Ghibli Riffs: Porco Rosso

Studio Ghibli gives itself a rare cameo in Hayao Miyazaki's Porco Rosso, as seen here on the airplane engine. We also see the name "Ghibli" on a passing bus in Kiki's Delivery Service in a quick shot. And didn't Mimi/Whisper also have the studio's name etched onto a grandfather clock? This was definitely a recurring thing for a time, but why it was begun and later abandoned is anybody's guess. They just did it for fun, I suppose.

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The Cat Returns: The Complete Riffs

Continuing our series of "Ghibli Riffs," let's take a short look at the 2002 animated feature The Cat Returns (Neko no Ongaeshi), which was directed by Hiroyuki Morita and based on an idea by Hayao Miyazaki to feature a movie about the Baron character from Mimi wo Sumaseba. There are not many riffs in this movie, only a few, but they're very easy to spot.

Let's take a look at the riffs in The Cat Returns:

1. The Baron's house, hidden away in a secret village in urban Tokyo, is actually the same house as used by Sherlock Holmes in Sherlock Hound.

2. Haru chases the fat cat through an array of maze-like alleys, porches and rooftops in the city en route to The Baron. This sequence is an impressive urban spin on Mei's journey through the forest in My Neighbor Totoro (1988).

3. The image of the tunnel into another realm is a common Jungian archetype in fairy tales that symbolizes a journey into the unconscious. Hayao Miyazaki employed this image in Spirited Away and Ponyo.

4. I don't know for certain if this gag during the castle chase was intentionally riffing Animal Treasure Island (1971), but I was immediately reminded of a nearly identical scene from the Toei Doga classic. Hayao Miyazaki, as we all know, was a key animator and "idea man" for that movie. Again, I'm not sure if this fits the description of a "riff," but it looks close enough, so we'll add it to the total.

5. The entire chase sequence around a giant tower is another throwback to a Toei Doga classic, this time Puss in Boots (1969), which is basically one large Tom & Jerry comedy routine. This shot, in particular, is very close to a shot where the tower in Puss in Boots was knocked down. Hayao Miyazaki directly quoted a shot from that sequence in Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind.

6. Finally, this bit at the end made me groan a little when I saw it. It's a direct riff on the climax of Miyazaki's Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind, particularly the 1984 animated film (although the graphic novel also includes it). It's a cheap bit of deus ex machina that worked for Miyazaki because it was employed as a slight-of-hand trick, distracting you from the fact that none of the movie's major conflicts are ever resolved. In The Cat Returns, it just feels like a cheap gimmick. Oh, well.


Overall, The Cat Returns has its share of charms, and it's nice to see the production team pay homage to a few Miyazaki classics along the way.

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My Neighbors the Yamadas: The Complete Riffs

The ultimate test for any diehard Studio Ghibli fan is spotting all the "Ghibli Riffs," the shots and moments that directly quote earlier works. It is a staple of the Takahata-Miyazaki canon and is found in all of their films and television series. Today, we're taking a look at Takahata's 1999 masterwork My Neighbors the Yamadas.

Watching our new Blu-Ray copy this weekend, I was struck by how few riffs appear in this movie. Most Ghibli movies contain well over a dozen riffs without breaking a sweat, while Yamada-kun only contains half that amount. Instead, there are a number of nods to classic cinema, which is a Takahata trademark that goes back years (Heidi and Anne of Green Gables both quote Citizen Kane, Horus cites Alexander Nevski).

Let's take a look at all the riffs in Yamadas:

1. The opening scene portrays a number of images that directly quote Japan's hanafuda cards as the main characters are introduced. This very same thing appeared in Takahata's great film Jarinko Chie (1981).

Also, is my memory playing tricks with me, or was the shot of the bird on the branches, another Hanafuda card illustration and seen in Jarinko Chie, also riffed in Pom Poko (1994)? Somebody should check that to be sure.

2. Two shots show a fascinating still-shot montage that reminds me very much of the introductory shots of the farming family in Omohide Poro Poro (1991). Both share the same fascinating blend of flat 2D images in a moving 3D landscape. I'm also reminded of View-Master, but that's probably just me.

3. Every Paku-san fan will immediately spot this shot. It's quoting the opening to Heidi, Girl of the Alps (1974). Speaking of which, is everyone getting enjoying their Heidi marathons? Don't forget that the Japanese (w/subtitles) and Espanol versions are available here on Ghibli Blog.

4. This shot is a really clever bit of comic timing and editing, showing a pack of hungry sharks that pop up to watch Jaws playing on the teevee set. It's a nice little nod to an iconic movie that may also touch upon the movie's running commentary on daily reality versus fantasy escapism that Takahata critiques.

5. This short scene of the family signing a popular Japanese song was previously heard in Omohide Poro Poro, in the scene where the school children are having their "class parliament" session. Also, I kinda want one of those table-and-pillow sets for the living room.

6. This bit where Matsuko tricks her son into cooking ramen noodles includes a short cut of the mother walking down the screen, top to bottom, only feet shown. This shot originally appeared an episode of Heidi. Hayao Miyazaki also riffed that same shot in Princess Mononoke, in the shots of the Shishigami walking in darkness, his footsteps spawning plant life at an accelerated lifespan.

7. This scene where Takashi daydreams is another Takahata trademark, as the outside world dissolves and we enter into the inner worlds of the characters' minds. Anne of Green Gables (1979) and Gauche the Cellist (1982) are probably my favorite examples.

8. This funny scene of Takashi trying to take a family photo while everyone else is glued to the television is another great moment where Paku-san criticizes escapism at the expense of missing out on daily life. But did you also spot the movie that was playing? It looks exactly like a scene from Horus, Prince of the Sun. Nice. Oh, and Hayao Miyazaki also quoted that same shot in Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves (1971).

9. This great little comic moment of Noboru wrecking his room in a fit of joy is a wonderful nod to Charlie Chaplin's classic movie The Gold Rush. Be sure to grab that movie on Criterion Blu-Ray, which features the original 1925 release that is waaay better than the 1940s remix.

10. Yamada's most dramatic sequence is this extended story where Takashi is compelled to stand up against a pack of neighborhood bullies but is humiliated instead. Sitting alone on a park swing, he imagines himself as the caped superhero Kamen Rider, who bravely chases villains, fires a pistol and performs wild motorcycle stunts. The illusion of fantasy versus the harsh reality of real life is portrayed in stark, tragic terms. The shot of the father on the swing has always reminded me of Akira Kurosawa's masterful Ikiru.

11. This poignant scene of Takashi on his way to work includes this compelling shot of him riding in a crowded train, lost in a sea of anonymous faces. Pom Poko also featured a nearly identical shot of one of the main tanuki characters, who is forced to survive by assimilating into the human world and its soul-crushing salaryman lifestyle.

12. This shot of a crowd moving at a diagonal angle reminds me of a nearly identical shot from Horus, Prince of the Sun. Hayao Miyazaki also riffed the same shot in Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind (1984) and Kiki's Delivery Service (1989).

13. The magnificent song-and-dance finish with the Yamadas floating through the air on umbrellas is actually a direct quote from The Story of Perrine, the 1977 season of World Masterpiece Theater, specifically the opening sequence where cartoon characters float on dandelions through the air. Takahata also riffed the same shot in Gauche the Cellist. This has always fascinated me; Paku-san assisted the Perrine team on storyboards for one or more episodes, but only in a supporting fashion.


Coda. In addition to the Ghibli and cinema riffs, My Neighbors the Yamadas has a number of visual references to Japanese art and folklore, including the famous Hokusai painting, The Great Wave of Kanagawa, and various stories about where children come from. The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter is most fascinating, as it leads directly to The Tale of the Princess Kaguya (2013), Takahata's final masterpiece.

There are also many musical cues to Japanese and Western classical and modern popular songs that always leaves me inspired and overwhelmed. One of the great joys of a Takahata movie is enjoying the wonderful music and being swept along in his world. When Studio Ghibli was founded, Toshio Suzuki proclaimed, "we want to create movies that celebrate the joys and sorrows of life." I can't think of a more perfect illustration of that mantra than My Neighbors the Yamadas. This movie is a miraculous celebration of art and life.

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Riffs: Princess Mononoke (Movie and Book)

Here is one of the more interesting riffs in the Ghibli canon. In Princess Mononoke, we see a character named Kaya who serves as a romantic interest (of sorts) for Prince Ashitaka. The relationship is shown shown in brief moments, but she clearly loves the boy and is devoted to him. As he is cast out of the village and sent on his quest, she gives him a crystal dagger as a symbol of her memory.

Later in the movie, Ashitaka meets San, the "Princess Mononoke", and falls in love with her. He gives her his crystal dagger as a sign of his devotion to her. Later, during the dramatic climax, San lashes out in anger by striking the same dagger into Ashitaka's chest. In the end, while the two share love for one another, they both realize that they cannot live together, and must stay in their separate worlds (don't kid yourself; when the girl you are dating says "I need my space," you're never seeing her again).

Now here's where things really get interesting. The village girl Kaya is actually a recreation of the heroine from Hayao Miyazaki's original 1980 version of Mononoke Hime, which was radically different from the eventual movie. It's far closer to a traditional fairy tale, Beauty and the Beast meets Feudal Japan. In that story, Mononoke is a large cat who takes on a human wife, the "Mononoke Princess."

Incorporating the storybook princess into the movie is a stroke of sly brilliance. The romantic heart of this movie involves a love triangle, where the heroic prince must choose between two women who carry the same name.

Most Miyazaki fans in the West had never heard of the 1980 version of Mononoke, created as a series of storyboards for a planned animation project which was scuttled, then published in the 1983 book Hayao Miyazaki Image Boards. A standalone storybook was published in Japan in 1997 to coincide with the movie, and was eventually published in North America by Viz Media in 2014.

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Riffs: When Marnie Was There, My Neighbor Totoro, Omohide Poro Poro

Hiromasa Yonebayashi pays tribute to the Studio Ghibli movies in all of his work, and When Marnie Was There is chock full of them. Here is one easy riff for fans: Anna is wearing the same hat as Mei in My Neighbor Totoro. However, I was also reminded of Taeko's hat in Omohide Poro Poro. Maybe that's just me, or maybe it's intentional. You be the judge.

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Riffs: Heidi, Girl of the Alps, Omohide Poro Poro

Of all the great works in the Hayao Miyazaki-Isao Takahata canon, it is Heidi that stands tallest. At least where the riffs stand. Nearly every one of the 52 episodes from the groundbreaking anime series has been quoted in the directors' later works. For those of you playing the "Ghibli Riff Game", you will never truly become a champion until you've spotted all those Heidi moments.

Here is but one terrific example. This shot from Omohide Poro Poro (Only Yesterday) of children running down the aisle of a train passenger car is directly quoting a shot from a later episode of Heidi, one in which the title character, her "Alm-Uncle" and her friends spend a vacation at the ruins of a great castle. Notice how characters wink back at the camera as they skirt on by. That's a very sly shot.

One extra riff tidbit: the Heidi episodes set at the castle (a completely original plot line that was never in the original Johanna Spyri novel) were later riffed in Lupin the 3rd: The Castle of Cagliostro, when Lupin and Jigen encounter the ruins of the Cagliostro family castle. And the elderly groundskeeper who speaks to them? He is voiced by the same Japanese actor who voiced the Grandfather in Heidi.

Better learn your Ghibli Riffs, kids.

P.S. I've been holding onto that Heidi screenshot on my computers since 2005, when I bought a Taiwan DVD Heidi box set and watched the whole series. No, there were no English subtitles, which was unfortunate, but I was able to follow pretty easily in my crummy toddler-level Japanese grammar skills. I'm still not any better.

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Riffs: Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro

Here is a Ghibli Riff that I hadn't noticed at first, but now it seems obvious. The scene with the giant radish spirit in the elevator mimics shots and poses from My Neighbor Totoro's classic scene at the bus stop.

I think one of the things I enjoy about Miyazaki's movies is how he fills his canvas with so all these little details, and populates his worlds with minor characters who come and go, yet leave an indelible impression upon our imaginations. This radish character is a throwaway, barely on the screen for a moment and then gone forever. And I'm left wanting more. I'd like to see a whole movie about this character. Wouldn't you? Eh, maybe, maybe not. Whatever.

Every Studio Ghibli movie features at least a handful of riffs that aim back to earlier works. Many have well over a dozen. Spirited Away has shots that wink back to Future Boy Conan, Castle of Cagliostro, My Neighbor Totoro and Princess Mononoke (the original 1980 storyboard book), among others. If you can find them all, kudos to you. You should make a contest among your Ghibli loving friends. Let's see just how well you know your Miyazaki.

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Riffs: Spirited Away, Mary and the Witch's Flower

It's no secret that Yonebayashi and Studio Ponoc see themselves as the next generation of Studio Ghibli. Many of their artists are alumni from the famed studio, and wish to continue the tradition of high quality, hand-drawn animation into the future. This will be a daunting challenge, as CG has completely overwhelmed everything in its path, but hopefully there will be enough people in the world who prefer the old ways. We will see.

Mary and the Witch's Flower at times feels like a mashup of all your favorite Hayao Miyazaki movies, including Kiki's Delivery Service and Spirited Away. Here, in this shot, we see a riff that points back to Miyazaki's 2001 Oscar-winning classic, albeit with a slight change in camera angle. It is here that Yonebayashi makes a fascinating choice: he quotes the Ghibli movies, but not in the slavish blink-and-you'll-miss-it style you see from other films. When Marnie Was There did the very same thing, quoting and riffing on Omohide Poro Poro and Spirited Away but used as a reference point, not simply a challenging bit of obscure trivia for the fans (or, most likely, the creators).

For me, the "Ghibli Riffs" are one of the most fascinating thing about these movies, if for no other reason than the fact that hardly anybody knows these things exist. If I have failed in any aspect with this website project, it's not properly cataloging all these obscure Easter eggs. Oh, well, whatever, nevermind.

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Riffs: Lupin the 3rd, Future Boy Conan, My Neighbor Totoro

Some years ago, I posted on this riff from My Neighbor Totoro, where Mei looks through a bucket, giving us this fascinating little camera shot. This bit was quoting an early episode of Future Boy Conan. To my surprise, I only recently realized that this shot originated in the 1971-72 Lupin the 3rd TV series, from one of the episodes directed by Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata.

Hayao Miyazaki always likes to recycle certain gags and shots. It's what makes exploring his films and TV series so much fun. There are Easter eggs scattered everywhere. Why is this still such a mystery? Hardly anybody in the Ghibli fan community every talks about this. Perhaps we still need to spread the word of the pre-Ghibli era. Once you've seen Horus, Lupin, Heidi and Conan, your eyes will pop out of your heads.

Lupin the 3rd: Series One is currently available on DVD in the States, courtesy of Discotek. When is somebody going to license Future Boy Conan, already? What exactly are we waiting for?

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Riffs: Lupin the 3rd, Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind

This first screenshot comes from the Lupin the 3rd Series Two finale, Farewell, Beloved Lupin. It features a heroine in blue who controls a giant robot and is forced to commit crimes against her will. This is an interior shot of Maki Oyamada, the heroine, operating the controls inside the flying robot.

Hayao Miyazaki was a fan of these kind of interior airplane shots. This specific shot appears to be quoted directly in Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind, which features a later incarnation of the director's iconic heroine. Both characters are also voiced by Sumi Shimamoto, further adding to the connection.

The giant robot, of course, is a tribute to the classic Fleischer Superman cartoons, and would later be revised into the giant robots in Castle in the Sky, as well as the God Warriors in Nausicaa, and especially the character of Ohma in the Nausicaa books.

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Riffs: Porco Rosso, Finding Nemo

Here is a charming little Easter Egg for Studio Ghibli and Pixar fans. This shot of sailors joining together to form a giant arrow in Porco Rosso was directly riffed in Finding Nemo, where a large school of fish join together in another arrow. It's a funny little gag that works on its own, and if you're a Miyazaki fan, you'll be especially delighted.

Aside from the Totoro cameos in Toy Story 3, can you think of any Ghibli riffs in the Pixar movies? Any takers? Bueller?

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