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'
Tokyo Five 
Awesome is all i have to say 🙂
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Is that Totoro? Toy Story? Or both?
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I first found out about Totoro here and when I saw it in Toy Story 3, I thought it was a great idea by pixar, they must be fans 🙂
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Really? You learned about Totoro from my blog?
Did you watch the Ghibli movie 「となりのトトロ」 (“My Neighbor Totoro”)?
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No I haven’t. I have only seen parts of Howls Moving castle and Spirited Away on TV
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You should definitely watch them in their entirety.
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Nice! I wish they released the Blu-ray with the Japanese audio track.
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In Japan, children’s movies from overseas such as “Toy Story” are dubbed in Japanese.
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Ha ha, excellent! I’ll have to keep an eye out for that 😀
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Are you gonna watch “Toy Story 3”?
My oldest daughter will be going to with her friends once it opens in Tokyo. They already got their tickets.
Japanese movie tickets are collectible with artwork of the movie poster on the ticket…but the “Toy Story 3” ticket is a full-size チラシ (flyer).
And they got free Toy Story cell-phone straps for buying their tickets early.
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Waow..your daughter has got the tickets? when will it open in Tokyo? In Singapore, I think 17 June.
Will your daughter watch a 3d version or 2d? We don’t really get freebies here 😦
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Toy Story 3 comes to theaters here around the same time as there.
I’m not sure if she’ll watch the 2-D or 3-D version. I suppose 3-D.
Actually I don’t understand why so many recent Hollywood movies are in “3-D”. I think a good movie doesn’t need such special effects.
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Brilliant! Our cinema tickets are so boring, and nothing’s ever free.
I’ll certainly go see it when it comes out. I enjoyed the first two, and the trailer for the third made me laugh 😀
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Movie tickets in America, if they’re the same as they were the last time I watched a movie there, are plain and dull too.
But in Japan, not only movie tickets, but tickets to most places can be kept as a memento of the place you attend because of the artwork on the tickets.
Other types of cards, for example telephone cards, are the same way.
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That’s awesome!
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Yeah, it was a clever idea by Pixar.
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Oh..so cool that you are featuring Ghibli and Pixar. I love both! I went to Ghibli museum the last time I visited Tokyo! Love it!!! Really impressed by the views of Hayao Miyazaki. There is a Pixar exhibition in Singapore currently. I will go and see it next week!
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Yes, both Ghibli and Pixar make quality animated movies.
And that’s great that you were able to visit the popular Ghibli Museum.
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Oh wow! That’s great, I love spotting all the little interesting bits and pieces. I once considered a career as an animation historian. Thanks for sharing.
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What does an “animation historian” do?
Thanks for visiting my site…please feel free to comment often.
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That’s cool. My kids love Totoro and so do I.
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「となりのトトロ」 (“My Neighbor Totoro“) is a great film.
Did you and your kids watch it in English or Japanese?
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