Studio Ghibli’s truck from My Neighbour Totoro now available as die-cast Takara Tomy car

Jiji the cat from Kiki’s Delivery Service also gets its own moving vehicle.

While Mattel’s Hot Wheels might be the die-cast toy cars of choice for kids and adults overseas, here in Japan it’s all about Takara Tomy’s Tomica.

Children grow up playing with Tomica cars so they hold a lot of nostalgia for adults, and their reputation for high-quality construction has helped the brand stay a household name for generations. In recent years, they’ve become the toymakers of choice for a number of anime collaborations, with even anime powerhouse Studio Ghibli getting on board with its own range, featuring iconic modes of transport from films such as Porco Rosso and Laputa: Castle in the Sky.

The collaboration has proven to be so successful there’s now a third instalment coming our way, and this time it consists of two new items:

▼ The moving truck from My Neighbour Totoro…

▼…and Jiji in a birdcage, as seen in Kiki’s Delivery Service.

The new items are the latest to join the “Dream Tomica Ghibli ga Ippai” (“Dream Tomica Full of Ghibli”) series that made its debut in Japan last year.

No mode of transport is too weird for Tomica, with Jiji given its very own birdcage that runs on wheels.

The attention to detail is superb, with the die-casting process recreating the basket-like construction of the cage and the soft-looking butter-yellow cloth that drapes over it with charming accuracy.

In case you’re wondering when Jiji ever travelled in a cage, it was during the scene when main character Kiki flies on her broomstick to deliver a stuffed toy in a birdcage to a new client.

When Kiki loses the stuffed animal during her travels, Jiji agrees to step into the doll’s place, keeping very still to ensure the client is none the wiser.

▼ Hence Jiji’s wide-eyed, doll-like expression in the cage.

The second new product joining Jiji for this adventure is a beautiful replica of the moving truck used by the Kusakabe family in My Neighbour Totoro.

The three-wheeler appears towards the beginning of the film, when the main characters arrive at their new home in the country.

No detail has been overlooked in this miniature replica, with rods, boxes, a bicycle, tub, chest of drawers and even the blue bucket included in the load.

The collection of household goods in the replica displays the same sense of oversized proportion and volume as seen in the film, and if you look closely you can even spot Satsuki’s red umbrella handle poking out of a box, alongside the black handle of her father’s umbrella.

▼ The washed-out colour palette also brings the world of My Neighbour Totoro to life.

The truck measures 51 millimetres (2 inches) in height, 30.7 millimetres in width and 66 millimetres in depth, while Jiji’s birdcage is 55.3 millimetres high and 39.7 millimetres wide. Both items will be released in mid-July, with reservations being accepted online from 31 May.

Priced at 1,320 yen (US$9.52) each, they can be purchased at Donguri Kyowakoku Ghibli specialty chainstores and online, as well as the store at Ghibli Park’s Grand Warehouse, Tomica retailers in Japan, and Takara Tomy online.

Suitable for children aged three years and over, this is one release we’re happily old enough for!

Source, images: Press release © 1989 Eiko Kadono – Studio Ghibli – N © Studio Ghibli
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