{"id":195,"date":"2013-12-09T18:31:38","date_gmt":"2013-12-09T18:31:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tezuka.strobez.ca\/wp\/?page_id=195"},"modified":"2023-02-10T04:15:42","modified_gmt":"2023-02-10T04:15:42","slug":"anime-films","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/tezuka.strobez.ca\/wp\/?page_id=195","title":{"rendered":"Tezuka’s Anime (Films)"},"content":{"rendered":"
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<\/a>

A Thousand and One Nights<\/em> (1969)<\/p><\/div>\n

Osamu Tezuka’s relationship with animation was a complex one.<\/p>\n

At one end of the spectrum, he is, at least in regards to his career in anime, arguably most famous for his work on his many animated television programs<\/a>. \u00a0On the other, Tezuka\u00a0was equally enchanted with the idea of pushing the artistic boundaries of animation through his experimental animation short films<\/a>. \u00a0However between those two ends of the\u00a0spectrum, almost exactly in the middle, sit Tezuka’s animated feature films.<\/p>\n

For Osamu Tezuka the “holy grail” of animation was always to be able to produce full-length animated films for theatrical release. \u00a0Animation on the BIG screen, like the animation crafted by his idol, Walt Disney, THAT was always his dream. \u00a0Of course, the capital investment required to produce theatre-quality, feature length, animation was far beyond the means of the\u00a0fledgling Mushi Productions, but that was the\u00a0prize upon which he kept his eye.<\/p>\n

Tezuka’s first foray into the world of animated films was somewhat limited. \u00a0As a story consultant for Toei Animation during their adaptation\u00a0of\u00a0his manga series Son-Goku the Monkey\u00a0<\/em>(1952-59)<\/a>\u00a0into the\u00a0animated feature film known in English as Alakazam the Great<\/em>\u00a0(1960), he had little direct involvement in the process. \u00a0He did, however, gain some useful experience – a resource he would draw on when it came time to release Mushi Productions’ first theatrical release,\u00a0Astro Boy: The Hero of Space<\/em>\u00a0(1964)<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Of course, for Tezuka this was only a stop-gap victory. \u00a0Despite being a box-office success, since it was more or less a simple repackaging of his television content –\u00a0essentially three episodes of the original Black & White Astro Boy<\/em> (1963-66)<\/a> series stitched together and produced partially in colour – it was still less than satisfying. \u00a0The itch to produce a true animated theatrical release remained unscratched.<\/p>\n

<\/a>

Phoenix 2772<\/em> (1980)<\/p><\/div>\n

However, by the late 1960’s, Tezuka was ready to tackle a true \u201canimerama\u201d – a term Tezuka coined as an abreviation of \u201canimated drama\u201d – which was\u00a0aimed at an adult audience and explored the possibilities of animation technology and cinematography. \u00a0In early 1969 Tezuka put all the forces of both Mushi and Tezuka Productions to bear on the production of\u00a0A Thousand and One Nights<\/em> (1969), which hit theatres in\u00a0June 1969 \u2013 incidentally premiering on the same day Tezuka\u2019s second daughter, Chiiko, was born. The moderate success of A Thousand and One Nights<\/em> (1969) led Mushi Productions to work on another, even more sexually charged, adult film and Cleopatra<\/em> (1970) was released in September 1970.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, without the novelty factor inherent in A Thousand and One Nights<\/em> (1969) as Tezuka’s first adult animated film, Cleopatra<\/em> (1970) was largely given a pass by audiences of the time.\u00a0The financial failure of\u00a0Cleopatra<\/em> (1970) proved to simply be a “bridge too far” for Mushi Productions – a studio already stretched to the limit by the need to produce television animation on the thinnest of margins. The lethal combination lead to the professional bankruptcy of Mushi Productions and his own personal financial ruin.<\/p>\n

To his credit though, Tezuka remained undeterred by his failure and began to rebuild. \u00a0Following a familiar path, he once again returned to working on projects for other studios and then repackaging his own television content. \u00a0Although it took a decade of hard work, he was eventually able put Tezuka Productions in the position to release another theatrical film,\u00a0Phoenix 2772: Space Firebird<\/em> (1980).<\/p>\n

While it was only a marginal success domestically, after Tezuka took it on the road with him it found more of an audience overseas – winning the\u00a0Inkpot Award at the 1980 San Diego Comic Convention, and the\u00a0Animation Award at the 1st Las Vegas Film Festival in 1980. \u00a0As such, it is arguably (a pair of much-loved Unico films produced in cooperation with Sanrio aside) the pinnacle of Tezuka’s animated feature film achievements.<\/p>\n

Frankly speaking though, that’s somewhat faint praise. All in all, his animated feature films were one area of Tezuka’s career where he was unable to reach the success he desired. \u00a0The reasons for this are varied and complex, but in the end it seems he simply couldn’t strike the winning balance between commercial and artistic success that he was looking for.<\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Title<\/td>\nScreened<\/td>\nEvent\/Location<\/td>\nFormat<\/td>\nLength<\/td>\nProduced by<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Alkazam the Great\u00a0<\/em><\/td>\n1960\/08\/14<\/td>\nToei Theatres<\/td>\nColour\/Toei Scope<\/td>\n88 min.<\/td>\nToei Animation<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Arabian Nights: The Adventures of Sinbad<\/em><\/td>\n1962\/07\/21<\/td>\nToei Theatres<\/td>\nColour\/Toei Scope<\/td>\n81 min.<\/td>\nToei Animation<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Doggie March<\/em><\/td>\n1963\/12\/21<\/td>\nToei Theatres<\/td>\nColour\/Toei Scope<\/td>\n81 min.<\/td>\nToei Animation<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Astro Boy: The Hero of Space<\/em><\/td>\n1964\/07\/26<\/td>\nNikkatsu\u00a0Theatres<\/td>\nPart Colour<\/td>\n87 min.<\/td>\nMushi Productions<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Jungle Emperor – The Movie<\/em><\/td>\n1966\/07\/31<\/td>\nToho\u00a0Theatres<\/td>\nColour<\/td>\n75 min.<\/td>\nMushi Productions<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
A Thousand and One Nights<\/em><\/td>\n1969\/06\/14<\/td>\nNippon Herald Films<\/td>\nColour<\/td>\n111 min.<\/td>\nMushi Productions<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Gentle Lion<\/em><\/td>\n1970\/03\/21<\/td>\nToho Theatres<\/td>\nColour<\/td>\n24 min. 41 sec.<\/td>\nMushi Productions<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Cleopatra<\/em><\/td>\n1970\/09\/15<\/td>\nNippon Herald Films<\/td>\nColour<\/td>\n112 min.<\/td>\nMushi Productions<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
World’s Famous Stories for Children: Thumbelina<\/em><\/td>\n1978\/03\/18<\/td>\nToei Theatres<\/td>\nColour<\/td>\n64\u00a0min.<\/td>\nToei Animation<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Phoenix
\n<\/em><\/td>\n		1978\/08\/19<\/td>\nToho Theatres<\/td>\nColour<\/td>\n138 min.<\/td>\nToho\/Hinotori Pro<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Triton of the Sea – The Movie<\/em><\/td>\n1979\/07\/14<\/td>\nToho Theatres<\/td>\nColour<\/td>\n74\u00a0min.<\/td>\nOffice Academy<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Phoenix 2772: Space Firebird<\/em><\/td>\n1980\/03\/15<\/td>\nToho Foreign Films Theatres<\/td>\nColour<\/td>\n122\u00a0min.<\/td>\nToho\/Tezuka Prodcutions<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Fantastic Adventures of Unico-1<\/em><\/td>\n1981\/03\/14<\/td>\nSanrio Films<\/td>\nColour Vista<\/td>\n90\u00a0min.<\/td>\nSanrio<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Fantastic Adventures of Unico-2: To The Magic Island<\/em><\/td>\n1983\/07\/16<\/td>\nSanrio Films<\/td>\nColour Vista<\/td>\n91\u00a0min.<\/td>\nSanrio<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Phoenix:\u00a0H\u014d-\u014d (Karma)<\/em><\/td>\n1986\/12\/20<\/td>\nToho Foreign Films Theatres<\/td>\nColour Vista<\/td>\n60\u00a0min.<\/td>\nKadokawa Haruki Office\/Tohoku Shinsa<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Film is Alive<\/em><\/td>\n1990\/07\/20<\/td>\nOsamu Tezuka Exhibit<\/td>\nColour<\/td>\n42\u00a0min.<\/td>\nTezuka Productions<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Adachi ga Hara<\/em><\/td>\n1991\/11\/16<\/td>\nTheatre Ikebukuro<\/td>\nColour<\/td>\n\u00a025 min.<\/td>\nTezuka Productions<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Osamu Tezuka’s relationship with animation was a complex one. At one end of the spectrum, he is, at least in regards to his career in anime, arguably most famous for his work on his many animated television programs. \u00a0On the other, Tezuka\u00a0was equally enchanted with the idea of pushing the …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":353,"parent":414,"menu_order":4,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[147],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-195","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-about","has-thumbnail"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/P6vZWu-39","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tezuka.strobez.ca\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/195","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tezuka.strobez.ca\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tezuka.strobez.ca\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tezuka.strobez.ca\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tezuka.strobez.ca\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=195"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/tezuka.strobez.ca\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/195\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9158,"href":"https:\/\/tezuka.strobez.ca\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/195\/revisions\/9158"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tezuka.strobez.ca\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/414"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tezuka.strobez.ca\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/353"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tezuka.strobez.ca\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=195"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tezuka.strobez.ca\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=195"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tezuka.strobez.ca\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=195"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}