Forum - View topicNEWS: Funimation Licenses WWII-Era Anime Film Momotaro, Sacred Sailors
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ajr
Posts: 465 |
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Interesting to see Funimation license this, it's nice to see early landmark animation works like this getting some attention. I saw some of this on Youtube a while back, and it was neat seeing how the animation was smoother (higher frame rate) than modern anime, but things warped or ballooned weirdly in three dimensions. I think maybe they had a harder time staying on model or something, hadn't quite ironed out their process somewhere I guess.
It also shows how much Walt Disney & co. were kicking everyone else's butt at the time re: animate. Granted, the 1940 movie Pinnochio had a budget of $2.3 million, which is $38.9 after inflation vs. Momotaro:Sacred Sailors' $5.5 million after inflation, so maybe it's no surprise it looks so much better, but even Disney propaganda shorts can hold up today pretty well (calling the propaganda in the short Der Furher's Face "blatant" is a severe understatement, but it's still hilarious 70+ years later). Anyway, glad to see a company like Funimation pay attention to historic/"intellectual" anime rather than just the fun or entertaining stuff. |
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Rekishika
Posts: 25 |
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Well, I'm more surprised that they didn't license "Spider and Tulip", too, which will be on the Japanese DVD and Blu-ray of "Momotaro Sacred Sailors" coming out in August. (Just as it was on the VHS tape, back in 1984.) Or was the blackface spider too much for them?
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PurpleWarrior13
Posts: 2034 |
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Weird pickup, but at least it's a piece of history. I might watch it. Interesting that it's licensed by the same company that released Hetalia, a show that pokes fun at this time in history.
Though I find it hilarious that we get a legal release of Axis propaganda, but companies like Disney and Warner Bros. often have a difficult time giving our own WWII propaganda official releases of any kind. You can't watch cartoons like this with anything but historical context. |
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DrApplebox
Posts: 18 |
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Created an account just to say, WOW. You might be the oldest user on this website. Last edited by DrApplebox on Wed Jun 01, 2016 7:37 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Alan45
Village Elder
Posts: 9967 Location: Virginia |
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@DrApplebox
I really doubt that. There is nothing about anime or manga that imposes an age limit. Getting old is not difficult, you just have to be patient, it can be painful though. |
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MarshalBanana
Posts: 5481 |
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Even in American animation of the time, which this would be heavily based on, it is very different today, as before TV animation there was no shortcuts, everything was done in full movement. |
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CastMember1991
Posts: 864 |
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As a hardcore Disney fan who still laughs hysterically at the Donald Duck cartoon Der Fuehrer's Face, I agree wholeheartedly. I also would like to add that Walter Lantz, who had a contract with Universal Pictures, also used some of his cartoons in his Woody Woodpecker franchise to talk about the war as well. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukDs7wScLUI |
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Rekishika
Posts: 25 |
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Then why did a Japanese article in 1916 praise John R. Bray for getting away with filming the same drawing 3 to 5 times in a row? (See http://litten.de/fulltext/ani1917.pdf, part 4) |
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MarshalBanana
Posts: 5481 |
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leafy sea dragon
Posts: 7163 Location: Another Kingdom |
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Well, it's been long enough since World War II that it's perfectly fine. There's no fear of anyone watching the movie and wanting to join the Axis. You can freely show Triumph of the Will in public in the United States now (albeit audiences should be informed about its historical context before watching it), whereas Leni Riefenstahl's name was mud in the United States when she won an Oscar for it.
Yeah, I can see history classes and film classes screening this movie for as long as they have the copies. I wonder if this is big news for World War II historians, or at least how many of them know about this upcoming release.
Hey now, one step at a time. Maybe they're licensing and distributing Momotaro: Sacred Sailors to see if they can sell them before moving on to other things. This is such an out-of-left-field pickup for FUNimation that even the FUNimation guys don't know if it'll fail or succeed. |
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falcon.punch
Posts: 693 |
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I can't believe that Funi pick this rare and classic propaganda (Or in Seo's political views trying to give dreams to children and peace stuff).
There was a song about the Japanese alphabet in the film. |
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