Pixar's Toy Story 3 includes an Easter egg referencing Studio Ghibli's beloved character Totoro. The third film in Pixar's Toy Story franchise continued the adventures of Woody and Buzz Lightyear, and it proved to be one of the studio's biggest movies. Toy Story 3 earned rave reviews in 2010 for delivering a near-perfect conclusion to the Toy Story trilogy, even though Pixar went on to continue the story with Toy Story 4 years later. As fans have come to expect from the studio, the film included plenty of references to other Pixar movies—but it also honored another iconic animation studio.
Pixar has received a lot of attention over the last two decades for its ability to create unique stories and push animated movie technology forward. It is quite clearly the biggest animated movie studio in Hollywood, but Studio Ghibli was an international animation powerhouse long before Pixar found fame. Founded by legendary creator Hayao Miyazaki in 1985, Studio Ghibli has a reputation for being one of the premier outlets for original animated movies. Some of their biggest and most well-known hits include the Oscar-winning Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, and My Neighbor Totoro.
Even though Pixar and Studio Ghibli are not directly connected, Disney's animated studio included a reference to Miyazaki's creations in Toy Story 3. For most of the movie, Woody finds himself in the possession of Bonnie as he tries to figure out how to save Andy's other toys from Sunnyside Daycare. Bonnie has her own collection of toys at home that Woody begins to befriend over time, and one of them is quite noticeably Totoro, the giant creature prominently featured in My Neighbor Totoro. Bonnie's Totoro toy isn't featured extensively in Toy Story 3, but it still can be seen multiple times to reference Studio Ghibli's work. This is likely the result of Disney having a deal with Studio Ghibli to distribute their films internationally.
Totoro is one of Studio Ghibli's most important characters. The cuddly cat-like spirit originally appeared in Miyazaki's My Neighbor Totoro as a friend to the film's lead characters, sisters Satsuke and Mei. Totoro immediately resonated with viewers as a fan-favorite character. It has become the most recognizable character from Studio Ghibli's films, as Totoro is their unofficial mascot and is often featured alongside the studio's logo. Toy Story 3 is the only other feature film besides My Neighbor Totoro to include Totoro, although the creature did return for Miyazaki's short film Me and the Kittenbus.
Pixar has a habit of loading their movies with Easter eggs, as they often reference their own history and films. Toy Story 3 is no exception, but one of the film's Easter eggs paying tribute to Studio Ghibli is a cool reference for Pixar and Disney to make. Although Studio Ghibli's movies are highly regarded and incredibly well-known internationally and with hardcore animation fans, many of their films are still incredibly underseen. Using Totoro in Toy Story 3 could be one way to possibly drive more attention to Studio Ghibli and open up the wide audience Pixar's movies reach to check out My Neighbor Totoro and other Miyazaki classics.