Taiyou no ouji Horusu no daibouken (1968)

Director:

Isao Takahata

Writer:

Kazuo Fukazawa (writer)

Release Date:

21 July 1968 (Japan)

Genre:

Animation | Fantasy | Family | Action | Adventure | Drama

Plot:

Horus, a kid living in an unnamed Scandinavian/Eastern Europe culture of the Iron Age, recovers the...

Plot Keywords:

Demon | Sword | Giant | Young | Japan

Cast

Yukari Asai	...	Coro the Bear
Mikijiro Hira	...	Grunwald the Demon of Ice (voice)
Etsuko Ichihara	...	Hilda (voice)
Gilbert Mack	...	Voices
Masao Mishima	...	Village Leader
Hisako Ohkata	...	Hols (voice)
Corinne Orr	...	English dubbed version
Ray Owens	...	Voices
Eijirô Tôno	...	Ganko
Billie Lou Watt	...	Prince
Hisashi Yokomori	...	Horu's Father / Toto
Tadashi Yokouchi	...	Paul / Moog the Rock Giant

Directed by
Isao Takahata

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Kazuo Fukazawa		writer

Produced by
Hiroshi Okawa	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Michio Mamiya

Cinematography by
Jiro Yoshimura

Art Direction by
Mataji Urata

Art Department
Hayao Miyazaki	....	scene designer

Animation Department
Takashi Abe	....	inbetween artist
Yoshio Aiso	....	inbetween artist
Teruo Hattori	....	inbetween artist
Shôji Ikehara	....	inbetween artist
Tetsuta Ikuno	....	inbetween artist
Mario Ishiyama	....	inbetween artist
Sadao Kikuchi	....	animator
Masatake Kita	....	animator
Yôichi Kotabe	....	animator
Takao Kurosawa	....	inbetween artist
Shigeo Matoba	....	inbetween artist
Hayao Miyazaki	....	key animator
Yasuji Mori	....	animator
Kinzaburô Muramatsu	....	inbetween artist
Sumiko Naganuma	....	inbetween artist
Reiko Okuyama	....	animator
Katsuko Sakano	....	inbetween artist
Takao Sakano	....	inbetween artist
Noboru Sekiai	....	inbetween artist
Kôichi Tsunoda	....	inbetween artist
Yoshinobu Usuda	....	inbetween artist
Kyôko Yamashita	....	inbetween artist
Mochitsugu Yoshida	....	inbetween artist
Akemi Ôta	....	animator
Yasuo Ôtsuka	....	animation director

Production Companies

• Toei Doga

Distributors

• Toei Company (1968) (Japan) (theatrical)
• American International Pictures (AIP) (1970) (USA) (dubbed)
• Bac Films (France)
• Divisa Home Video (2008) (Spain) (DVD)
• Eastern Star (2008) (Hong Kong) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Chofu Shonen Shojo Gasshotai  chorus
• Nissho Academy Chorus  chorus

Also Known As:

"Little Norse Prince" - USA (TV title)
"Prince of the Sun: The Great Adventure of Horus" -
"Hols, O Príncipe do Sol" - Portugal (DVD title)
"Hols, il principe del sole" - Italy (dubbed version)
"Horus, prince du soleil" - France
"La grande avventura del piccolo principe Valiant" - Italy (imdb display title)
"La princesa encantada" - Spain

Runtime:

82 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:U | Portugal:M/6

Company:

Toei Doga

Trivia:

The production was ridden with problems, mainly due to the difficult union relationships between the artists and the company Toei Doga. The movie was released far beyond schedule, and kept in the theaters only for 10 days. Because of this, it bombed, and Takahata never directed for Toei again. However, the movie became immediately an underground hit among students and young anime artists, and is now widely considered the first modern anime.

Goofs:

Miscellaneous: In the English Dub opening credits Isao Takahata's name was misspelled as "Sao Takahata".

Quotes:

Hilda:[sings] In the twilight red sky / a lonely star shines / Someone calls me, / "Come away, voiceless lark / Come away, wingless lark / From where did you come? And where will you go, now?"

Movie Connections:

Featured in Hana to Arisu (2004)

A Great Fairy Tale

I first saw this film in the mid-1970's and I really enjoyed it. It came at the time I was first introduced to such Japanese exports as Speed Racer and Kimba, as well as all the Godzilla films. The thing that really made me enjoy it was the story about the young protagonist's quest to free the village of his birth from the evil wizard and his love for the young girl that turned out to be the wizard's daughter. It is just too bad that this film has never been released on DVD. Not only would I enjoy watching it once again, but I think that this film would be enjoyed by younger kids as well. In fact, this film is probably a good introduction for younger viewers to the world of Japanese anime.