隠し」 (“Spirited Away“) and 「となりのトトロ」 (“My Neighbor Totoro“).

Movie poster for 「となりのトトロ」 ("My Neighbor Totoro")

In the movie 「となりのトトロ」 (“My Neighbor Totoro“), Totoro is a big spirit that helps two young sisters deal with the stress of recently moving to a new house in the countryside, and their mother is in the hospital and their father works long hours.

Have you seen this movie? Just like all of Mr. Miyazaki’s films, it’s quite good.

And then do you know the American “Pixar Studios” movie company?
They have also released some great movies. But their style is quite different from “Ghibli Studios“…for one thing, unlike Ghibli’s hand-drawn work, Pixar movies are made using computer technology.

“A Bug’s Life“, “Monster’s Inc.“, “Cars” and “Toy Story” are all Pixar films.

Well, the people at “Pixar Studios” wanted to pay tribute to Hayao Miyazaki.
So, in the soon-to-be-released Pixar film “Toy Story 3” the Ghibli Studios character “Totoro” makes a cameo appearance!

"Totoro" is sitting next to "Woody" in 'Toy Story 3'