Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Mermaid (1975 film)

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This article is about the 1975 Japanese film. For the fairy tale on which it is based, see The Little Mermaid. For other uses, see The Little Mermaid (disambiguation).
Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Mermaid
Directed by Tomoharu Katsumata
Tim Reid
Written by Hans Christian Andersen (tale)
Mieko Koyamauchi
Ikuko Oyabu
Based on The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen
Starring Fumie Kashiyama
Mariko Miyagi
Taro Shigaki
English
Kirsten Bishop
Thor Bishopric
Ian Finley
Music by Takekuni Hirayoshi
Distributed by Toei Animation
Release dates
 March 21, 1975 (Japan)
Running time
 68 minutes
Language Japanese

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 later Walt Disney Pictures animated film adaptation released 14 years later, this film is closer to Andersen's original, true and real story, notably in its preservation of the original, true, real 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.[1]

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".[2] The cover art [3] 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")[4] or the film animation style.[5] 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.

Plot

The movie opens in live action Denmark. A 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.

Marina is playing with her friend Fritz, a dolphin. On her way home, the Sea Witch whips up a storm. Her older sisters scold her for being late, reminding her that their grandmother won't give her the pearl hair-pin that signifies her adulthood unless she is more responsible.

The next morning, Marina's sisters go to the surface. Marina is curious, but is forbidden to go because of her 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. At the surface, she sees a handsome prince on a ship, the very same boy from the statue.

Suddenly, the Sea Witch creates another storm, throwing the prince into the sea. Marina saves him and carries him to the seashore, leaving him there to be found. A young woman with black hair arrives and cares for the prince. Marina's father scolds her upon returning home, but her grandmother tells the king of the rescue. The next morning, the royal family celebrates as she is given a pearl hair-pin.

Desperate to meet the prince, Marina obtains a potion from the Sea Witch which allows her to exchanges her mermaid body and her voice for human form. 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 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 up.

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 wolves. The prince kills the wolves, enraging Jemmy then who vows to get rid of Marina.

The prince tells her that his parents want him to marry a foreign princess. He only wants to marry the raven-haired girl for saving him. Since he cannot find her, he wishes to marry Marina. Jemmy reports the conversation to the King and the Queen, and the Queen suspects that Marina bewitched her son.

When the ship arrives, the prince's father orders Marina's arrest for treason. The next morning, the prince meets Princess Cecilia of Finland and is shocked to find that she is the raven-haired girl. He arranges to marry her immediately.

Heartbroken, Marina calls Fritz. Fritz is crushed by the news, vowing to find a way to save her. Many hours later, her sisters present 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. After sneaking into the prince's room, she finds that she cannot bring herself to kill him. Marina kisses him goodbye as he sleeps.

As she throws the magic knife into the sea, the reflection wakes the prince. He runs onto the deck, calling her name as he runs to her, but she jumps before he can reach her. As he calls her name a final 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 she was his rescuer. He grieves over her death as Marina's spirit goes on to Heaven for her self-sacrifice, while a devastated Fritz calls out her name.

Characters

Princess Marina (マリーナ Mariina Hime?)
Sixteen years old. Princess of the undersea kingdom and the youngest of six daughters. She is a blonde, sweet and beautiful mermaid and is known for having the most beautiful voice in the kingdom. She is curious about the human world and likes collecting items that come from the surface.
Fritz (フリッツ Furittsu?)
A blue Atlantic dolphin calf, and Marina's best friend.
Prince Fjord (フィヨルド王子 Fiyorudo Ouji?)
He is brave and well-trained in the military arts. Fjord dislikes the idea of an arranged marriage. He has always wanted to marry the girl who rescued him. He does not remember that Marina is the one who rescued him, until but too late in the end of the film.
The Sea Witch (魔女 Witch?)
Unlike other versions of the story, the sea witch is not evil. She is shrewd. She has no specific interest in harming anyone, but can be very destructive in creating storms that sink ships. She is a gigantic devil ray.
Princess Cecilia (スオミの姫 Suomi no Hime?)
The black raven-haired princess of the Kingdom of Finland. She tended to the Prince Fjord after Marina rescued him and had to leave him on the beach. He had no memory of being rescued by Marina, and Cecilia is the first person he saw when he woke up. Her personal name is not given in Japanese.
Jemmy the Cat (ジェミー Jemy?)
The main antagonist of the story, she is a nasty, arrogant, cold-hearted cat, jealous of Marina ever since she was taken in, despite being Fjord's loyal cat. She tries to get rid of Marina, either seeing her as a threat to Fjord or simply because she just hates Marina. She successfully does when she lies to Fjord's parents that Marina brainwashed him into falling in love with her.

Music

Opening Theme

"Yearning" (あこがれ Akogare?)

Sung by Kumiko Osugi, Lyrics by Tokiko Iwatani, Music and Arrangement by Takekuni Hirayoshi.
Inserted Song

"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

  • Kristen Bishopric - Marina
  • Thor Bishopric - Fritz
  • Ian Finlay - Prince Fjord
  • Jane Woods - Marina's Sister, Sea Witch, Black raven-haired girl/Princess Cecilia of Suomi, Jemmy the Cat, Prince Fjord's mother
  • Jeannette Casenave - Old Queen of the Mermaid, Housekeeper
  • Terry Haig - Additional Voices
  • Neil Shee - Additional Voices

Movie title for VHS

  • Andersen dôwa ningyo hime (Japan) (alternative transliteration)
  • Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Mermaid (USA) (video box title)
  • The Little Mermaid (international: English title)

Censorship

On the newer VHS and DVD releases, all scenes that show the little mermaids' bare breasts are cut.[citation needed]

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.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Andasen dōwa ningyo hime on IMDB
  2. ↑ UAV release on Amazon.com
  3. ↑ UAV release cover art
  4. ↑ Starmaker cover art
  5. ↑ Screen capture from 1975 film

External links

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