Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Mermaid

Infobox Film
name = Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Mermaid


imdb_id = 0070326
writer = Hans Christian Andersen (tale)
Mieko Koyamauchi Ikuko Oyabu
director = Tomoharu Katsumata
starring = Fumie Kashiyama Mariko Miyagi Taro Shigaki English Kirsten Bishop Thor Bishopric Ian Finley
distributor = Toei Animation
released = March 21 1975 (Japan)
runtime = 68 min
language = Japanese
music = Takekuni Hirayoshi Ron Goodwin
amg_id =
budget =nihongo|"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 movie based on Hans Christian Andersen's "The Little Mermaid", released in 1975 by Toei Animation. The movie is similar to the original tragic story written by Andersen, unlike the happily resolved Disney version. The protagonist is the youngest Mermaid Princess, Marina, and her best friend is Fritz, a baby dolphin. This film was released in the US in 1979 by Starmaker EntertainmentFact|date=August 2008, and is available on R1 DVDDubious|date=August 2008.

Plot

Marina, the youngest most beautiful mermaid in the royal Merman family, is curious about the human world. So much, that she always tries to go up to the surface with her sister, but she isn't allowed cause she is still too young. One day, while exploring inside a sunken ship, she discovers a statue of a human boy and starts to daydream. Deciding she is ready to see the world above, despite the objections from her family, she sneaks away from her cozy underwater castle. Moments after emerging from the depths, she sees a handsome prince on a ship, the very same boy from the statue. Suddenly, a storm comes up, throwing him into the sea. Marina saves her handsome prince and swims with him to the seashore. She must leave him on the shore when the sun rises and people arrive. Marina falls deeply in love and wants desperately to become a human. Seeking help from the evil sea witch, Marina gives up her family, her life as mermaid and her voice to gain legs. She is informed that if the prince marries someone else, she will turn into sea foam the very next morning. Despite the hazards, she is willing to risk all for love.

The ending, however, turns tragic. The Sea Witch takes Marina's voice in exchange for legs. The prince does not fall in love with Marina, but the human princess. On the night before she will turn into sea foam, her sisters come. They present a knife they have bought by cutting off their beautiful hair and giving it to the sea witch. Her sisters tell her that if she stabs the prince through the heart, she will turn into a mermaid again and can go back to her old life. Marina accepts the knife. However, as she goes to stab the prince, she finds that she cannot bring herself to kill him. So she goes to the front of the ship they are on, thinking that the prince's happiness is her happiness, and that as sea foam she can always be around him. The prince wakes up, and calls to her. But as he goes to her, she jumps off the ship. He sees the flower that Marina always had in her hair, and realized she was the one who saved him, not the princess. As dawn's rays come, it shows Marina turning into sea foam and Fritz calling out to her. It shows that she has gained a soul through her self-sacrifice, as the narrator says: "And the little mermaid's soul acsended into heaven."

Voice cast

Japanese Voices
*Fumie Kashiyama ... Marina
*Mariko Miyagi ... Fritz the Dolphin
*Taro Shigaki ... Prince

English Voices
*Kirsten Bishop ... Marina
*Thor Bishopric ... Fritz
*Ian Finley ... Prince

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)

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.

Links

*imdb title|id=0070326|title=The Little Mermaid Anime
*Ann anime|3604
* [http://www.retrojunk.com/details_articles/507/ Retrojunk article/review of the original U.S. version]
* [http://youtube.com/watch?v=pPD9_Xl6nbY Toei Doga's The Little Mermaid (US Theatrical Trailer)]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwIE5C_ZQMw The Little Mermaid Anime Song "When A Mermaid Comes Of Age"]
* [http://www.magentia.net/mermaid/ English fan site for the film]