Film: The Little Norse Prince
Release date: 17th October 2005
Certificate: U
Running time: 82 mins
Director: Isao Takahata
Starring: Yukari Asai, Mikijiro Hira, Etsuko Ichihara, Masao Mishima, Hisako Ôkata
Genre: Anime
Studio: Optimum
Format: DVD
Country: Japan
Developed and created in 1968, Isao Takahata’s first feature-length outing fuses Japanese and Norse philosophies and mythologies into the charmingly grown-up children’s tale that is The Little Norse Prince.
Having lost his father to illness, Hols must journey across treacherous terrain and return to the village of his people, who were wiped out because of the wicked sorcery of the evil Grimwald, and avenge their deaths.
While fleeing a group of marauding wolves, Hols accidentally awakens the stone giant Mogue who helps him defeat his beastly assailants. Hols in return serves the gravelly behemoth by climbing his gargantuan frame and removing what appears, at first, to be a thorn lodged in his shoulder. Upon its release Mogue reveals the thorn to actually be the Sword of the Sun, yet due to the rusted and decrepit condition of the weapon, it must be reforged to regain its former powers. If Hols manages to achieve this feat, Mogue promises to acknowledge the young boy as the Prince of the Sun and be of service to him whenever he may need assistance.
Accompanied by his bear companion Coro, Hols travels with nothing more than the unforged remains of the sun-sword, and his own throwing axe, through rugged landscapes in search of his lost kinsmen.
Trying to traverse the peaks of a snowy mountain range, Hols is confronted by the warlock Grimwald who offers the young warrior the chance of joining him and becoming his brother. But having his offer rejected, Grimwald hurls Hols down the mountainside into a raging river - he eventually washes up at a small fishing village.
After being nurtured back to health, Hols wishes to show his thanks and gratitude toward the villagers by slaying a mammoth pike that is infesting the nearby waters and making fishing impossible. Hols sets out to kill the beast, yet the pike may prove to be just a diversionary measure, as Grimwald masterminds an even more deceitful plan to destroy both the villagers and the potential sun prince...
This is not the kind of storytelling you’d be likely to find in any modern Pixar film, nor any Disney film at the time of creation. Takahata’s creations may have that slightly antiquated and familiar western feel to them, and the animal sidekicks, who are cute and cuddly, yet the socio-psychological thought patterns he endows his characters rationales with provides that dark tinge of realism, giving the film an almost dystopian feel. Hols must not simple battle the Frost King but tackle the misconceptions, stubbornness and often discriminatory views of the villagers who have put only temporary trust in their young charge. Characters suffer from jealousy and spite: inhabitants resent the popularity of the young hero and seek to undermine him where possible: Takahata does not deal in light-heartedness for the sake of it.
Perhaps one of the most unique and equally disturbing moments of the film is after having chased off yet another gang of silver wolves, Hols stumbles across the secluded and almost apocalyptic remains of a fishing village, not dissimilar to the one he is now protecting. Ruined by the cruel magic of Grimwald, it is deserted but for an eerie song that drifts along the stagnant winds. Hols discovers the source of the haunting melody, which turns out to be a mysterious girl named Hilda who proves to be the crux of Takahata’s political subtext. He looks at the preconceptions of a community who isolate the strange young girl purely on the basis that she is different from they are, yet seek to take pleasure from her singing – which subsequently has the worrying side effect of all the villagers ceasing to work. When the villagers manage to fend off the onslaught of yet another array of malicious animals, it is themselves they praise, despite Hols being the one to instigate the need to build defences and doing the majority of the fighting. These underlying leftist ideologies are not only derived from early Soviet cinema, yet can be found in all his subsequent works where a person or persons come into contact, or conflict, with a community and how the will of that community can be collectively used for good or ill.
However, Takahata’s creation has a greater importance and lasting legacy that transcends the mere eighty minutes of its duration. The Little Norse Prince is revered as the template in terms of style, content and tone that many anime directors subsequently have sought to replicate. Takahata himself has used this template to create, develop upon and mould into contemporary classics such as the fantastic Grave Of The Fireflies or the zanily charming Pom Poko. Also, if you look at the team of animators that worked alongside him, names that include Yoichi Kotabe, Yasuo Otsuka and Hayao Miyazaki, who went on to found the renowned Studio Ghibli, you can trace their subsequent achievements and successes to this film. If there would have been no Matrix without Akira, there would have been no Princess Mononoke or Spirited Away without The Little Norse Prince - it is that important.
Takahata’s debut is an even more an impressive feat when you realise it is a minor miracle reels of this film lasted long enough to transfer it to a digital format. The Toei studios had little time for Takahata, and even halted funding of the project with two scenes left incomplete. They also mercilessly slashed the films duration by thirty minutes, pulled the film from theatres after a meagre eleven days, and subsequently demoted Takahata, who was to never again direct at Toei Studios.
While the impact of The Little Norse Prince resonates even in today’s modern anime, as an individual film, it is a triumphant hallmark of sublime animation and an adult story with genuine heart, warmth, danger and menace that the talking squirrels of Disney’s preceding ‘60s sword film (The Sword In The Stone) could only dream of achieving.
The originality that The Little Norse Prince exudes is nothing short of impressive, as his anti-aging formula transports us back in time to makes us feel young and vulnerable. While it may not be the greatest anime of all time, it is nothing short of being the most important. BL
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