Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Mermaid
Encyclopedia
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 story, notably in its preservation of the original ending. The 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 February 4, 1978.
It is also purported to be available on region 1
(USA/Canada) DVD
, released by UAV Corporation under the name "The Little Mermaid: Based on Hans Christian Andersen's Classic Tale". The cover art looks nothing like 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") or the film animation style. 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.
. From there, a narrator explains to us how Denmark is a popular destination for tourists. He also states that many storytellers were born in Denmark, and the most famous one is Hans Christian Andersen
. After explaining how this man wrote beautiful stories, the narrator finishes the explanations by mentioning that Andersen's most famous story, "The Little Mermaid," originated in Denmark. 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 anime
.
Marina, the youngest and most beautiful mermaid in the royal family, is curious about the human world. So much so that she always tries to go up to the surface with her older sisters, but is forbidden because she has not come of age yet. One day, while exploring inside a sunken ship, she discovers a statue of a human boy and starts to daydream. She decides she is ready to see the world above and, ignoring her family's wishes, she sneaks away with her best friend (Fritz, a dolphin). 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 sea witch, Marina gives up 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 sea witch takes Marina's voice in exchange for legs. Tearfully bidding farewell to her family and to Fritz, she goes on to the surface. The following morning, she is discovered by the prince.
Marina lives with the prince for a month, in that time their bond grows strong. The Prince calls her "Princess Mermaid" because she came to him from the sea and cannot tell him her own name as she is now mute. The Prince tells her how his parents want him marry a princess from another kingdom. However, the only girl he wants to marry is the one who saved his life. Unfortunately, the prince does not know Marina is the one who saved him. He mistakenly believes it to be the raven-haired girl who discovered him on the beach after Marina had rescued him. Since he cannot find her, he wishes to marry Marina. However, when forced to meet the princess his parents want him to marry, he discovers that the foreign princess is the raven-haired girl. Filled with joy, he arranges to marry her immediately, breaking Marina's heart.
The night before she is to die, her sisters visit her. 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. She goes to the stern of the ship they are on, having decided that the prince's happiness is her happiness, and that as sea foam she can always be around him. As she throws the magic knife into the sea, it shines a blood red, which wakes the prince. He runs onto the deck and sees Marina, about to jump off of the ship. He calls her name, and runs to her, but she jumps off the ship. As he calls her name a final time, he looks to see that she has left behind her pearl hairpin and a scale from her tail. He grabs them both, and looks confused into the sea. As the sun rises, Marina's body slowly turns to foam and ascends into the sky. The prince remembers now that she was, in fact, the one who saved him. Marina's soul goes on to Heaven
for her sacrifice, as Fritz calls out her name.
The narrator then speaks again, explaining to the audience that the mermaid's soul went to Heaven and the scene then dissolves back to live action Denmark. As the movie's final shot shows us The Little Mermaid statue
, the narrator finishes the movie by assuring us that the little mermaid, with her courage, bravery, and story, will continue to guide mankind now and forever more.
A blue atlantic dolphin
calf, and Marina's best friend. His curiosity is great, but not nearly as great as Marina's. In fact, Fritz loves Marina. However, Marina never knows his feelings. He misses Marina terribly and worries about her constantly after she leaves the sea.
He's 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. Fjord does not remember that Marina is the one who rescued him.
Unlike other versions of the story, the sea witch is not evil. She is shrewd, but has no interest in harming anyone. She did however sink two ships. She is a gigantic devil ray
. Her special favorite is lifeblood. She is willing to accept Marina's voice as payment for the enchantment to turn Marina into a human.
Cecilia is the raven-haired princess of the Kingdom of Suomi. She tended to Prince Fjord after Marina rescued him and had to leave him on the beach. Fjord has no memory of being rescued by Marina, and Cecilia is the first person Fjord saw when he woke up. Her name is uncertain in Japanese.
Inserted Song
※The unofficial title for the English version is Marina's Song.
English Voices
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
film based on Hans Christian Andersen
Hans Christian Andersen
Hans Christian Andersen was a Danish author, fairy tale writer, and poet noted for his children's stories. These include "The Steadfast Tin Soldier," "The Snow Queen," "The Little Mermaid," "Thumbelina," "The Little Match Girl," and "The Ugly Duckling."...
's eponymous fairy tale
The Little Mermaid
"The Little Mermaid" is a popular fairy tale by the Danish poet and author Hans Christian Andersen about a young mermaid willing to give up her life in the sea and her identity as a mermaid to gain a human soul and the love of a human prince...
, released in 1975 by Toei Animation
Toei Animation
Toei Animation Co., Ltd. is a Japanese animation studio owned by Toei Co., Ltd. The studio was founded in 1948 as Japan Animated Films . In 1956, Toei purchased the studio and it was reincorporated under its current name...
. Unlike the later Walt Disney Pictures animated film adaptation
The Little Mermaid (1989 film)
The Little Mermaid is a 1989 American animated film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and based on the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale of the same name. Distributed by Walt Disney Pictures, the film was originally released to theaters on November 14, 1989 and is the twenty-eighth film in...
released 14 years later, this film is closer to Andersen's original story, notably in its preservation of the original ending. The protagonists are the youngest daughter
Princess
Princess is the feminine form of prince . Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or his daughters....
of the royal Merman
Merman
Mermen are mythical male equivalents of mermaids – legendary creatures who have the form of a human from the waist up and are fish-like from the waist down.-Mythology:...
family, Marina, and her best friend Fritz, an atlantic dolphin
Common Bottlenose Dolphin
Tursiops truncatus, commonly known as the Common Bottlenose Dolphin, is the most well-known species from the family Delphinidae.Common bottlenose dolphins are the most familiar dolphins due to the wide exposure they receive in captivity in marine parks, dolphinarias, in movies, and television...
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
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, dubbed into English by G. G. Communications, Inc. and Prima Film, Inc., on February 4, 1978.
It is also purported to be available on region 1
DVD region code
DVD region codes are a digital-rights management technique designed to allow film distributors to control aspects of a release, including content, release date, and price, according to the region...
(USA/Canada) DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
, released by UAV Corporation under the name "The Little Mermaid: Based on Hans Christian Andersen's Classic Tale". The cover art looks nothing like 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") or the film animation style. 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
GoodTimes Entertainment
GoodTimes Entertainment, Ltd. was a home video company that originated in 1984 under the name of GoodTimes Home Video. Though it produced its own titles, the company was well-known due to its distribution of media from third parties and classics...
/Golden Films
Golden Films
Golden Films is an American production studio founded in 1992 by Diane Eskenazi. The studio produces direct to video animated features. Many of its animated titles tell the same stories as popular Disney films.- Distribution :...
version.
Plot
The movie opens in live action DenmarkDenmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
. From there, a narrator explains to us how Denmark is a popular destination for tourists. He also states that many storytellers were born in Denmark, and the most famous one is Hans Christian Andersen
Hans Christian Andersen
Hans Christian Andersen was a Danish author, fairy tale writer, and poet noted for his children's stories. These include "The Steadfast Tin Soldier," "The Snow Queen," "The Little Mermaid," "Thumbelina," "The Little Match Girl," and "The Ugly Duckling."...
. After explaining how this man wrote beautiful stories, the narrator finishes the explanations by mentioning that Andersen's most famous story, "The Little Mermaid," originated in Denmark. 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 anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
.
Marina, the youngest and most beautiful mermaid in the royal family, is curious about the human world. So much so that she always tries to go up to the surface with her older sisters, but is forbidden because she has not come of age yet. One day, while exploring inside a sunken ship, she discovers a statue of a human boy and starts to daydream. She decides she is ready to see the world above and, ignoring her family's wishes, she sneaks away with her best friend (Fritz, a dolphin). 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 sea witch, Marina gives up 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 sea witch takes Marina's voice in exchange for legs. Tearfully bidding farewell to her family and to Fritz, she goes on to the surface. The following morning, she is discovered by the prince.
Marina lives with the prince for a month, in that time their bond grows strong. The Prince calls her "Princess Mermaid" because she came to him from the sea and cannot tell him her own name as she is now mute. The Prince tells her how his parents want him marry a princess from another kingdom. However, the only girl he wants to marry is the one who saved his life. Unfortunately, the prince does not know Marina is the one who saved him. He mistakenly believes it to be the raven-haired girl who discovered him on the beach after Marina had rescued him. Since he cannot find her, he wishes to marry Marina. However, when forced to meet the princess his parents want him to marry, he discovers that the foreign princess is the raven-haired girl. Filled with joy, he arranges to marry her immediately, breaking Marina's heart.
The night before she is to die, her sisters visit her. 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. She goes to the stern of the ship they are on, having decided that the prince's happiness is her happiness, and that as sea foam she can always be around him. As she throws the magic knife into the sea, it shines a blood red, which wakes the prince. He runs onto the deck and sees Marina, about to jump off of the ship. He calls her name, and runs to her, but she jumps off the ship. As he calls her name a final time, he looks to see that she has left behind her pearl hairpin and a scale from her tail. He grabs them both, and looks confused into the sea. As the sun rises, Marina's body slowly turns to foam and ascends into the sky. The prince remembers now that she was, in fact, the one who saved him. Marina's soul goes on to Heaven
Heaven
Heaven, the Heavens or Seven Heavens, is a common religious cosmological or metaphysical term for the physical or transcendent place from which heavenly beings originate, are enthroned or inhabit...
for her sacrifice, as Fritz calls out her name.
The narrator then speaks again, explaining to the audience that the mermaid's soul went to Heaven and the scene then dissolves back to live action Denmark. As the movie's final shot shows us The Little Mermaid statue
The Little Mermaid (statue)
The statue of The Little Mermaid sits on a rock in the harbour of the capital of Denmark. Based on a tale by Hans Christian Andersen, the small and unimposing statue is a Copenhagen icon and a major tourist attraction....
, the narrator finishes the movie by assuring us that the little mermaid, with her courage, bravery, and story, will continue to guide mankind now and forever more.
Character
14 years old. Princess of the undersea kingdom and the youngest of six daughters. She is sweet and beautiful and is known for having the most beautiful voice in the kingdom. She is curious about the world and likes collecting items that come from the surface.A blue atlantic dolphin
Common Bottlenose Dolphin
Tursiops truncatus, commonly known as the Common Bottlenose Dolphin, is the most well-known species from the family Delphinidae.Common bottlenose dolphins are the most familiar dolphins due to the wide exposure they receive in captivity in marine parks, dolphinarias, in movies, and television...
calf, and Marina's best friend. His curiosity is great, but not nearly as great as Marina's. In fact, Fritz loves Marina. However, Marina never knows his feelings. He misses Marina terribly and worries about her constantly after she leaves the sea.
He's 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. Fjord does not remember that Marina is the one who rescued him.
Unlike other versions of the story, the sea witch is not evil. She is shrewd, but has no interest in harming anyone. She did however sink two ships. She is a gigantic devil ray
Devil fish
The devil fish or giant devil ray is a species of eagle ray, family Myliobatidae. They are most common in the Mediterranean Sea and can be found elsewhere in the Eastern Atlantic Ocean, off the southwest coast of Ireland and south of Portugal.It is larger than the lesser devil ray, growing to a...
. Her special favorite is lifeblood. She is willing to accept Marina's voice as payment for the enchantment to turn Marina into a human.
Cecilia is the raven-haired princess of the Kingdom of Suomi. She tended to Prince Fjord after Marina rescued him and had to leave him on the beach. Fjord has no memory of being rescued by Marina, and Cecilia is the first person Fjord saw when he woke up. Her name is uncertain in Japanese.
Music
Opening Theme- Sung by Kumiko OsugiKumiko Osugiis a J-pop artist from Tokyo. In 1964 she recorded a song with Crown Records using the pseudonym . The first song to be released under her real name was , the opening theme for the Attack No. 1 anime...
, Lyrics by Tokiko Iwatani, Music and Arrangement by Takekuni HirayoshiTakekuni Hirayoshiwas a Japanese classical composer.Takekuni Hirayoshi graduated from Tokyo University of the Arts Department of Music in 1961 and completed his graduate work there in 1967. He studied with Yoshio Hasegawa and Yoshiho Ikuma . He was the 1969 recipient of the Otaka Award...
.
Inserted Song
※The unofficial title for the English version is Marina's Song.
- Sung by Kumiko OsugiKumiko Osugiis a J-pop artist from Tokyo. In 1964 she recorded a song with Crown Records using the pseudonym . The first song to be released under her real name was , the opening theme for the Attack No. 1 anime...
and People, Lyrics by Tokiko Iwatani, Music and Arrangement by Takekuni HirayoshiTakekuni Hirayoshiwas a Japanese classical composer.Takekuni Hirayoshi graduated from Tokyo University of the Arts Department of Music in 1961 and completed his graduate work there in 1967. He studied with Yoshio Hasegawa and Yoshiho Ikuma . He was the 1969 recipient of the Otaka Award...
.
Voice cast
Japanese Voices- Fumie KashiyamaFumie Kashiyamais a Japanese actress who is currently a member of The Mingei Theatre Company.In 1966, she played the main protagonist in the NHK morning drama series Ohanahan. She has also performed in other television dramas and comedy films such as the role of Reiko in Tora-san, the Intellectual...
... Marina - Mariko Miyagi ... Fritz the DolphinCommon Bottlenose DolphinTursiops truncatus, commonly known as the Common Bottlenose Dolphin, is the most well-known species from the family Delphinidae.Common bottlenose dolphins are the most familiar dolphins due to the wide exposure they receive in captivity in marine parks, dolphinarias, in movies, and television...
- Taro ShigakiTaro Shigakiis a Japanese actor and voice actor.-Voice roles:* André Grandier in The Rose of Versailles* Franz, Fritz in Nutcracker Fantasy* Saki Vashtal in Area 88 * Soldier Blue in Toward the Terra * Siegfried in Swan Lake...
... Prince - Kosei TomitaKosei Tomitais a Japanese voice actor from Tokyo who is affiliated with Production Baobab. His real name is .- TV :* Matteo in Animation Kikou Marco Polo no Boken* Rumina's grandfather in Tokyo Underground* Bouleuse Gotho in Armored Trooper Votoms* Master in Black Jack...
... Duke the WhaleHumpback WhaleThe humpback whale is a species of baleen whale. One of the larger rorqual species, adults range in length from and weigh approximately . The humpback has a distinctive body shape, with unusually long pectoral fins and a knobbly head. It is an acrobatic animal, often breaching and slapping the... - Hidekatsu ShibataHidekatsu Shibatais a Japanese voice actor from Asakusa, Tokyo who is affiliated with Aoni Production. He was a classmate of Yasuo Fukuda at Azabu High School. He is married to voice actress Akiko Sekine....
... King of the Mermaid - Ichiro NagaiIchiro Nagaiis a male seiyū from Ikeda, Osaka Prefecture. He was formerly represented by Tokyo Actor's Consumer's Cooperative Society, but is now represented by Aoni Production.-Television animation:*Akuma-kun *Bikkuriman...
... Whistler - Kaneta KimotsukiKaneta Kimotsukiis a Japanese voice actor who was born in Kagoshima.He is most known for the roles of Suneo Honekawa , Dracula , Pāyan , Iyami , Tom , Benzou Karino , Horrorman , Conductor and Jiminy Cricket is a Japanese voice actor who was born in Kagoshima.He is most known for the roles of Suneo Honekawa...
... Crab, Conch - Haruko Kitahama ... Sea Witch
- Kazuko Sawada ... Jemmy the Cat
- Rihoko YoshidaRihoko Yoshidais a Japanese voice actress. Among her most noteworthy roles are Megu-chan in Majokko Megu-chan, Monsley in Future Boy Conan, Maria Grace Fleed in UFO Robo Grendizer, Michiru in Getter Robo, Klara in Heidi, Girl of the Alps, Rosalie Lamorliere in The Rose of Versailles, Miwa Uzuki in Steel Jeeg, ...
... Raven-haired girl/Princess of Suomi - Kazuko SugiyamaKazuko Sugiyama, born is a voice actress who was born in Nagoya and works for Aoni Production.In February 2010, she received a "Merit Awards" from the 4th Seiyū Awards....
... Marina's Sister - Nana YamaguchiNana Yamaguchiis a Japanese voice actress currently represeneted by the Aoni Production.-Notable voice work:*Space Pirate Captain Harlock *Starzinger *Kaleido Star *Candy Candy is a Japanese voice actress currently represeneted by the Aoni Production.-Notable voice work:*Space Pirate Captain Harlock (Shizuka...
... Prince's mother - Miyoko AsōMiyoko Asois a Japanese voice actress. She is best known for the role of Fune Isono in the longest-running Japanese anime series Sazae-san that began in 1969 and recently celebrated its 40 year anniversary. Her recent works include Dr. Pinako Rockbell in the 2009-2010 anime series Fullmetal Alchemist:...
... Old Queen of the Mermaid
English Voices
- Kirsten BishopKirsten BishopKirsten Bishop is a voice actress best known for her roles as Zoycite, Emerald, Kaorinite, Telulu and Badiyanu in the English version of Sailor Moon and Sailor Moon Super S: The Movie.-Filmography:...
... Marina - Thor Bishopric ... Fritz
- Ian Finlay ... Prince
- Jane Woods ... Marina's Sister, Sea Witch, Raven-haired girl/Princess of Suomi, Jemmy the Cat, Prince'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)