Meeting Totoro part II I Wish I Could Stay Forever When last we left our intrepid hero about a year ago, he was entering his final days in Japan. He knew it was now or never to visit the Studio Ghibli Museum; sacred ground for anime geeks as it’s a museum dedicated to the studio that’s made some of the best animation in the world. He braved the courage to ask the co-worker that didn’t like him for help in buying a ticket. From there, it was off to Mitaka and the museum. Sadly, he got lost in Mitaka and just about missed his entrance time to the museum. But, he got to the front gates just in the nick of time and entered the museum! And now, the conclusion…. I descended the wooden staircase to the main hall of the museum. My heart was still beating fast from almost missing the entrance. I relaxed as I continued into the main chamber. And then….   The Center Hall Scanned from a Ghibli Museum postcard Wow. I was at the bottom and looked upwards at the three-storied tower. It was a spellbinding creation of stained glass, moulded fibreglass, and wrought iron. I had been to my fair share of theme parks, but this was the first time I actually felt as though I had stepped into another world. The pallet was made of muted pastels. The stained glass windows featured characters from various Studio Ghibli films. And the iron railings had multicoloured glass orbs intertwined with them at various points. I was mesmerized. I think I can finally properly use the term “whimsical.” I fumbled for the brochure and museum map that the ticket clerk had given me. Thankfully, she recognized me for being a dumb gaijin and gave me the English language version. I stepped aside as I studied the map and reviewed the rules. “No photography inside the building.” Just like every other museum in Japan. “Your ticket can only get you into the movie once.” Dude, I get to see a movie? I looked up from the map and over to the far side of the main chamber. Yup, a lobby to a movie theatre. I did know enough Japanese to read the sign and saw that the next showing was at 3. Cool. Lots of time. But where to begin? I looked up and saw an arrow pointing into the main display hall. I pocketed the map and trudged forward. The main display hall was a darkened affair. The first thing you saw was this magical column, rotating. And inside was one of the giant robots from the film Castle in the Sky. He slowly rotated as a haunting melody played. To the right was a static display of a house, and each window showed a scene from a Studio Ghibli film. The plaques along the walls illustrated the history of Studio Ghibli and the animation process. Over to my left was a display showing the nuts and bolts of animation; the whole deal of drawings moving in succession creating the illusion of movement. This was accomplished with a massive, see-thru movie projector. There were other displays showing scenes from Ghibli films. From a multitude of DVD bonus features, I recognized them as multiplane camera plates. But, straight ahead of me, was what truly captivated my attention.   The Animated Models Scanned from a Ghibli Museum postcard It was a series of models depicting various characters from My Neighbour Totoro. These models were on a turntable. Soon, the turntable started spinning faster and faster. Then, the lights went out and a strobe light went on. My jaw dropped. The models came to life. What was once a whole line of Totoro models was now a group of Totoros walking in a circle. The two little girls who were once a static depiction of jumping rope were now actually jumping rope. Consider my mind to be blown. And then, the strobe light went off, the regular lights came on, and the turntable spun to a halt. In later research, I discovered that such devices are called a “zoetrope,” and that they were popular amusements about a hundred years ago. Studio Ghibli was using one to demonstrate how animation worked. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 <<Previous Page | Next Page>> Return to the Columns Page © Mark Sladen Cappis, 2005