Been thinking a lot about the Radiotrio and their various allusions, with how they intersect with one another in their narratives, and I kinda got kickstarted by @aspoonofsugar pondering Niffty’s ghibli allusions and ended up going down the rabbit hole with all three of them, so, enjoy.
Husk and Alastor sharing Dr Facilier:
Keith David voices Husk, the same voice as Dr Facilier, from the Princess and the Frog, who Alastor appears to allude to. He makes deals and tricks others, yet is frustrated that they are those with more power than him. He has a shadow self and can seemingly control shadows:
And we get confirmation from S2 that Alastor is even from New Orleans (where the Princess and the Frog takes place):
And that he had “friends on the other side” (Rosie):
But Husk is Alastor’s shadow self he needs to integrate with as the parts of himself he is repressing, aka an overlord who is bound to someone more powerful than them, abused and looked down on as a pet, and a “loser”
“Big talk from someone whose also on a fucking leash”
Has me thinking how they expanded on this a little in S2, actually even before that in the S1 recap song, where Alastor has this to say about Husk’s song Loser, Baby:
“He and Husk had a heart to heart…”
“Did anyone actually like this part?”
Oh yeah the song about embracing your weaknesses and flaws Alastor? And empathising and forming meaningful bonds with others in sharing those vulnerabilities? Does that kind of song bother you, Alastor? Hmmmmm I wonder why.
Then again in the S2EP1, with Husk being the one to prompt Alastor to help Charlie out, with Alastor refusing:
[Husk turns to Alastor, annoyed.]
Husk: Alastor, shouldn't you help her?
Alastor: Should I? Perhaps. Will I? No. Do I enjoy being difficult? [turns his head, 180 degrees towards Charlie, his eyes turn into radio dials, the area around him darkening slightly] Most definitely.
…as following the S1 finale, where Alastor was spiralling, horrified to have nearly died in the altruistic act of saving his friends, to have risked getting hurt in the process of getting close to others and caring about them (“great Alastor altruist died for his friends, sorry to disappoint, that is not where this ends!”), we see in S2 is desperately trying to repress the bonds he has with others (especially present with how he projects that onto Vox). So it’s fitting that Husk, who represents the side of Alastor he is trying to repress and ignore, is trying to encourage him to help Charlie, with Alastor ignoring him.
Niffty as various ghibli movies (Kiki’s Delivery Service, Spirited Away, Howl’s Moving Castle):
Since her song Clean it Up! With Nifty singing in japanese and being animated in chibi anime format, I have been pondering Niffty alluding to ghibli movies and their implications to her character and the story.
The most obvious one is her riding on her cleaning broom like Kiki in Kiki’s delivery service, Nifty blending the points between maid, witch and magical girl.
Kiki’s story is about a girl struggling to grow up, and still holding on to your passions even when you become discouraged or lose sight of what made you love it in the first place. This feels fitting for this allusion to appear in Nifty’s song Clean it Up! As it is one where she is trying to help Charlie, who herself is a child trying to grow up and who in S2 spirals and loses sight of her dream, becoming obsessed with how she is seen by others and wanting to prove them wrong. And in the process her pride blinds her to her dreams and she ends up hurting the people around her. When Kiki herself starts becoming self conscious and her confidence is shaken, unable to have faith in herself, she can no longer use her magic to fly to help others, which is equated to a creative slump by an artist, who gives her advice:
Ursula: When I was your age, I decided to become an artist. I loved to paint so much… I’d paint all day until I fell asleep right at my easel. And then one day, for some reason, I just couldn’t paint anymore. I tried and tried, but nothing I did seemed any good. They were copies of paintings I’d seen somewhere before, and not very good copies either. I just felt like I’d lost my ability.
Kiki: That sounds like me.
(Charlie trying to “copy” Pentious’ redemption with Angel Dust in Speedrun to Redemption, to no avail)
Ursula: It’s exactly the same! But then I found the answer. You see, I hadn’t figured out what or why I wanted to paint. I had to discover my own style. When you fly, you rely on what’s inside you, don’t you?
Kiki: Uh-huh. We fly with our spirits.
Ursula: Trusting your spirit! Yes, yes! That’s exactly what I’m talking about! That same spirit is what makes me paint and makes your friend bake. But we each need to find our own inspiration, Kiki. Sometimes it’s not easy.
(Charlie realises every redemption is unique to the individual)
Kiki: I guess I never gave much thought as to why I wanted to do this. I got so caught up in all the training and stuff. Maybe I have to find my own inspiration… But am I ever gonna find it? And is it worth all the trouble?
(Charlie’s reasons for starting the hotel and helping sinners find redemption being intertwined with her parent’s legacy, and still struggling to grow up into her own person)
Ursula: Well, for example, there were quite a few times when I thought about painting something over that painting.
Kiki: But it ended up being so great!
Ursula: So I guess it’s worth it.
She also loses the ability to talk to her cat Jiji, who Miyazaki said is meant to represent her more innocent, childish side. Similarly, Nifty represents the inner child within the story of Hazbin, and Charlie has trouble understanding her during her song where she sings in Japanese, the parts that are the most important for Charlie to hear that represents the core of her dreams and goals with the Hazbin Hotel. Both Kiki and Charlie lose sight of their passions and dreams, but luckily Charlie has her own witch that tries to remind her of them! (even if she can’t understand her at the time lmao)
Her introduction scene in the pilot also brings a few other ghibli allusions to mind tbh, since she is summoned from the fireplace like a magical familiar by Alastor to do his bidding, which mainly makes me think of Howl’s Moving Castle with Calcifer as Howl’s familiar, a powerful fire demon beholden to a contract with him, one who… pretty much keeps his castle moving and functioning.
Nifty herself is an overlord, making her a powerful demon, but like Husk her soul belongs to Alastor and she works tirelessly to clean the hotel.
Also the note Alastor leaves for Nifty to tell her to not clean up his messy pot of human remains.
Absolutely a very Howl thing to do, when Sophie, the main character also under a curse, works tirelessly to clean his castle and Howl gets upset when she cleans things that should be just left alone (mixing up his potion bottles, getting rid of the spiders, etc). Calcifer is also revealed to be Howl’s heart towards the end of the story, with the message “a heart’s a heavy burden”. Howl is “the man without a heart” who has his heart returned to him by the end of the story. This makes me think of Alastor’s character, who tries to negate all his bonds with others, and whose arc will likely be about embracing his care for others and being vulnerable, aka showing and accepting his own heart. Niffty is the closest we see to Alastor, who acts heartless and like he doesn’t care for anyone, openly caring for someone else, and her embodying the inner child archetype, one could call Nifty Alastor’s “heart” the way Calcifer is for Howl, that he needs to embrace.
She also appears as small and soot covered at first, which reminds me of the soot sprites that appear in Spirited Away (the below image also reminds me of when Niffty is swarmed by her cockroaches)
Spirited Away takes place in a bath house where spirits stay to unwind and cleanse themselves, to clean themselves via the baths, and Chihiro the protagonist has to clean the baths as part of her work there while she tries to save her parents and reclaim her name. I’ve talked about it in this analysis but Nifty’s song Clean it Up! Acts a metaphor for how redemption is akin to embracing and cleaning up the mess/flaws of oneself.
One of the scenes in Spirited Away has the protagonist Chihiro having to face an incredibly disgusting Stink Spirit. Not turning them away and instead confronting their mess head on despite its unpleasantness is essential to helping said spirit be cleansed, who is revealed to be a polluted river spirit in desperate need of help, but because of their stink, no one was willing to get close enough to help them. This is something Charlie needs to internalise if she is going to help sinners find the roots of the problems they’re dealing with and work through them. It might be messy and unpleasant and hard work, just like with Chihiro, but it is necessary to clean it up.
Husk as the Cat from Coraline:
This is the thinnest one here so I’m heading into theory town now, so buckle up. The main thread is Keith David voicing another cat in Coraline, one who is at first simply an outside observer who is incredibly insightful, but mostly apathetic and aloof to the plight of our protagonist to begin with.
The cat in Coraline knows the true nature of the otherworld Coraline is in, with the other parents, specifically the Beldam, wanting her as her own to keep. …And to eat. (something something cannibalism and toxic possessive love overlapping with one another.)
Coraline: But why? Why does she want me?
The Cat: She wants something to love… I think. Something that isn’t her. Or maybe… she’d just love something to eat.
Coraline: Eat?! That’s ridiculous… Mothers don’t eat daughters…
The Cat: I don’t know… how do you taste? *chuckles*
Which makes me think of Rosie, the cannibal queen, and the likelihood of her being Roo (who is said to drink human blood) in disguise. And her being Charlie’s “other mother”.
(...I don’t know if I entirely buy into this theory, but some have speculated that Eve/Rosie/Roo disguised themselves as Lilith in the past while taking care of Charlie, which is why we don’t see Lilith’s face or eyes, and her hair appears different than compared to when we see her in heaven. Well, I suppose Rosie is based on Mary Poppins who is a magical nanny who takes care of other’s children… *shrugs*)
Both Charlie and Coraline are given a set of other parents in their stories. With Charlie, it is Alastor and Rosie.
In Coraline she is spied upon by Beldam's “eyes” specifically, the eyes of the dolls. It is through these eyes she sees the unhappiness of Coraline and the ways she is being neglected by her parents, and is able to know exactly what to offer Coraline to tempt her, presenting themselves as the better parents.
Other Bobinsky: You think winning game is good thing? You'll just go home and be bored and neglected, same as always. Stay here with us. We will listen to you and laugh with you. [Coraline enters the tent] If you stay here, you can have whatever you want. Always!
…which is exactly what Alastor does in “Hell’s Greatest Dad”:
In Hell, there are many red eyes that are theorised to be the eyes of Roo that she spies on everyone through, and noticeably there are many within the hotel, especially Charlie’s own bedroom. In the S2 finale when she says to Lilith “I wish you could see all this Mom” we see the eyes following Charlie in the background. As if to convey that while her real mother is not there, her “other mother” is always watching her.
In the pilot right after Charlie has finished her voice message to Lilith, yet again being ignored by her mother and also expressing her father’s lack of belief in her and her dream, as if in response to this she is immediately sent her “other father”, Alastor. Like someone was observing Charlie and knew exactly what she needed and wanted, a parental figure that was present to give her the support she craved. And both Charlie and Coraline know there’s something suspicious about the nature of it all and are initially cautious, even though they are amazed by what’s being offered to them.
Charlie: Okay, so, Al. You're sketchy as fuck and you clearly see what I'm trying to do here as a joke.
[As Charlie turns away, glowing red symbols start to appear beside Alastor which quickly disappear after Charlie turns back to Alastor.]
Charlie: But, I don't. I think everyone deserves a chance to prove they can be better. So, I'm taking your offer to help. On the condition that there be no... *makes gestures with hands* tricks or voodoo strings attached. [Alastor rolls his eyes at that last statement.]
Alastor: So, it's a deal, then?
[He twirls his mic staff and presents his hand for a handshake as green energy bursts throughout the hotel.]
Charlie: *refusing his handshake* Nope! No shaking! No deals! I... hmm... As princess of Hell and heir to the throne, I, uh, hereby order that you help with this hotel. For as long as you desire.
Coraline: I didn't know I had another mother.
Other Mother: Of course you do. Everyone does.
Other Mother: Uh-huh. And as soon as you're through eating, I thought we'd play a game.
Coraline: You mean like hide-and-seek?
Other Mother: Perfect. Hide-and-seek in the rain.
[Suddenly, lightning flashes and rain pours outside.]
Coraline: What about the mud?
Other Father: We love mud here.
Other Mother: Mud facials, mud baths, mud pies. It's great for poison oak.
Coraline: How'd you know I... I... I'd love to play, but I better get home to my other mother.
Other Mother: But I'm your other mother.
Coraline: I mean my other, other mother. Mom number one? I think I should get to bed.
Other Mother: Of course, sweetheart. It's all made up.
But their growing frustrations with their own parents drives them back to their other parents in time, until it is too late to realise the trap they are caught in.
Coraline: I almost fell down a well yesterday, Mom.
Coraline: I would've died.
Coraline: Hmm. So, can I go out? I think it's perfect weather for gardening.
Mel: No, Coraline. Rain makes mud. Mud makes a mess.
Coraline: But, Mom, I want stuff growing when my friends come to visit. Isn't that why we moved here?
Mel: Something like that. But then we had the accident.
Coraline: It wasn't my fault you hit that truck.
Mel: I never said it was.
Coraline: I can't believe it. You and Dad get paid to write about plants, and you hate dirt.
Mel: Coraline, I don't have time for you right now, and you still have unpacking to do. Lots of unpacking.
Coraline: (sarcastic) That sounds exciting!
Coraline: But, Mom, the whole school's gonna wear boring gray clothes. No one will have these.
Coraline: My other mother would get them.
Mel: Maybe she should buy all your clothes.
Lucifer: Mhm, ya see? What I tell ya? Charlie, sinners are violent psychopaths, hell bent on causing as much pain and destruction as they can. There's really no point in trying.
Charlie: Dad, stop! He's defending this hotel! *turning to see Alastor eating a mafia loan shark* It may be a bit more sadistic than I'd hoped, but he's doing it for me! How come he can have faith in me but my own father can't?
The other father is also being controlled by the other mother, like Alastor is by Rosie:
...but the Other Father still tries to warn Coraline right from the start with his song about the Other Mother wanting to possess/control/consume Coraline, and about how she is being watched and manipulated:
Other Father: Hello, Coraline. Wanna hear my new song?
Coraline: My father can't play piano.
Other Father: No need to.
[Mechanical hands appear from the piano, surprising Coraline.]
Other Father: This piano plays me.
[The hands pilot the Other Father to play a lively tune on his piano.]
Other Father: (sings) Making up a song about Coraline. She's a peach, she's a doll, she's a pal of mine. She's as cute as a button in the eyes of everyone who ever laid their eyes on Coraline. When she comes around exploring, Mom and I will never, ever make it boring. Our eyes will be on Coraline.
Which I honestly think Alastor will try to do in the future as he does seem to have some genuine care for Charlie, though he tries to repress it
Charlie: All you do is stand there, smiling while you watch us struggle and fail. I don't know how you can enjoy all this suffering so much.
[Alastor stands up, wraps his fingers on Charlie's shoulder while chuckling.]
Alastor: *Chuckles* Just because you see a smile, don't think you know what's going on underneath.
[Alastor lets go of Charlie.]
Alastor: *Grabs Charlie's face with his hand and makes her smile* A smile is a valuable tool, my dear. It inspires your friends, keeps your enemies guessing, and ensures that no matter what comes your way, you're the one in control.
The other mother also stitches a smile into Wybie’s face, similar to how there are stitches in Alastor’s face that keep his ever present grin, so he is unable to express how he really feels.
Coraline: You're awful cheerful considering you can't say anything. It didn't hurt, did it, when she...
Other Father: All will be swell, as soon as Mother's refreshed. Her strength is our strength. [the hands popped up grabbed his mouth and shook a finger] Mustn't talk when Mother's not here.
Coraline: If you won't even talk to me, I'm gonna find the other Wybie. He'll help me.
Other Father: No point. He pulled a long face, and Mother didn't like it.
[The piano pops out again, aggressively shuts his mouth and spins him away from Coraline. Terrified, Coraline leaves the house.]
Another thing is that during the last confrontation with the Beldam, Coraline throws the cat at her face as a distraction so she can save her parents and escape back to the real world. Which reminds me of how Nifty picks up Husk and throws him at Velvette’s face to fight her.
Additionally there’s Rosie’s eyes being black like the button eyes:
Alastor’s transformation being similar to the Beldam’s transformation:
…and an emphasis on playing games unfairly in order to take away the freedom of others and possess them:
Cat: You know, you're walking right into her trap.
Coraline: I have to go back. They are my parents.
Cat: Challenge her, then. She may not play fair, but she won't refuse. She's got a thing for games.
Wybie grandma's sister: Be clever, miss. Even if you win, she'll never let you go!
The Cat seems to prize his freedom and agency, which the Beldam hates, (since she represents control and power over others) with the two stuck playing a game of cat and mouse:
Cat: No, I'm not the other anything. I'm me.
Coraline: Um... I can see you don't have button eyes, but if you're the same cat, how can you talk?
Coraline: Cats don't talk at home.
Cat: Well, you're clearly the expert on these things. After all, I'm just a big fat wuss puss.
Coraline: Come back. Please? I'm sorry I called you that. I really am. How'd you get here?
Cat: I've been coming here for a while. It's a game we play. She hates cats and tries to keep me out, but she can't, of course. I come and go as I please.
Coraline: [confused] The other mother hates cats?
Cat: Not like any mother I've ever known.
While in Hazbin Husk is a cat who has lost his freedom and agency in playing too many games, with him gambling against Alastor (who like the Beldam wants to have control and power over others) and losing his soul to him.
And I do wonder how much Husk knows about what Alastor and Rosie are scheming, since he knows Alastor’s soul is owned, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he knows that Rosie owns it:
Husk: I mean… you've been gone a while, and it's not like anybody knows why.
Alastor: They don't need to know, and don't you worry your fuzzy head about it.
{Alastor rubs Husk's ears which angers him.]
Husk: *growls* You may own my soul, but I ain't your fucking pet!
Alastor: *chuckles* But you are! Haha!
[Alastor turns around to join back with the tour.]
Husk: *whispering* Big talk for someone who's also on a leash.
The wording of “and it’s not like anyone knows why” in regards to Alastor disappearing (for seven years) at Rosie’s request implies Husk does know what Alastor was doing during that time.
So I’m left wondering if similar to the cat, Husk initially is passive and just observing from the outside, but gradually gets attached and decides to help warn/aid Charlie (as well as Alastor/the Other Father doing the same).
