It was announced back in April that Hayao's Miyazaki 1988 animated classic My Neighbor Totoro will be turned into a stage show by Joe Hisaishi, composer and longtime Miyazaki collaborator, in partnership with the Royal Shakespeare Company. The show based on the Studio Ghibli property is set to play at London's Barbican Arts Complex this fall. 

What makes this news even more exciting is the team creating the creatures for the show will be none other than the phenomenal Jim Henson Creature Shop. They have been tasked with not only building the titular giant blue cat and all of the other magical creatures of the film, but also with creating a life-size version of the Cat Bus.

The designs for this massive undertaking will be helmed by puppeteer Basil Twist, with additional assistance from Mervyn Millar of Britain's Significant Object Studio. 

There is no better company to have been put in charge of crafting these iconic characters for the stage. Known for being pioneers of not only puppetry (or Muppetry, in this case), Jim Henson's Creature show have also had their hands in animatronics for years in order to create beings with realistic facial movements that have amazed fans for decades.

Before the advent of CGI taking over the film industry, Henson's crew lent their innovative talents to such live-action projects as the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film in 1990, which had actual stunt men in full costumes doing all of the intricate fight scenes. 

Peter Brook, the creative Supervisor for the Creature Shop has stated, 

"We know all too well the importance of maintaining the visual style and personality of beloved characters."

The show is set to open this October. Enstarz will keep you posted as more details emerge about this exciting project. 

Tags: My Neighbor Totoro Stage Play Royal Shakespeare Companyy Hayao Miyazaki jim henson Studio Ghibli Basil Twist Mervyn MIllar Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Movie Peter Brook