Riffs - Future Boy Conan #01, Animal Treasure Island, Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind

I wanted to show a couple riffs that appear in the first episode of Future Boy Conan.  There are a few more, but you can dig those out if you're so inclined.  But these should help you out when you're engaged in your Miyazaki Riffs Drinking Games.

This first example is a gag of Conan tumbling down a set of stairs.  He's getting water for Lana, who is lapsing in and out of consciousness after being rescued from the beach the day before.  It's a funny little gag, perfectly suited for the physical Conan, and Miyazaki used it before, during the classic pirate battle in Animal Treasure Island.  In that movie, Jim, the hero, also stumbles down about four flights of stairs, past a couple of funny sight gags in the process.  This battle scene is packed to the rafters with tiny details and throwaway gags.

Our second Conan riff comes from this scene, where Conan is showing off his island to Lana, carrying her around and running all over the place.  He feeds her some fruit, which is...um, a little sour tasting, and Conan gets to make some funny faces.  This big was used a few years later in the Nausicaa film, in the photo you see above.  That's rather interesting, because there's hardly a joke in the entire film.  The very few bits drop in and out very quickly.