Studio Ghibli Is Opening A Theme Park Based On The Cult Classic 'My Neighbor Totoro'
Totoro! <3
By Nandini Balakrishnan — 02 Jun 2017, 01:11 PM
Rejoice fans of the illustrious Studio Ghibli! A brand new Ghibli Park is set to open in 2020 in Aichi Prefecture, Japan.
RocketNews24 reported yesterday, 1 June, that Aichi Prefecture's EXPO Park will be the home of the Studio Ghibli theme park.
Ghibli's award winning producer, Toshio Suzuki and Aichi prefectural government Hideaki Oomura held a conference on 31 May and had apparently agreed on the plans for the theme park.
Guess what's the best part? The theme park will be based on the studio's cult classic, the heartwarming 1988 movie, 'My Neighbor Totoro'.
The 200-hectare theme park will be surrounded by lush greenery in the Aichi Expo Park which also has a replica of the house that Satsuki and Mei lives in the movie 'My Neighbor Totoro'.
Satsuki and Mei are the main characters in the multiple award-winning Japanese animated fantasy film which was written and directed by none other than, Hayao Miyazaki, the acclaimed director, producer, screenwriter, animator, author, and manga artist who co-founded Studio Ghibli in 1985.
Set in 1958, 'My Neighbor Totoro' tells the adventures of two sisters - Satsuki and her younger sister, Mei, who move into an old house with their father to be closer to the hospital where the girls' mother is being treated at.
As they settle into their new home, the girls discover and start interacting with playful spirits in their house and the nearby forest, where they meet the huge, cuddly creature, Totoro. The movie's bittersweet charm and beautifully detailed animation has captured the hearts of millions across the world, with it constantly being ranked as one of the best animation films in ever made.
According to Vice, Japanese illustrator, TAKUMI, created illustrations of the hypothetical Tokyo Ghibli Land based on the Tokyo DisneySea theme park
The location of the theme park in Nagakute City, was first opened in 1970 as the Aichi Youth Park and was later reopened in 2005 for the World EXPO. Some of the area's attractions include a water park, ice skating rink, and a giant Ferris wheel.
The aerial view of the area that will soon be the Studio Ghibli theme park.
Image via Aichi Expo Park via Inquirer.NetThe Studio Ghibli theme park is slated to open sometime in early 2020 - the same year Hayao Miyazaki's latest film, Boro the Caterpillar - "a story of a tiny, hairy caterpillar, so tiny that it may be easily squished between your fingers" - is due.
The actual plans for the theme park is yet to be released.
