The Simpsons pay tribute to legendary animator Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli in their next episode, and the scene released below (which appears to take place during yet another drunken night out for Homer) is crammed full of references to many of their classic movies. Miyazaki announced his retirement last month, but the animation house he co-founded with Isao Takahata is thankfully going nowhere, and his final movie – The Wind Rises – is still set for a UK release.
In the clip, Otto is the Catbus from My Neighbor Totoro, The Kwik-E-Mart stands in for Howl’s Moving Castle, and a number of other Simpsons regulars appear as characters from across Studio Ghibli’s history. “Married To The Blob” airs this Sunday in the US and also features an appearance from comic book legend Stan Lee and author Harlan Ellison. That scene can also be seen below. How many Studio Ghibli references can you spot? Let us know in the comments section!
[yframe url=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R94Q6NhuS3A’]
