Are Studio Ghibli and Pixar collaborating on a new project?
Fans seem to be convinced that this is actually happening after the Japanese animation studio tweeted an art piece that depicted the famous scene of Totoro from “My Neighbor Totoro” waiting for the bus under the rain with Pixar’s Mike Wazowski and Sully from “Monsters Inc.”
Studio Ghibli tweeted it on May 13 with no accompanying caption which made it all the more a mystery.
— スタジオジブリ STUDIO GHIBLI (@JP_GHIBLI) May 13, 2021
Others, however, were able to point out that this isn’t the first time the worlds of Studio Ghibli and Pixar collided. In fact, if you could remember in “Toy Story 3” (2010), a plush doll of Totoro made a cameo appearance as one of Bonnie Anderson’s toys. Director John Lasseter, who was also behind hit films “Cars” and “Bug’s Life,” is also known to be a close friend and admirer of director Hayao Miyazaki when they first met at the Disney Studio in 1981 as part of the delegation of animators sent by TMS Entertainment. He visited Miyazaki afterward during his first trip to Japan in 1987 where he saw drawings for “My Neighbor Totoro” (1988).
Lasseter went on to serve as executive producer on several of Miyazaki’s films for their release in the United States and oversaw the English translations and dubbing.
Totoro cameos in “Toy Story 3”
It is unknown who the artist behind the artwork is and why Studio Ghibli tweeted it out of the blue, but this particular drawing has also been previously seen hanging in the offices of the studio in Tokyo.
(ALSO READ: Apparently, Studio Ghibli’s Hayao Miyazaki Considers “Demon Slayer” as His Rival)
Could it just be a show of appreciation to Pixar or are they cooking something up for fans all over the world? What do you think? Let us know in the comments below!
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