Trivia / When the Wind Blows

• All-Star Cast: Jim and Hilda were voiced by the likes of Sir John Mills and Dame Peggy Ashcroft, both very popular British character actors. They both won Oscars for supporting roles in in two consecutive David Lean films, Ryan's Daughter for John and A Passage to India for Peggy.
• Celebrity Voice Actor: In the Japanese dub, Jim is voiced by the movie actor Hisaya Morishige, better known for voicing Okkoto-nushi in Princess Mononoke. Likewise, Hilda is voiced by the late actress Haruko Kato, who also worked in another Studio Ghibli's film, Howl's Moving Castle, as Madame Suliman.
• Promoted Fanboy: Roger Waters immediately said yes when he was asked to do the score, since he was a fan of Raymond Briggs's work.
• Referenced by...: Iron Maiden did a Filk Song based on it, "When the Wild Wind Blows". Albeit the ending is different, possibly to note how the world changed by 2010: there is no nuclear war, instead the couple mistakes an earthquake for an atomic strike and are Driven to Suicide.
• What Could Have Been: David Bowie was originally tapped to compose the film's soundtrack. However, he backed out as a result of mounting pressure from EMI America Records to make a proper studio album as a follow-up to Tonight. He instead contributed just the Title Track to the film, with Roger Waters composing the soundtrack instead. Bowie's collaborators on "When the Wind Blows", multi-instrumentalist Erdal Kızılçay and producer David Richards, would carry over to Never Let Me Down because of all this.
• Write Who You Know: As with Gentleman Jim, another book by Raymond Briggs starring the characters, Jim and Hilda Bloggs were based on his own parents.

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