The Studio Ghibli classic My Neighbor Totoro is thirty years old and its appeal is as strong as ever, as is demonstrated by this pair of collectables from Chronicle Books.

With Christmas just on the horizon, tie-in stationary items are not unusual. What we have here are beautiful examples of how to do it right. Sold separately, we have a set of picture postcards and pop-up notecards baring images from the much-loved animated film.

There are thirty postcards in the set, which come in book packaging with a fold-out tri-panel display.  The crystal-clear images are stunningly printed on top quality card and depict various scenes and characters from Totoro. Yes, they can even be removed and used as proper postcards or framed and given pride of place on your wall. If you choose to keep them in situ, you might want to be careful when admiring them, though, as they come away from the binding quite easily.

As for the Pop-Up Notecard set, this contains ten general use cards that open up to reveal a 3D scene. There are five designs, with two copies of each plus envelopes that also include a delightful Totoro image. The good thing about having a pair of every design is that you can keep one as well as sending one to a Ghibli loving friend as a birthday or anniversary – even a general ‘hi, how you doing?’ card. The image on the front of the card corresponds wonderfully with the pop-up image inside, but they are not quite as sturdy as one would like and are matt coated rather than glossy so might not display as well as the postcards. They do come in a card case that looks great, though.

Both of the items would make ideal stocking fillers for anyone with a love of the studio’s work or animation fans in general.

MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO: 30 POSTCARDS / POP-UP NOTECARDS / PUBLISHER: CHRONICLE BOOKS / RELEASE DATE: OCTOBER 23RD