A 3-year-old boy discovered a secret aspect of the Ghibli Museum’s entrance over 20 years after its opening in 2001.
The official Twitter account for the Ghibli Museum in Mitaka, Japan, tweeted: “This angle that a 3-year-old boy was pointing at, saying, “Mom! The cat bus is outside!”
3歳位の男の子が「お母さん！ネコバスが外に出てる！」と指さしていたこの角度。
この画像の中のどの部分がネコバスに見えるか、伝わりますか？ pic.twitter.com/YuUKurXkbe— 三鷹の森ジブリ美術館 (@GhibliML) December 5, 2022
Before entering the Ghibli Museum, visitors must walk through an inconspicuous building with a domed ceiling to descend the staircase into the museum. At an initial glance, the entryway is simple and doesn’t seem to reference any Studio Ghibli films.
However, when taking another glance from the entrance’s side, the once-simple building begins to resemble the Catbus from “My Neighbor Totoro.”
In the 1988 animated film, the Catbus helps bring sisters Satsuki and Mei back home. Similar to its film role, the Catbus-inspired entrance seems to take on the role of transporting its museum visitors into the world of Studio Ghibli.
As Miyazaki frames his tales from a child’s perspective, the young child seemed to see what so many adults missed these past two decades just as Mei and Satsuki were the only ones able to see Totoro in the film.
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