Adult Swim releases a bizarre new video for Rick and Morty crossing over Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon's world with that of Studio Ghibli. Co-founded by writer/directors Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata, producer Toshio Suzuki, and executive producer Yasuyoshi Tokuma, Studio Ghibli is well-regarded as the biggest and most-acclaimed anime film studio in the industry. Several of their projects have been nominated for Academy Awards. 2001's Spirited Away won Best Animated Feature Film, becoming the first and only hand-drawn and non-English-language film to win the award.
Rick and Morty is co-created by Dan Harmon and Justin Roiland and is inspired by a Back to the Future parody short the latter created. Starring Roiland in both titular roles, the adult animated comedy centers on mad scientist Rick Sanchez as he returns to his daughter Beth after being absent for years. He ropes his grandson Morty Smith into alternate-timeline adventures, much to the chagrin of Rick's timid son-in-law Jerry. First debuting in 2013, the series has been a hit for Adult Swim, drawing in sizable ratings, critical acclaim, and two Primetime Emmy Awards.
As episode 2 of season 5 arrived on the network, Adult Swim France shared a new Rick and Morty video on Twitter. The video offered no insight about the new season, but rather showed a bizarre claymation melding of Rick and Morty and Studio Ghibli's My Neighbor Totoro. Check out the video below.
Adult Swim has become well-known for its surreal advertising, whether for a specific series or just for its network title cards. Given the already bizarre nature of Rick and Morty, the network has frequently taken to using the characters in a variety of ways on social media to hype up new episodes of the show or just to display love for the fans who create some of the art. While Studio Ghibli might be best known for their hand-drawn animation, the video does offer an interesting use of their concept designs for the claymation format.
Though the unique advertising may not generally point towards storylines to come from the current season, the concept of Rick and Morty and Studio Ghibli coming together is one that would be interesting to see utilized in the series. With the infinite timelines the duo frequently visit having included a David Cronenberg-inspired world and this season teasing a Hellraiser parody of some kind, anything is certainly possible. Season 5 will return on Adult Swim this Sunday.
Source: Adult Swim