WHISPER OF THE HEART — Hayao Miyazaki takes “Country Roads”

About this episode

The episode explores the connection between the song 'Take Me Home Country Roads' and the anime 'WHISPER OF THE HEART'.

How'd a 1971 country-pop anthem about West Virginia... inspire a 1995 anime classic about teens in Tokyo? We kick off a season about great movie needle-drops with the tale of WHISPER OF THE HEART — the anime that helped drive John Denver's "Take Me Home Country Roads" into Japanese culture. Guests include the song's co-writer Bill Danoff, plus rare interviews with Studio Ghibli cofounder Toshio Suzuki and his daughter Mamiko — the movie's lyricist. The audio documentary podcast MUBI Pod...

People in this episode

Guests: Bill Danoff, Toshio Suzuki, Mamiko Suzuki

Topics covered

• anime
• music
• cultural influence
• film analysis
• needle-drops

Keywords

• anime
• country music
• John Denver
• Studio Ghibli
• cultural impact

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Studio Ghibli

Books & works: WHISPER OF THE HEART, Take Me Home Country Roads

Places: West Virginia, Tokyo

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