They say that imitation is the most sincere form of flattery and by that token Hayao Miyazaki (and his little animation house Studio Ghibli) must be chuckling at the cleverly placed Ghibli-themed elements in this weekend’s episode of The Simpsons (where Comic Book Guy gets married to a Japanese girl). In this segment of ‘Married to the Blob’ Homer’s drunken night on the town with CBG’s future father-in-law starts to wear on them when the snake wine they drank begins to transform Springfield into a cornucopia of references to numerous classic movies in the famous Ghibli library.
If you’re a fan of all things Miyazaki, you have to see this (thanks to HeyUGuys for the heads up)…
It shocked the world when the legendary animator declared, once and for all, that he was retiring. Hearts were breaking the world over becasue this time (unlike the half dozen or so times he claimed he was out) he meant it. But you know an old soul like that just can’t quit…it’s his company after all (that he founded with Isao Takahata and Toshiro Suzuki) so don’t expect he won’t pop his head in to help with a story or key animation. There are so many references to behold (I’ve watched this clip 8 times already) but we just hope there’s more. What nods to Miyazaki films did you spot??
