Catbus (ネコバス) (referred to in the film as ねこのバス, Neko basu) is a fictional supporting character in the Studio Ghibli film My Neighbor Totoro, directed by Hayao Miyazaki. It is a large, grinning, twelve-legged cat with a large bushy tail and a hollow body that serves as a bus, with windows and seats covered with fur. The character's popularity has led to a spinoff short film, toys for children, an art car, and an exhibit in the Ghibli Museum. Catbus is believed to be based on the Japanese bakeneko (化け猫, “changed cat”), an ancient urban legend where cats that grow old learn to shapeshift. In the original Japanese version of My Neighbor Totoro, Catbus is voiced by Naoki Tatsuta, whilst in the Disney English release, Catbus is voiced by Frank Welker, and by voice actor Carl Macek in the Streamline Pictures release.

Character description

The Catbus, a character in My Neighbor Totoro, is depicted as a fantastical combination of feline and bus attributes. It features a large, wide-grinning cat head, twelve legs resembling those of a cat, complete with sharp claws, and a bushy tail. The body of the Catbus is designed to resemble a bus, with a framework that includes a hollow interior lined with fur-covered seats and a shape-shifting door for passenger boarding. The eyes of the Catbus function as headlights, and it has mice with glowing eyes positioned on its upper front, serving as taillights. The fur of the Catbus is orange with brown stripes adorning its back, forehead, legs, sides, and tail. Within the context of My Neighbor Totoro, the Catbus possesses the ability to appear and disappear at will, and can travel to any destination desired by its passengers.

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