From the glowing eyes to the plush furry seats, Toyota's designer reveals the story behind the APM Cat Bus.
Just like real cat’s eyes
One of the Cat Bus’s standout features is eyes that shine in the dark. How were they brought to life?
The team crafted eyes in many color and shape variations, repeatedly testing how they lit up indoors, under natural light, and in the dark. When the APM Cat Bus is actually operating, most people will see it during the day. That makes the nighttime cat eyes all the more special.
When Nagatsu first proposed his idea for the APM Cat Bus to director Goro Miyazaki, he presented something like the following sketch.
Looking very pleased, Miyazaki commented, “It’s great to see something hand-drawn these days!”
Nagatsu
Before fabricating anything, we fleshed out the details by exchanging sketches, and he offered a lot of feedback. “Make the claws a bit sharper,” or “It would be more exciting to see it in full stride.”
Studio Ghibli are professionals at entertaining people, so they pointed to ways we could bring out the magic. It wasn’t like doing fielding drills, but a really fun session of catch.
Drawing on his expertise in designing the APM, Nagatsu also continued to make his own suggestions as a professional designer, showing what was possible and where more could be done.
The Cat Bus is a creature of the imagination. Bringing it to life required both animation and carmaking specialists, working without compromise to create something that would captivate everyone.
Only for the pure at heart
The APM Cat Bus is based on the Accessible People Mover, which was designed to accommodate seniors, mobility-impaired passengers, pregnant women, and parents with young children.
As such, it is configured to provide easy access for all types of people, with a ramp that can be deployed in just 10 seconds.
Nagatsu
It allows a wheelchair user and their companion to board from opposite sides. Another basic APM feature is the raised driver’s seat, which makes it easy to turn around and check that the passengers are safe when setting off.
Finally, Nagatsu showed us the rain curtain for keeping passengers dry. “It’s only visible to the pure at heart,” he said with a laugh as he unveiled the design:
Adding a character’s silhouette to the rain curtain was one of his own suggestions.
They tried a layout with Totoro’s full body, umbrella in hand, but this made him look small. It was Goro Miyazaki who replied, “Don’t worry about fitting in the whole body; let’s make Totoro bigger.”
Bringing together different companies and departments, the APM Cat Bus was created by a group of adults who take their job seriously while having fun along the way.
Ghibli Park visitors can catch the Cat Bus for themselves at Expo 2005 Aichi Commemorative Park (Nagakute, Aichi) from March 16, with tickets featuring illustrations by director Hayao Miyazaki.