A little-known My Neighbor Totoro sequel exists because Hayao Miyazaki was reminded how much he enjoyed drawing the Catbus. According to former Studio Ghibli executive Steve Alpert, the legendary filmmaker initially needed some convincing before agreeing to make Mei and the Baby Cat Bus, a short film that expanded the world of the 1988 classic.
The revelation comes from Alpert’s recent appearance on The Anime Business, where he discussed his years working with Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli. The episode features Alpert discussing his career at Tokuma Shoten, his work with Miyazaki and Toshio Suzuki, and his experiences handling Ghibli’s international business.
MIYAZAKI WAS NOT INITIALLY INTERESTED IN A TOTORO SEQUEL
Miyazaki has generally avoided returning to stories simply to produce conventional sequels. Alpert described the filmmaker as someone focused on moving forward creatively rather than repeatedly revisiting his previous work.
That makes Mei and the Baby Cat Bus particularly unusual. According to Alpert, Miyazaki was eventually persuaded to create the short after a friend reminded him how much he loved drawing the Catbus.
The idea proved compelling enough for Miyazaki to return to the world of My Neighbor Totoro, although the result was not another feature-length movie.
Released in 2002, Mei and the Baby Cat Bus runs for approximately 14 minutes and follows Mei after she encounters a tiny Catbus. The strange creature initially appears as a whirlwind before Mei befriends it, eventually joining the Baby Cat Bus on a nighttime journey through the forest.
Studio Ghibli’s official museum website identifies the short as a mini-sequel to My Neighbor Totoro. It was written and directed by Miyazaki, with music by Joe Hisaishi. Ghibli Museum
The short also expands the Catbus concept beyond the original film. Mei encounters a gathering of Catbuses in the forest, offering fans a brief look into the mysterious world surrounding the magical creatures.
Despite its connection to one of Ghibli’s most famous films, Mei and the Baby Cat Bus has never received the kind of wide home-video or streaming release associated with the studio’s feature films.
The short was created for the Ghibli Museum in Mitaka, where the studio continues to screen exclusive short films. The museum’s current film catalog still lists Mei and the Baby Cat Bus among its collection of short works. Ghibli Museum
This limited availability has helped turn the short into something of a curiosity for Totoro fans. Rather than serving as the beginning of a larger sequel series, it remains a compact return to the world of Mei and Totoro.
A FULL TOTORO 2 STILL APPEARS UNLIKELY
Alpert’s comments also reinforce why fans should not necessarily interpret the short as evidence that a full My Neighbor Totoro 2 could happen.
The appeal of Mei and the Baby Cat Bus appears to have been tied specifically to Miyazaki’s interest in drawing the Catbus rather than a broader desire to continue the franchise. That distinction helps explain why the filmmaker created a short museum-exclusive story instead of returning to the characters for another theatrical feature.
For now, Mei and the Baby Cat Bus remains the closest thing to an official My Neighbor Totoro sequel. More than two decades after its creation, its unusual origins offer another look into Miyazaki’s highly personal approach to filmmaking.
