Some say Sea Prince and the Fire Child (AKA Legend of Sirius) is like a Disney movie. While I can't say that for certain, its certainly is as imaginative. I've rarely seen animated films with this much scope and artistry go unnoticed. Just google the film - its not some cheap cash-in. Its colorful, cute, with attention in building its fantasy world.Its also ambitious in the story it wants to tell. Most characters are cartoonish, but the plot is serious, and pretty well-done. So much so, I'm not sure I'd recommend it for children. You'll have to make that decision.The biggest problem with the movie is its English translation. The acting of the leads is pretty bad, and a lot of dialog is too focused on exposition. I heard the original with subs is better, but I cannot confirm that. I still enjoyed the movie, though. The awkward, forced laughter of our star-crossed lovers kinda grew on me...Fans of animation, especially the scenes of Fantasia and The Little Mermaid, should definitely give it a shot. Its a bit dated, but still beautiful. And few movies offer us such an original fairy tale.

The story is pretty much a Romeo and Juliet style with elemental gods instead of humans. This makes me have mixed feelings. While the story is so old and pretty much exactly what you would expect of the tale, I do like the gods a bit. Sadly, it was not enough to save the story as it felt bland in both voice acting and artwork. It just doesn't pop at all and I felt myself becoming bored while watching it as there was no surprise, no special meaning behind any of it.The artwork is pretty beautiful but it is far from perfect. While the watercolors and special backgrounds pop, the characters seem to feel a little lack luster. The design of the characters feel like they are bland. Malta has only a small hint of wearing something although she is pretty much nude to a point and her limbs are just think sticks compared to her body with rather strange eyes that seem to be overly slanted. On the other hand, Sirius has thin limbs too but with rather clumpy looking 'feet' and hands. It makes me wish they were beautiful images like in the credits but sadly, they don't fit the background at all.The voices… oh boy the voices… They have no feeling what so ever in their words and Malta's voice is just overly high pitched. It's a sad dub that makes me wish that I watched the Japanese version but the show was so bland to me that I don't want to watch it again.

The last time I saw this film must have been nearly fifteen years ago. During that time, although I had forgotten the title entirely, there were aspects of this film that stuck in my brain and likely contributed to a few random dreams; I remember not really following the plot as a child, but I recalled finding it A) very beautiful, and B), unbelievably dark. Certain scenes and characters have stayed with me with dogged persistence---a swarm of jellyfish that seem to electrocute or burn their victims to death rather than poisoning them; the deaths of two juvenile characters that hammer home the realization that, like in the film *Cube*, every last character is expendable; and the image that probably haunted me most of all, the scene towards the end involving a forced cocooning that speaks volumes about parental coercion and a pigheaded refusal to see reason. Many reviewers have compared the story to Romeo & Juliet, and although I wouldn't have understood the analogy as a child, I'm sure I recall the realization that, however majestic and omnipotent the combatants (Sea and Fire, in this case), the conflict presented is nothing more than a childish feud, a pointless and senseless sparring match that will probably never see a true victory. Pretty disturbing themes for a film allegedly for children! Now that I have recently rediscovered the title(s), I would greatly enjoy finding this film again, if only for old time's sake. It's rare that a film leaves such a long impression on me, and for all those out there who also were touched by this film, I'd recommend it in a double billing with Martin Rosen's *Watership Down*, a similarly lovely and chilling animation.

As far back as I can remember, my sisters and I have been fascinated with this film. I guess that would be my whole life since I was born in 81! We had a tape of Sea Prince and the Fire Child and it was watched so often that it started to deteriorate. My father would get mad because we didnt care if we ruined the vrc as long as we could watch our movie. I wish I could find another copy of it as ours went 'mysteriously missing'! My favourite character would have to be Bibble. If i remember correctly thats his name. But the summary says the fire child's name is Marta! I guess the way Sirius always said it made us confused because we called her Malta. But really, this is one of the best memories of my childhood. If anyone knows where I can get a tape, let me know!