Wanpaku Ōji no Orochi Taiji
7.2 /10 1 Votes
6.5/10 MyAnimeList Directed by Yūgo Serikawa Edited by Ikuzō Inaba Director Yugo Serikawa Production company Toei Animation | 7.2/10 IMDb 4/5 Mubi Music by Akira Ifukube Initial release 24 March 1963 Music director Akira Ifukube Producer Sanae Yamamoto | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Screenplay by Ichirō Ikeda
Takashi Iijima Starring Morio Kazama
Yukiko Okada
Chiharu Kuri Cinematography Mitsuaki Ishikawa
Hideaki Sugawara Cast Morio Kazama, Chiharu Kuri, Hideo Kinoshita, Kiyoshi Kawakubo, Masato Yamanouchi Similar The Orphan Brother, Puss in Boots, The Tale of the White Serpent, Animal Treasure Island, Doggie March | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1963 wanpaku ji no orochi taiji
Wanpaku Ōji no Orochi Taiji (わんぱく王子の大蛇退治, literally The Naughty Prince's Orochi Slaying) is a Japanese animated fantasy adventure feature film, the 6th feature produced by Tōei Animation (then Tōei Dōga), released in Japan on March 24, 1963. English-dubbed versions have been released under several titles, including The Little Prince and the Eight-Headed Dragon, Prince in Wonderland and Rainbow Bridge.
Contents
Based on the Shintō myth of the storm god Susanoo's battle with the Yamata no Orochi, the color, "TōeiScope" anamorphic format film is scripted by Ichirō Ikeda and Takashi Iijima and directed by Yūgo Serikawa. It is considered one of the very best of the Tōei Dōga features and a landmark in anime and animated features in general, placing 10th in the list of the 150 best animated films and series of all time compiled by Tokyo's Laputa Animation Festival from an international survey of animation staff and critics in 2003. It features distinctively modernist, abstracted character, background and color design, formalised the role of animation director, performed here by Yasuji Mori, in the Japanese system and drew attention to the talents of key animators Yasuo Ōtsuka and Yōichi Kotabe (whose key animation for the film, though he is credited in it as an in-betweener, is his first) and assistant directors Isao Takahata and Kimio Yabuki. The score, composed by Akira Ifukube, is also acclaimed.
Plot
This anime film tells the story of the god Susano'o (as a cute boy), whose mother Izanami has died. He is deeply hurt by the loss of his mother but his father Izanagi tells him that his mother is now in heaven. Despite Izanagi's warnings, Susano'o eventually sets off to find her. Along with his companions, Akahana (a little talking rabbit) and Titan Bō (a strong but friendly giant from the Land of Fire), Susano'o overcomes all obstacles in his long voyage. He eventually comes to the Izumo Province, where he meets Princess Kushinada, a little girl whom he becomes friends with (he also thinks that she is so beautiful that she looks like his mother). Kushinada's family tells Susano'o that their other seven daughters were sacrificed to the fearsome eight-headed serpent, the Yamata no Orochi. Susano'o is so infatuated with Kushinada that he decides to help her family protect her and slay the Orochi once and for all and he, Akahana and Bō prepare for the showdown.
Release
The film was distributed in the United States, as The Little Prince and the Eight-Headed Dragon, as a matinée feature by Columbia Pictures, opening January 1, 1964. Its Japanese origin was downplayed, as was standard practice at the time, with William Ross, the director of the English dubbing, credited as director and Fujifilm and Tōei's color and widescreen processes rebranded as "MagiColor" and "WonderScope" respectively.
Though still highly regarded in animation circles, the film is now little-known outside of them and as of April 2011 the most recent home video edition is an out of print Japanese DVD-Video released in 2002 and reissued in limited quantity in 2008.
Reception
Accolades received by Wanpaku at the time of its release including being honoured with a Bronze Osella at the Venice Film Festival and the Ōfuji Noburō Award at the 1963 Mainichi Film Awards and making it into the official recommendations of the Japanese Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health's Central Child Welfare Council. More recently, Genndy Tartakovsky watched the film and identifies it as a primary influence on the direction and design of his Samurai Jack.