Magic Boy (film)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''Magic Boy'', known in Japan as , is a 1959 Japanese animated feature film released on December 25, 1959. Released as
Toei Animation is a Japanese animation studio primarily controlled by its namesake Toei Company. It has produced numerous series, including '' Sally the Witch'', '' GeGeGe no Kitarō'', '' Mazinger Z'', '' Galaxy Express 999'', '' Cutie Honey'', '' Dr. Slu ...
's second theatrical anime, the film was released in theaters in the United States by
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...
on June 22, 1961, making it the first
anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...
film to be released in the country, followed by '' The Tale of the White Serpent'' on July 8, 1961.


Story

In medieval
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
, a boy named Sasuke and his sister live in a forest along with several young animals of different species. One day, one of the animals (a young deer) is grabbed by an eagle and thrown into a lake. Sasuke and another animal jump into the lake to save it, but a monstrous
salamander Salamanders are a group of amphibians typically characterized by their lizard-like appearance, with slender bodies, blunt snouts, short limbs projecting at right angles to the body, and the presence of a tail in both larvae and adults. All t ...
arrives and devours one of the animals. Sasuke tries to fight the monster, but is defeated. The beast leaves the lake, revealing its true form: a female
demon A demon is a malevolent supernatural entity. Historically, belief in demons, or stories about demons, occurs in folklore, mythology, religion, occultism, and literature; these beliefs are reflected in Media (communication), media including f ...
named Yakusha. Sasuke's sister tells him Yakusha was transformed into a salamander by a powerful wizard millennia ago, but now she can muster enough power to have her normal shape back and found a reign of terror in Japan. Sasuke then decides to seek a magician master to learn to fight against Yakusha to save Japan and avenge the death of his pet.


Cast and characters


The MGM version

In the
English language English is a West Germanic language that developed in early medieval England and has since become a English as a lingua franca, global lingua franca. The namesake of the language is the Angles (tribe), Angles, one of the Germanic peoples th ...
version,
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...
left most of the original songs with
Japanese language is the principal language of the Japonic languages, Japonic language family spoken by the Japanese people. It has around 123 million speakers, primarily in Japan, the only country where it is the national language, and within the Japanese dia ...
lyrics. Since the creators of the English version preferred to liken Sasuke to the public perception of
samurai The samurai () were members of the warrior class in Japan. They were originally provincial warriors who came from wealthy landowning families who could afford to train their men to be mounted archers. In the 8th century AD, the imperial court d ...
, who were viewed as heroic, as opposed to the
ninja A , or was a spy and infiltrator in pre-modern Japan. The functions of a ninja included siege and infiltration, ambush, reconnaissance, espionage, deception, and later bodyguarding.Kawakami, pp. 21–22 Antecedents may have existed as ear ...
, who were viewed as "sinister spies and assassins," MGM's publicity incorrectly claimed that ''The Adventures of the Little Samurai'' was the Japanese title of the film. Beck, Jerry. ''The Animated Movie Guide''. ''
Chicago Review Press Chicago Review Press, or CRP, is a U.S. book publisher and an independent company founded in 1973. Chicago Review Press publishes approximately 60 new titles yearly under eight imprints: Chicago Review Press, Lawrence Hill Books, Academy Chicago, ...
''. 2005
158
This despite the movie poster's accurate display of the actual title.


Video game

A
video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...
titled ''Shōnen Sarutobi Sasuke'' (also known as ''Sasuke Ninja Boy'') was released by
Sunsoft , is a Japanese electronics manufacturer, video game developer and publisher. They are known for their video games under the brand name Sunsoft. History In April 1971, Sun Electronics Corporation (alternatively called Sun Denshi) was founded i ...
for the
Super Famicom The Super Nintendo Entertainment System, commonly shortened to Super Nintendo, Super NES or SNES, is a Fourth generation of video game consoles, 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan, 1991 in No ...
in 1994.


Reception

According to animation historian
Jerry Beck Jerry Beck (born February 9, 1955) is an American animation historian, author, blogger (person), blogger, and video producer. Beck wrote or edited several books on classic American animation and classic characters, including ''Looney Tunes and ...
, the film exhibited Toei Animation's effort to use the "
Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...
formula of presenting a traditional folktale with songs and plenty of cute animals."


Home media

Much like another MGM film, ''Night of the Lepus'', the film never had a VHS release from MGM. Eventually in 2014,
Warner Home Video Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment, Inc. (doing business as Warner Bros. Home Entertainment; formerly known as Warner Home Video and WCI Home Video and sometimes credited as Warner Home Entertainment) is the American home video distribution ...
released the MGM dub of the film on DVD for the first time as a
Warner Archive The Warner Archive Collection is a home video division for releasing classic and cult films from Warner Bros.' library. It started as a manufactured-on-demand (MOD) DVD series by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment on March 23, 2009, with the int ...
title.
Amazon Release Entry


See also

*''
Manga Sarutobi Sasuke is a 24-episode anime series about the young Sarutobi Sasuke, a legendary ninja. It was first aired from October 9, 1979, to April 29, 1980, on Tokyo Channel 12 (now TV Tokyo), and was later dubbed in several languages. The whole 24-episode r ...
''


References


External links

* * *
Official Web site
{{Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer theatrical animated features 1959 anime films 1959 animated films 1959 children's films 1950s Japanese films Adventure anime and manga\ Films set in feudal Japan Historical fantasy anime and manga Animated films based on Japanese myths and legends Samurai in anime and manga Toei Animation films Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer animated films Japanese animated fantasy films Japanese fantasy adventure films Animated films set in the Middle Ages Animated films set in Japan ja:猿飛佐助#登場する作品