Studio Ghibli unveils My Neighbour Totoro miniature house model

Tiny replica includes lights, Soot Sprites, Totoros, and the kitchen and bathroom from the movie!

It’s been roughly 36 years since Studio Ghibli’s My Neighbour Totoro premiered in Japan in 1988, and the movie’s charming storyline and enchanted characters have been captivating new generations of fans ever since.

Fans today are amongst the luckiest ever, because now, for the very first time, the lauded animation studio has announced it will be releasing a miniature model of the Kusakabe family home from the movie. 

▼ And it looks absolutely awesome.

The Kusakabe family home is at the heart of the famous film, acting as the new countryside base for main characters Mei, Satsuki, and their father, with much of the action taking place inside and around the building.

Every part of the house is beautifully replicated in this new model, which actually consists of three separate sections that slot together to form the entire home.

The three sections have different roofs, showing the main, traditional Japanese-style building, and two more modern additions.

Like the roofs above them, which can be lifted off, the interiors are also different, reflecting the times when they were built.

Fans will recognise loads of exciting details that perfectly replicate the house from the film, including the Japanese-style “cha no ma” (“living room”) with its round table and tatami mats, and the sliding doors beside the “engawa” (“verandah”).

▼ Look even closer and you’ll find Mei’s hat inside one of the cupboards.

Next to the traditional building is the study wing, a more Western-style space with bookshelves and a writing desk, where Mei and Satsuki’s father spends a lot of his time.

▼ Flowers on the desk recall the scene where Mei places them there for her father.

The third and final section of the home contains the kitchen and bathroom, with the tiles, wooden slats,  and kitchen accessories designed to look exactly like the ones in the film.

▼ Look closely and you’ll find a Soot Sprite hiding under the basin!

The house and all its cute details already have us squealing in delight, but that’s not all, because it also comes with…

▼ …light fittings in the ceilings.

These lights give the house a warm, welcoming glow that has us wishing we could shrink ourselves down and step inside it.

The lights require three AAA-size batteries, and though they aren’t included, the miniature house set does come with seven small parts, including the round table, bath lid and chimneys, and a floor plan and booklet summarising the highlights of the building.

It might be a miniature house, but it’s an impressive size of about 27 centimetres (10.6 inches) in height and 53 centimetres in width, and it was completed after two years of planning and development. Part of the appeal of the house is being able to discover some of the exciting details, like…

▼ …the rickety posts on the porch of the study…

▼ …the Totoros hiding in the shadows under the house, where Mei discovered them….

▼ …and the acorn that Mei found on the stairs, hidden behind a doorway.

Photos don’t do justice to how beautiful this model truly is, which is why the retailers, Donguri Kyowakoku, have created a video showing us all the finer details and moving parts.

▼ Take a look at the beautiful video below.

As we all know, property doesn’t come cheap, and this tiny home is on the market for 48,400 yen (US$300.60). While that might be out of reach for a lot of Ghibli fans, those with deep pockets will definitely want to make the investment, because homes this special don’t come along every day.

Having seen Mei and Satsuki’s home in real-life, we’ll be clearing out our No Face piggy banks in the hopes of being able to buy the tiny version, and adding the moving truck from the film too. The “Tonari no Totoro Minna no Kusakabe Ke” (“My Neighbour Totoro Everybody’s Kusakabe Home”) will be available at Donguri Kyowakoku stores and online from 20 July.

Related: Donguri Kyowakoku Store Locations
Source, images: PR Times
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