The 1987 anime movie "My Neighbor Totoro" featured a creature named Totoro, a forest spirit that was sort of a cross between an owl and a cat. According to the wikipedia page, his name is a little girl's mispronunciation of torÅru, the Japanese pronunciation of the English word "troll".
The popular Totoro is not a yeti. But it occurs to me he may very well have inspired many modern representations of yeti.
Before Totoro, yetis were monsters through and through: ape-like and skulking, with menacing eyes, fangs and claws (Even Rudolph's Bumble fit the bill). In the two decades since Totoro, however, there has appeared an entirely new kind of yeti on the scene. This one is less ape-like and more fat and cuddly. The depiction is abstract and stylized with a wide mouth, round eyes and a friendlier, cuddlier appearance. It's more like an imaginary friend than an abominable monster. More like a Totoro.
Here is a sampling of the possibly Totoro-inspired breed, but there are TONS more out there:
Totoro could be the missing link!
Check out Totoro Forest Project, a charity foundation to help save a forest. Artists create works for auction and many depict their own yeti-like beings.
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