10 Facts about Studio Ghibli films you do NOT know!

Last Day of Miyazaki Week! 

As the last day of Miyazaki week comes to a close, I wanted to end this last blog post with 10 interesting fun facts about Studio Ghibli that you might not know. So let's begin!

1. As a lover of airplanes, Miyazaki used the word Ghibli, because it derives from Italian Scouter planes used during WWII. The word translates to"Hot wind blowing through the Sahara Desert".Miyazaki claimed they were going to blow a new wind through the Japanese animation industry. 

2. Ghibli films are made without scripts. "I don't have the story finished and ready when we start work on a film. I usually don't have the time", Miyazaki once said. 

3. Totoro's name was actually supposed to be Tororu which translates to troll. However, it became Totoro after Mei mispronounces it. 

3.5 Oh yeah, Ghibli also released a short film in 2002 called Mei and the Kittenbus (めいとこねこパス) (2002) It is included in the shorts that are only viewable at the Ghibli Museum in Japan.

4. Supposedly, No Face from Spirited Away was not suppose to have such a big part in the film, but since they were running behind on animating, Miyazaki gave him a bigger role. 

5. In Veitnam, scientists discovered a new species of velvet worms. Since they bare a great resemblance to the Cat Bus in My Neighbor Totoro, they named them Eoperipatus Totoro. They are so cute!!!

6. At the end of Kiki's Delivery Service , Kiki is seen writing a letter to her parents. If you are good at kanji, you will realized in the second character in the word for friend, she misses a stroke. Many speculate this was done on purpose to show that even though she has matured and is able to take care of herself, she still has much to learn. 

Oh yea, and a real life action movie was released in 2014! ( I NEED TO WATCH!)

7. The sound of the bug monsters, Ohms,  from Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, is actually the sound of the famous musician Tomoyasu Hotei's electric guitar. 

8. You can actually visit the My Neighbor Totoro house in real life! The full size replica was created back in 2005 for the World's Fair that was held near Nagoya, Japan. The inside of the house is decorated and filled with clothing and objects fan's of the film will remember. 

9. Same goes for the abandoned park/town in Spirited Away. Miyazaki pulled much of his inspiration for the streets and food stalls for the film from the small town of Jiufen in Taiwan. 

10. Near the end of Kiki's Delivery Service, Kiki steals a broom from a man on the street. There is a scene following where he yells "that's my broom she used!" If you look closely, in the top right corner you can find an animated version of Miyazaki himself!

Thank you for celebrating Hayao Miyazaki's birthday with me!! If you missed any of the other posts in Miyazaki week, head on over to the Japan page and check them out. 
Please subscribe here and let me know what films you would like me to talk about next! 
P.S. I have an exciting film to share with you next week :D

Enjoy!
W