Studio Ghibli previews theme park attractions at touring exhibition in Japan

September 30, 2022

Studio Ghibli will be holding touring exhibitions in cities across Japan ahead of its theme park’s opening in November.

The Ghibli Park and Ghibli Exhibition touring art installation is headed to five cities across Japan to give fans a taste of what is to come this November at Ghibli Park.

The exhibitions will showcase behind-the-scenes memorabilia of the theme park’s conception, including versions of the attractions inspired by the beloved films of Hayao Miyazaki and his animation studio.

It will reveal director Goro Miyazaki’s process and creativity in creating the theme park’s facilities, including his design documents and sketches for the park.

In the exhibition “Aya and the Witch,” materials are set up to explain how Miyazaki creates 3DCG animation that is unique to Studio Ghibli. In another exhibition, the materials and models used in the process of creating Baron and Louise from the movie “Whisper of the Heart” will also be displayed. Visitors will be able to go behind the scenes of the film productions.

The Ghibli Exhibition will include photo-friendly installations, such as the Catbus, which visitors are allowed to sit in, and a life-sized reproduction of the pergola of Satsuki and Mei’s house from 1988 film “My Neighbor Totoro.”

“Howl’s Castle,” which appears in the film “Howl’s Moving Castle,” will be built in the theme park’s “Valley of Witches” and is scheduled to open in March 2024. In the meantime, visitors of the exhibition can take pictures with a life-sized reproduction of one of the legs from “Howl’s Moving Castle.” The installation will also include valuable models used in the creation of the castle.

As for fans of “Spirited Away,” visitors can witness Yubaba in her office from in the exhibition “Fake Director’s Room.” In addition, fans can sit and take a commemorative photo with Kaonashi in the “Ghibli Narikiri Famous Scene Exhibition.”

Exclusive regional merchandise will be available at each exhibition, including pins, hand towels, stickers and bandanas.

The Ghibli Park and Ghibli Exhibition has started in Nagano Prefectural Museum of Art and will last until Oct. 10. It will then be opened to the public in Aichi Prefecture from Oct. 29 until Dec. 25. In 2023, the exhibition will reportedly travel to Kumamoto, Hyogo and Yamaguchi.

Ghibli Park, which is located at Aichi Expo Memorial Park in Nagakute, Aichi, will open on Nov. 1. Fans will be able to experience the theme park’s first attractions, including the Grand Warehouse, the Hill of Youth and Dondoko Forest.

All Images via Studio Ghibli via PR Times

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