The Studio Ghibli animation that inspired a Billie Eilish song

After the release of “The Castle in the Sky” (1986), Studio Ghibli, an animation producer that has been created for almost four decades, has developed more than twenty feature films over the years, expanding its reach beyond its country of origin. , since, due to its unique features and complex stories, the seal ended up becoming a reference around the world.

So much so that it is possible to find allusions to the Japanese company’s animated titles not only in other animated cinematographic works, such as Disney’s “Luca”, but also in other artistic formats, an example being music, as one of the animated works served as inspiration for one of the songs by one of today’s most popular singers: Billie Eilish!

The Studio Ghibli animation that inspired a Billie Eilish song

The film in question is “Spirited Away”, whose story elements are found in the track “CHIHIRO”, from Chihiro’s third studio album. Eilish“Hit Me Hard And Soft”, released on May 17th on music streaming platforms with 9 more tracks; listen!

The plot follows the 10-year-old title character who, after seeing her parents being turned into pigs, discovers a secret world full of spirits and sorcery, where she needs to face several challenges to return to her reality and save the lives of her father and mother. mother, embarking on a journey full of self-knowledge and maturity.

Thus, in an interview given to Rolling Stone, Eilish explained how the protagonist could serve as inspiration for the song:

The song is loosely based on that movie, which is one of my favorites. It’s kind of from her point of view, mixed with mine. The visuals in that film are some of the best ever,” the singer began explaining.

In the same chat, the artist said that the song’s beat and music video also have allusions to the visuals and environments presented in the animation, which pleased not only fans, but also specialized critics, given that, released in 2001, the plot marked Oscar history for becoming the first non-English-language animated production to win the Oscar ceremony in the Best Animated Feature category.

There are all these visuals of the train in the water after the flood, and it literally looks like an ocean with train tracks. I had just watched ‘Spirited Away,’ and Finneas had made this beat. I love this movie. I had seen it so many times.”

As a result, fans have gathered some of the possible references that can be found, such as in the line “I saw your place near the counter when I looked to the side; I saw you turn around, but it wasn’t your face”, which could be an allusion when Chihiro finds her parents transformed into pigs.

Just like in the lyrics below, which could be a reference to when Chihiro and Haku meet in the garden and she needs to save him.

I was waiting in the garden
Contemplating, excuse me
But there’s a part of me that recognizes you
Do you feel this too?
When you told me this was serious
I was serious

Check out all the possible allusions in the thread published on X (formerly Twitter):