We’re nowhere near close to seeing a Studio Ghibli theme park come to life, but one artist’s imagining of Hayao Miyazaki’s most famous movie makes us wish it were real.
John Ramirez, a Disney story artist who’s worked on films like The Lion King and Aladdin and theme park designer, created what he thinks a ride based on My Neighbor Totoro would look like, and it’s a whimsical and magical transportation into Totoro’s world.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BEHuHa5DCkj/
The ride is designed to be a leisurely experience for the people who go on it. Once they sit in moving acorn seats, they’ll move through each room, taking them through some of the movie’s big settings from Dad’s office and through the bushes up to that iconic flight with Catbus. While some locations and props would be built, others would be shown with a video projection.
According to Kotaku, Ramirez has spoken to Miyazaki in the past about potentially building this ride, but he declined. And while Miyazaki “isn’t a fan of theme parks,” Ramirez says that he’ll ask “until they bar me from the studio or he says yes!”
https://twitter.com/DarrynKing/status/722991769810407424
We may be far off until we get that ride with Catbus, but it always could be closer than we think.
H/T Nerdist