The Art of My Neighbor Totoro Book

For any fan of Studio Ghibli you will eventually come across certain titles - both for the fame and for their beauty. My Neighbour Totoro is probably at the top or at least very close to it (of course it is subjective and very personal).

However you cannot ignore the impact this film (and by rights Studio Ghibli) has had on popular culture and this book charts both the film that spawned them and the story that gave them life. After all how many iconic characters can we identify and yet know next to nothing about them or the story that they came from.

This book not only charts the film (reading the notes there references to the fact that sections where not even storyboarded they just developed as they progressed - now how many films could make a claim like that). But the book also discusses the technicalities of some of the scenes and how the effects were achieved- after all we are talking about flat images - something that live action filming often would take for granted.

This book is part of a library of titles covering off the majority of the major productions. I have not got them all (come on give me time) but it would appear that they form a pictorial history of the studios crowning achievements. Even if you are not a fan of anime you have to respect the art and the creativity