The program for a festival 02 Anima Mundi 2001／Annecey 1999 “Japanese classic animation”

Director:Yasuji Murata

In Corporal Norakuro (Norakuro Gochou, 1934), the character falls asleep after a visit to a yakitori stall during his day off duty, and dreams of successfully fending off an attack from an enemy squad of monkeys who attempt to make off with some valuable plans from the dogs’ military compound. In later stories, Norakuro’s adversaries would manifest themselves physically, not just in his daydreams.

This is a bizarre cartoon from ’30s Japan. It’s basically about an island with peaceful citizens (one of whom resembles Felix the Cat) dancing to music before being invaded by a giant Mouse that resembles Mickey flying on a giant bat with a mouse-like head with others looking like them following. Then the islanders contact legendary folk-hero Momotaro from a giant book to battle “Mickey”. After defeating “Mickey” in a sword duel, the giant mouse falls through the clouds and grows very old after one of the doll inhabitants releases some spirit from a box. Also defeated are some snakes that spit bullets and many of the bats with mouse heads that also have ammunition in their mouths. Then at the end, the sun god makes blossoms appear on trees as the islanders (which ounce again includes “Felix”) dance happily ever after…Anyone who knows about Japanese history could probably tell that “Mickey” represents America which the country with the rising sun on their flag thought was about to attack them.

Director:Noburo Ofuji(1900 – 1961)

Ofuji worked primarily with cutout and silhouette animation (though also made a number of films in traditional animation, using then-expensive, imported cels, and his earliest work known to have survived is a live-action/animated film) and is known for his employment of washi, especially the coloured and patterned Edo chiyogami, in both of these, giving his films a distinctively Japanese appearance.

Director:Kon Ichikawa

6min

Kon Ichikawa was considered one of the masters of the immediate postwar generation of Japanese filmmakers, a generation often overshadowed by the titanic presence of Akira Kurosawa. After finishing technical school in Osaka in the 1930s, he got a job at the animation department of J.O. studios just as it was expanding from a rental film house to a full-fledged production company.

It is famous as the masterpiece of classics of cartoon short movie in Japan.

Director:Kenzo Masaoka

Kenzo Masaoka completed “SAKURA(HARU NO GENSOU)The cherry tree (Spring fantasy)”(46) using Weber’s “Invitation to a dance” (arranged by Berlioz) which Stokowski conducted gorgeously. In this work, the spring sight was lyrically drawn with MAIKO in Kyoto, the shower of falling cherry blossom, and the butterflies which are flying. On a screen, a quiet atmosphere flowed and the noisy social situation was not felt. Moreover, arrival of freedom was not cried for loud.

Director:Masao Kumagawa

The doll that the boy picked up begins to move, and the pen of magic is given to the boy. The boy builds a lot of buildings in the town that became the scorch field of postwar days by practicing the magic of the pen.