Having seen Isao Takahata's Ghibli films I was interested to see this much earlier work so when it was on television I couldn't not watch it. Not surprisingly it feels much older than his later work but it didn't feel out dated.The story opens with a boy called Horusu fighting off a pack of wolves. They fighting awakens a strange rock giant who is bothered by a thorn in his shoulder, much to the giants surprise Horusu extracts the thorn which turns out to be an ancient sword. He returns with the sword to his dying father who tells him that their family came from a village in the North that had been devastated by an evil sorcerer called Grunwald. When his father dies he heads North where he meets Grunwald who casts him from a mountain and believes him to be dead. Of course he survives though as is found by a child who takes him back to a village. The people there are being tormented because a giant pike is eating all the fish in the river. Horusu sets off and after a struggle manages to kill the creature and the fish return to the river, this leads to him being hailed as a hero. Later in an almost deserted village Horusu meets a girl called Hilda who he invites back to the village where to locals are enchanted by her beautiful singing. At least most of them are, the mayor is clearly upset that Horusu and now Hilda are so popular and his deputy who is an agent of Grunwald. I won't say more about the plot as I wouldn't want to spoil the ending.I really enjoyed this even though it if fairly different, it certainly felt like it was targeted at a younger audience than his later works, I was surprised for example when characters had conversations with their pets. The animation was good, especially considering its age. If you've enjoyed Studio Ghibli films I'd certainly recommend this film.These comments were based on watching the film in Japanese with English subtitles.

Was this the start of anime as we know it? I'm not versed enough in the history of Japanese animation to make such a bold statement, however what I can tell you is that with the creation of this film we have derived many classic, awe inspiring and moving stories from Studio Ghibli. As some may say with no Akira there would have been no Matrix, without The Little Norse Prince, there would have been no Nausicaa, Laputa, Princess Mononoke, Grave Of The Fireflies, Spirited Away and many more. While The Little Norse Prince may not be as grand as the fore-mentioned it is an emotionally captivating fairytale whose importance transcends the 81 minutes it runs for.Set within the medieval ages of Nordic Europe, The Little Norse Prince tells the tale of a young boy named Hols embarking on a journey to find his kinsmen and restore peace to a land taken by a devious sorcerer named Grunwald. Isao Takahata's film is an innocent telling, yet harbours some severely darker moments (for the younger viewer), as our hero ventures through a blend of myth, legend, swords and magic, showing the courage and bravery that have become the hallmark for the protagonists at Studio Ghibli. While Disney were creating gimmicky films like The Sword In The Stone, Takahada filled his film with the truest essence of humanity, as Hols must not only fight The Frost King, but must also deal with peoples misconceptions, stubborn attitudes and discriminatory views. The Little Norse Prince is deeper than fighting shape changing witches and squirrel romances, and in its purity is so awe inspiring. It has the ability to turn you into a child again, and view it with the eyes of an innocent as he manages to remind us what is noble about humanity and what we sometimes lack in ourselves. The Little Norse Prince is by no means a classic in the grand sense of cinema, but has an undeniable ability to transport us to a time and space when the world seemed a better place and life was worth fighting for.Takahada laid the foundations with The Little Norse Prince for some remarkable and simply brilliant films, and it is quite easy to see how he and Miyazaki (who was an animator on this production) found the inspiration to be able to take the essence of Norse Prince, elaborate and expand on the settings and morals. One of the notable aspects is how exceptionally refined the imagination of Takahada is, as this film just exudes originality and feels completely different and fresh next to its contemporaries, and indeed the same can be said of the more recent Ghibli films compared to talking fish and super hero families. The Little Norse Prince may not be the greatest anime ever created, but it certainly is true to itself and the messages it wishes to deliver us as an audience and can only be praised as an effective means of emotive story telling which can and does not only appeal to all ages, but speak to all ages.

I can only imagine how hard it was to do an animation such as this in 1968. At the time Disney was doing Mickey Mouse animation (the squeaky voice ones) and Yellow Submarine was released.However, as in most Isao Takahata animes the focus is not on the animation, but on the script. People battle against the forces of evil using their most powerful weapon: will power. Evil comes in the form of bad luck, misfortune, direct attacks and sneaky social manipulation. Good's champion is a boy that has come to fulfill his dying father's last wish. You can find love, betrayal, anger, violence, marital ceremonies, friendship, all the hallmarks of good Japanese anime.OK, the animation is not great. There are whole scenes of static images that are filmed , for example. Also, there is a plague that Disney is just now getting rid of, the plague of group songs in the middle of the film. But there are a lot of good things that overcome by far the bad parts. It's like a battle of good versus evil in its own :)Doesn't hurt to mention Hayao Miyazaki, which is humbly placed somewhere in the middle of the crew list, as an animator and scene designer. As far as I know this is his first work, but you already find a lot of elements that will appear in all his work from then on.Any anime fanatic must watch this. Children or very young people might get slightly bored.

Before My Neighbors the Yamadas, before Pom Poko, before Only Yesterday, and before Grave of the Fireflies. There was Little Prince Horus(USA Title). This was the first Movie Isao Takahata directed.He and legendary Anime maker Hayao Miyazaki and some other animators who were still in their early years in animation industries made this film possible.It's nothing like Isao Takahata's other works. This one is about an Alternate Viking/Scandinavian Time Period about a boy named Horus who receives a sword from some Earth God, and is sent on a quest to defeat an Ice Demon(who's pretty cool looking) meets a group of village locals and a mysterious Girl who has the key to restoring peace to the land.It took 3 years for this film to be made. Animation is well done even if this was made 38 years ago. Back when Anime was still primitive. It's interesting to watch. Too bad it didn't do well when it was in Japanese Theatures. But what's cool about it is it became known as the earliest forms of modern anime.In other words it's anime that doesn't have to be made for kids to watch.I'm not sure when it'll get licensed to get it's own English Debut. But worth seeing for those who are interested in Animes that broke the rules. I'd recommend this film for Ages 12 and up contains cartoon violence and a split second of nudity.