Guillermo del Toro’s On Set Nickname Inspires Adorable ‘Guillermo del Totoro’ Illustrations

Whether he’s passionately lauding his fellow filmmakers’ new movies, or enlightening the masses on how to create the perfect movie monster, Guillermo del Toro’s accessible and friendly social media presence has earned the director admiration for more than just his movies. As if his cuddly figure and supportive opinions weren’t enough to endear him to cinephiles, now he has a perfectly fitting new nickname: Guillermo del Totoro.

The name was coined by child actor Mana Ashida, who played young Mako (Rinko Kikuchi) in del Toro’s 2013 monster movie, “Pacific Rim.” Ashida, who is Japanese, could not pronounce del Toro’s name, so she asked if she could call him “Totoro-san,” as a reference to Studio Ghibli’s “My Neighbor Totoro.” Del Toro confirmed the story a few days ago on Twitter, solidifying his place as one of the nicest directors in show business.

The charming anecdote quickly spawned a few artistic renderings of the director as Totoro, a match made in heaven. Del Toro is currently gearing up to take his latest film, “The Shape of Water” to the both the Venice and Totonto International Film Festivals. It is scheduled for release on December 8.

@RealGDT is this true? I hope so because it’s just lovely. pic.twitter.com/RO0k57vbQl

— Rich Evans (@iamrichevans) August 22, 2017

You have heard of Totoro and of Guillermo del Toro, I present to you Guillermo El Totoro. One day I will do a watercolor rendition of this. pic.twitter.com/Rb10DrC7Qo

— Enrique Robles (@DraftDesigner) August 23, 2017

No sé quién lo hizo, pero muero de ternura. pic.twitter.com/6p2JZMC4i5

— Eduardo Marin (@Ed_Marin) August 23, 2017

the gif from that post is the best part pic.twitter.com/49vLNRei9s

— jessica 🍞 (@my2k) August 23, 2017