The evocative, cinematic slant of Yokota’s music doubtless led to director Alejandro González Iñárritu commissioning him to write the soundtrack for his 2006 film Babel, starring Brad Pitt. Yokota could not accept the commission due to his declining health, however he joined Ryuichi Sakamoto in contributing the piece Gekkoh.
The albums The Boy and the Tree and Laputa were a direct response to Hayao Miyazaki's anime. These films, an overt celebration of ancient spirituality and nature, were a reminder of Yokota’s earlier visit to the island of Yakushima, home of Jomon Sugi, the ancient tree at the heart of an untouched ravine. The search for a route back to such spirituality was also part of Noi Saragawa’s enquiry into a solution to Japanese cultural dissonance.