catbus

Name: Catbus (Nekobasu / ねこバス)
Work: My Neighbor Totoro (Studio Ghibli, 1988)
Creator: Hayao Miyazaki
Appearance: 1988
Gender: male
Occupation: magical transport

Habitat: The forest near the village where Satsuki and Mei live

Appearance:

• a bus-shaped body with rounded lines;
• fluffy cat body of gray-beige color;
• a large cat head with a wide friendly smile;
• huge glowing eyes (can see in the dark);
• 12 paws - used for movement;
• a long fluffy tail (serves as a rudder);
• the windows on the sides are smaller cat's eyes;
• inside - a soft fluffy interior with cushioned seats.

Character:

• friendly and helpful;
• patient and reliable transport;
• a little mysterious, but not scary;
• loves to help children and forest inhabitants;
• calm, but can move very quickly.

Capabilities:

• super speed: moves faster than any ground transport;
• silent movement: makes almost no noise while driving;
• night vision: sees perfectly in the dark thanks to huge eyes;
• cross-country ability: easily overcomes any obstacles (forests, hills, ravines);
• levitation: can hang in the air for a short time or smoothly descend from a height;
• magical appearance/disappearance: appears and disappears as needed;
• the interior space is larger than the exterior: it can accommodate several passengers, despite its apparent size.

Peculiarities:

• serves as a transport for forest spirits and children;
• helps Satsuki find Mei in the climax scene;
• makes a soft purring sound instead of a beep;
• lighting from the inside is created by the light from the eyes (window-eyes);
• chooses the route intuitively - “knows where he needs to go”.

Interesting facts:

• popular as a stuffed toy and cosplay object;
• the design was used to decorate real cars;
• combines the features of a pet and public transport.

Signature sounds:

• soft purring when the engine is running;
• a quiet "meow" when stopping;
• a slight hissing sound when disappearing.