8.1 /10 2 Votes
50% Rotten Tomatoes | 7.6/10 IMDb Initial release 21 March 1975 (Japan) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Directed by Tomoharu KatsumataTim Reid Based on The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen Starring Fumie KashiyamaMariko MiyagiTaro Shigaki Cast Fumie Kashiyama, Taro Shigaki, Mariko Miyagi, Ichirō Nagai, Kōsei Tomita Similar The Little Mermaid, Puss 'N Boots Travels A, Puss in Boots, Great Mazinger vs Getter, Mazinger Z vs Devilman | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Mermaid (アンデルセン童話 にんぎょ姫, Anderusen Dōwa Ningyo Hime, lit. "Andersen's Fairy Tales: Princess Mermaid") is a Japanese anime film based on Hans Christian Andersen's eponymous fairy tale, released in 1975 by Toei Animation. Unlike the Disney adaptation released 14 years later, this film is closer to Andersen's story, notably in its preservation of the original and tragic ending. The two main protagonists are the youngest daughter of the royal Merman family, Marina, and her best friend Fritz, an Atlantic dolphin calf. In Japan, this film was shown in the Toei Manga Matsuri (Toei Cartoon Festival) in 1975. The film was later released in the United States, dubbed into English by G. G. Communications, Inc. and Prima Film, Inc., on September 8, 1979.
Contents
Plot
The movie opens in live action Denmark. The narrator talks about Hans Christian Andersen and his authorship of the original story. After a brief shot of a live action ocean and the opening title card (with a mermaid song in the background), the scene dissolves to 2D hand-drawn anime.
Princess Marina, who lives in the undersea kingdom with her father, grandmother, and five older sisters, is playing with her best friend Fritz, a dolphin. On her way home, the Sea Witch conjures a powerful storm. Marina's sisters berate her for being late, reminding her that their grandmother won't give her the pearl hair-pin that signifies adulthood unless she is responsible. Marina and her sisters are then summoned to their father and grandmother and are told to go to bed early because of the storm.
The following day, Marina's sisters go to the surface. Marina is curious, but she is forbidden to go because she has not yet come of age. While exploring a ship destroyed by the storm, she discovers a statue of a human boy. Deciding she is ready to see the world above, she and Fritz sneak away to the surface with the help of Fritz's uncle, Duke the whale. There, she sees the handsome young prince from the statue on a ship.
Suddenly, another storm arises and throws the prince into the sea. Marina saves him and brings him to shore, leaving him there to be found. A raven-haired young woman arrives and cares for him. Marina and Fritz then return home to the palace. Marina's father scolds her, but her grandmother tells the king of the rescue. The next morning, Marina joins her sisters and receives her pearl hair-pin.
Determined to see the prince again, Marina obtains a potion from the Sea Witch which allows her to exchange her tail and her beautiful voice in order to become human. She is warned that if the prince marries another, she will die and turn into sea foam the next morning. Marina drinks the potion and is transformed.
The following morning, she is discovered by the prince on the shore. Marina lives with the prince for one month and they become very close. One day, Fritz visits and informs Marina that if she needs him, she can signal him by raising her pearl hair-pin.
The prince takes Marina horse-back riding the next morning. While riding, the prince's jealous cat Jemmy pounces on Marina's horse, spooking the horse into throwing Marina off. Marina is surrounded and chased by a pack of wolves. The prince comes to her rescue and kills the wolves, enraging Jemmy who then vows to get rid of Marina.
The prince tells her that his parents want him to marry a foreign princess, but he wants to marry the girl who saved his life. Since he cannot find her, he wishes to marry Marina. Jemmy reports the conversation to his parents, and the queen suspects that Marina has bewitched her son.
When the ship arrives carrying the princess his parents intend for him, the prince's father orders Marina's arrest for treason. The next morning, the prince meets the foreign princess and recognizes her as the same raven-haired girl who had supposedly saved him. The prince and princess are soon married.
Heartbroken, Marina calls Fritz so she can say goodbye. Fritz vows to find a way to save her. Marina's sisters, having given their hair to the Sea Witch, give her a magic knife. Her sisters tell her that if she stabs the prince through the heart, she will turn into a mermaid again. Marina accepts the knife. With only minutes until dawn, Marina sneaks into the prince's room but finds that she cannot bring herself to kill him. Marina kisses him goodbye as he sleeps.
As she throws the knife into the sea, the reflection wakes the prince. He runs onto the deck, calling after her, but she jumps before he can reach her. As he calls her name one last time, he sees that she has left behind her pearl hair-pin and a scale from her tail. As the sun rises, Marina's body slowly turns to foam and ascends into the sky. The prince suddenly realizes that Marina was the girl who had saved his life. He grieves her death as Marina's spirit goes on to Heaven for her self-sacrifice, while a devastated Fritz calls out her name.
Main characters
Music
"Yearning" (あこがれ, Akogare)
Sung by Kumiko Osugi, Lyrics by Tokiko Iwatani, Music and Arrangement by Takekuni Hirayoshi."The One I've Waited For" (待っていた人, Matteita Hito) Marina's Song in the English version.
Sung by Kumiko Osugi and People, Lyrics by Tokiko Iwatani, Music and Arrangement by Takekuni Hirayoshi.Cast
Japanese Voices
English Voices
Movie title for VHS
Home Releases
It was initially available on region 1 (USA and Canada) DVD, released by UAV Corporation under the name "The Little Mermaid: Based on Hans Christian Andersen's Classic Tale". The cover art is significantly different from the cover art from the original US VHS release of the film (released by Starmaker under the title "Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Mermaid") or the film animation style. However, multiple reviewers on Amazon.com state that the actual film on the DVD is the same as the Starmaker release (albeit somewhat censored). The customer images aside from the cover art also depict images from the original 1975 Toei film. The UAV version is not to be confused with the GoodTimes Entertainment/Golden Films version. The film is now licensed by Discotek Media. Discotek Media released the full, uncut film on Region 1 DVD, making it the first time the full film has been available in the United States since the original VHS release. The DVD includes the original Japanese audio with English subtitles and the English dub, and presents the film in its original aspect ratio.
Internet release
The Japanese version can be viewed on several media websites including Yahoo! Japan, but IP addresses not based in Japan are blocked from viewing it.