is a 2006 Japanese animated short film produced by anime

Anime

is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....

 studio Studio Ghibli

Studio Ghibli

is a Japanese animation and film studio founded in June 1985. The company's logo features the character Totoro from Hayao Miyazaki's film My Neighbor Totoro...

. It can be seen at the Ghibli Museum

Ghibli Museum

is a museum featuring the Japanese anime work of Studio Ghibli, and is located in Inokashira Park in Mitaka, a western suburb of Tokyo, Japan.The museum is a fine arts museum, but does not take the concept of a usual fine arts museum. With many features that are child-oriented and a sprawling and...

 in Mitaka, Tokyo

Mitaka, Tokyo

is a city located in Tokyo, Japan. As of 1 November 2010, the city has an estimated population of 176,737. The total area is 16.50 km² and is about 50 – 55 meters above sea level...

, Japan.

It is based in part on "Boro, the Caterpillar", a story idea which Hayao Miyazaki

Hayao Miyazaki

is a Japanese manga artist and prominent film director and animator of many popular anime feature films. Through a career that has spanned nearly fifty years, Miyazaki has attained international acclaim as a maker of animated feature films and, along with Isao Takahata, co-founded Studio Ghibli,...

 considered working on prior to the start of production on Princess Mononoke

Princess Mononoke

is a 1997 epic Japanese animated historical fantasy feature film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki of Studio Ghibli. is not a name, but a general term in the Japanese language for a spirit or monster...

. The short film's main character is a diving bell spider

Diving bell spider

The diving bell spider or water spider, Argyroneta aquatica, is the only species of spider known to live entirely under water.Argyroneta aquatica is found in northern and central Europe and northern Asia up to latitude 62°N. It is the only spider known to spend its whole life under water...

 who seems to have fallen in love with a water strider

Water strider

Gerridae is a family of true bugs in the order Hemiptera, commonly known as water striders, water bugs, magic bugs, pond skaters, skaters, skimmers, water scooters, water skaters, water skeeters, water skimmers, water skippers, water spiders, or Jesus bugs...

. Although she is scared of him at first, the water strider soon gets used to the presence of the spider.