My Neighbor Totoro

For the first time in Hayao Miyazaki's decades-spanning career, the 82-year-old Japanese anime master is No. 1 at the North American box office. Miyazaki's latest enchantment, "The Boy and the Heron," debuted with $12.8 million, according to studio estimates.

Beyond the gates, a whimsical world awaits, complete with a fluffy Cat Bus, the toothy grin of Totoro and a life-sized No-Face seated on a train: welcome to Ghibli Park.

On Oct. 12, media got a sneak peek at the highly anticipated new theme park from Studio Ghibli, creator of beloved titles like "My Neighbour Totoro" and Oscar-winning "Spirited Away."

A Japanese city is launching a crowdfunding campaign to help preserve a special spot of woodland: The forest that inspired the animator of beloved movie "My Neighbour Totoro."

The city of Tokorozawa outside Tokyo plans to buy the 3.5-hectare "Totoro Forest" for 2.6 billion yen ($19 million), with crowdfunding covering just a small portion of that, a city official told AFP.