Lewis Carroll and Studio Ghibli: How Catie in MeowmeowLand Came to Life

Cats prowl through the history of fiction, lending their feline mischief to countless classic works. Glimpses of gleaming eyes and the rumble of gentle purrs are everywhere, as the little furry companions wriggle their way into novels, movies, and games. The upcoming Catie in MeowmeowLand is a whimsical journey through a mystical feline world, and has its roots in the many cat-centric creations of the past.

Tumbling Down the Rabbithole

The year is 1865 and London is the most populous city in the world. The River Thames bristles with sailing barges and rowing boats, drifting in the shadows of hulking half-constructed steamships. In the newly-built London Underground, locomotives propel wooden cars through dark tunnels, gas lamps lighting the way.

It is the year that Britain’s first speed limit is put in place, outlawing blistering speeds of 2 mph in town and 4 mph in the country. Elsewhere in the world, the New York Stock Exchange establishes its first permanent headquarters in New York City. Within a year, dynamite will be invented. Transatlantic telegraph cables have failed once, but will succeed in a years’ time. Wars rage and nations are reshaped.

And in London, the bustling hub of a changing world, a man by the name of Lewis Carroll publishes a timeless piece of children’s fiction, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.

One of the best-known pieces of Victorian literature, Carroll’s novel is a classic which virtually everyone alive knows of, and has likely read or experienced through one of its many adaptations. The beautifully written tale of fantastical adventure brings to life enchantingly odd characters and imagery - unique creations that ensnare the imagination and embed deep in memory. Figures like the Mad Hatter, White Rabbit, and Cheshire Cat remain cultural touchstones to this day, and have endlessly influenced the fantasy genre and wider popular culture. The fantastic world of Wonderland, with all its absurd eccentricities, is one which generation after generation of children yearn to visit.

The timelessness of this tale has led to countless adaptations. The 1951 film, Alice in Wonderland, was Walt Disney’s 13th animated feature film, and received a surprisingly lackluster initial reception. A considerably more successful 1974 theater re-release cemented its popularity, and in more recent years Disney released the Tim Burton-directed live-action adaptation. Both movies depict the classic tale of Alice falling into the bizarre and lore-rich world of Wonderland, discovering its countless peculiar creatures and characters.

The Magic of Studio Ghibli

Over a century patters by. The year is 1985, or Showa 60 in the Japanese calendar, a time of economic prosperity for the country. Japan is about to host the 1985 Summer Universiade in Kobe, as well as Miss International 1985 in the city of Tsukuba. A group of creatives fresh off the success of the 1984 film Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind join together to found an animation film studio. The legendary Studio Ghibli is born, and founders Hayao Miyazaki, Toshio Suzuki and Isao Takahata begin work on the magical films that will inspire a whole new generation.

In just a few years, one of their most acclaimed and iconic films will arrive, in My Neighbour Totoro, the story of two young girls discovering a supernatural world of woodland spirits and wondrous creatures. One of the most striking elements is the Catbus, the gigantic flying cat with headlights for eyes, windows running along its side, and a hollow interior with fur-covered seats. This wondrously bizarre creation ferries characters to and fro, all the while wearing a wide grin