When a student film called “Celles et Ceux des Cimes et Cieux” (“Girls and Guys from the Summits and the Skies”) hit the internet last month, Japanese animation fans, of which there are many, latched on to it. Even with little-to-no fanfare in the English-speaking region of the WWW, the clip became a sensation, reaching a peak of 73,000 views on April 14. Enthusiasm eventually tailed off—until yesterday, when it caught the attention of a few bloggers, and the play count shot back up over 50,000.

Filmmaker Gwenn Germain cites three influences on her piece, which runs less than three minutes: Japanese animated-feature director Hayao Miyazaki, Jean “Moebius” Giraud, and movie concept artist Syd Mead. It’s the skillful integration of the work of these three visual heavy hitters that has struck a chord with viewers all over the world. OpenCulture calls the clip a “love letter to Hayao Miyazaki” (whose best-known films include Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, Princess Mononoke, and the Oscar-winning Spirited Away), and allows that Moebius and Mead’s influence “might not be as obvious.” We agree, but see plenty of Moebius in the organic forms, the things that fly and float, and certain costumes.

Still, Moebius is not a name one throws around casually here in the HeavyMetalverse. Decide for yourself whether it lives up to the hype:

Celles et Ceux des Cimes et Cieux from Gwenn GERMAIN on Vimeo.

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