Chinese “Chinchilla bed”, which looks uncannily like Studio Ghibli’s Totoro, available to buy

Snuggle up with Chinchilla, Totoro’s legally ambiguous futon-style cousin from China.

There’s a scene in Studio Ghibli’s 1988 classic movie, My Neighbor Totoro, where the character Mei falls asleep atop Totoro’s furry belly, a scene that plenty of Totoro fans must have looked on at with envious eyes. Thanks to some potential copyright law-skirting/infringing, you too can manage a similar experience by sleeping in a giant “Chinchilla futon bed” from the Chinese Taobao online marketplace website, a futon that bears a striking resemblance to the lovable Ghibli character.

▼ How many Ghibli fans have wanted to recreate this famous scene?

心と言葉が繋がらない トトロのお腹に乗って寝たい https://t.co/vIAqi5QwUd

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やざきざきみ (@happiiya) October 26, 2017

The item, like many from sites like Taobao and Ali Express, sits in a legal area as grey as its fur. There are some noticeable differences from Ghibli’s copyrighted image though, with the head slightly less rounded, and the placement of the ears and shape of the nose and mouth ever so slightly off.

Nowhere in the item description does it mention the name Totoro or Studio Ghibli, and it is instead marketed as a Chinchilla bed. While Totoro seems to be a composite of several real-world animals, particularly tanuki Japanese raccoon dog, cat, and owl, you can see Chinchilla-like elements in Totoro’s design too. There’s also a bit of marsupial in the futon as you can sleep snug as a bug in its pouch.

▼ My Neighbour Chinchilla?

【まん丸なチンチラ】 イギリスのブリーダーのキャメロンさんに育てられたチンチラ。 そのあまりのまん丸っぷりが話題に。 世界中に多くのファンが存在しています。 https://t.co/EOb7eGrOos

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二度見するほど美しい生き物 (@nidomi_bea) June 24, 2017

Even the largest size, a massive 2.4 metres (seven feet, 10 inches) by 2 metres is remarkably cheap at a price of 552 Chinese yuan (US$83), down from 650 yuan, which is cheaper than some Totoro soft toys. The package also includes a set of Chinchilla cushions and the club-like tail which would be perfect for large-scale games of pin the tail on the donkey/not-Totoro.

And if you need someone to lie beside you in your new bed, Tabao caters for that too with rental boyfriends (though no rental girlfriends) or “love doll” daughters if you prefer. Whether for copyright reasons their noses and mouths are slightly off or not isn’t clear.

Source, images: Taobao.com

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