Wednesday, July 16, 2008

totoro forest project



boo urban sprawl! save sayama forest!

remember what happened in pom poko? yup. apparently, there are plans to tear down the forest that was the inspiration behind hayao miyazaki's totoro. you know, the weird but cute cuddly monster that has its own facebook group -- "i want to sleep on totoro's tummy" -- of which i am a proud member. (check out the singing totoro in the tree on the banner of the site; super cute.) this is an international effort to raise money and save this forest.

the website features heaps and heaps of gorgeous art donated from animators, comic book artists, and illustrators all over the globe. the themes deal with the beauty of nature and magical childhood things -- a response to how totoro inspires them. not to mention, pixar is a big sponsor of this project. they will be holding the auction at their studio in september this year. what i'd give to be invited! luckily, a selection of the artwork will be shown in the cartoon art museum in san francisco in the following months, which i will be around for! ooh, excitement!

it's amazing how big miyazaki's influence is on the art and animation world. i just really appreciate how from his films to this project, he's always reminding us to take care of our environment.

http://totoroforestproject.org

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