Mei and the Kittenbus is a 2002 13-minute short film directed by Hayao Miyazaki and a pseudo-sequel to his 1988 film, My Neighbor Totoro. It is the first direct sequel to a Studio Ghibli film.
As the title indicates, the short film stars 4-year-old Mei Kusakabe as she comes across a tiny version of the Catbus called a Kittenbus on a windy day after it winds up flying into her house. Later in the night, the Kittenbus takes Mei on a short little adventure where she not only has another encounter with Totoro, but discovers a whole world of other Totoros and Catbuses.
The film is one of twelve short films made exclusively for the Ghibli Museum in Mitaka, Japan, and to this day, visiting the museum or Ghibli Park in Nagakute, Japan remains the only possible ways to watch the film, as it has never been released outside of the museum or park.
The short film features the following tropes:
- Animal-Vehicle Hybrid: Beyond the returning Catbus and the titular Kittenbus, the film reveals that there is a whole world of Catbuses, including a super long Cattrain and a giant elderly Catliner (cruise ship-sized).
- Art Evolution: The animation is noticeably a lot more fluid and detailed in places compared to the original film, with the most notable improvement being that the clouds and trees are actively moving in the background unlike in the original film, where they were mostly static. Given the fourteen-year gap between My Neighbor Totoro and this film, this was bound to happen.
- Cute Kitten: If anything on earth is cuter than a Catbus, it's a Kittenbus - cuddly-looking just like the bigger Catbus, but smaller.
- A Day in the Limelight: As the title indicates, the film is primarily focused on Mei and the newly introduced Kittenbus, alongside the Catbus himself.
- Demoted to Extra: Satsuki, the other main protagonist of My Neighbor Totoro, only makes a brief non-speaking cameo in this film, as she is shown to be sleeping at night before Mei hops on the Kittenbus.
- Immediate Sequel: The film takes place only two months after the events of My Neighbor Totoro.
- Mini-Me: The Kittenbus is a tiny kid-sized version of the Catbus, with only enough room for one small child.
- Name and Name: The short is titled Mei and the Kittenbus.
- Retraux: Given that it is a direct sequel to My Neighbor Totoro, the film is deliberately animated and styled exactly like the 1988 film. It helps that Hayao Miyazaki directed the short film.
- Tastes Like Friendship: Mei gains Kittenbus' trust and becomes friends with him after giving him a tiny piece of caramel candy. Likewise, she later develops a friendship with the Catliner Nekobaa-chan ("Grandma Cat") after giving her a piece of caramel candy as well.
- What Happened to the Mouse?:
- While Satsuki makes a brief non-speaking cameo, Mr. and Mrs. Kusakabe are both absent and are only mentioned by Mei.
- Chu Totoro and Chibi Totoro are both conspicuously absent from the film, despite being Totoro's main companions in My Neighbor Totoro, and the fact that Mei goes into a whole area filled with Totoros.
