The White Snake Enchantress (film)

The White Snake Enchantress (白蛇伝, Hakujaden, Legend of the White Serpent) is the first color anime feature film and Toei Animation's first theatrical feature film, released in 1958. It was one of the first three anime films to be released in America, under the title Panda and the Magic Serpent, premiering in 1961, the month after Magic Boy.[1] It is also known variously as The Great White Snake and The Tale of the White Serpent. In April 2019, a restored version of the film was selected to be shown in the Cannes Classics section at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival.[2]

The White Snake Enchantress
Theatrical poster
Directed byTaiji Yabushita
Screenplay byTaiji Yabushita
Story byShin Uehara
Based onLegend of the White Snake
Produced byHiroshi Ôkawa
StarringHisaya Morishige
Mariko Miyagi
Narrated byHisaya Morishige
CinematographyTakamitsu Tsukahara
Edited byShinataro Miyamoto
Music byChuji Kinoshita
Hajime Kaburagi
Masayoshi Ikeda
Production
company
Distributed byToei Company
Release date
  • October 22, 1958 (1958-10-22)
Running time
78 minutes
CountryJapan
LanguageJapanese

Plot

Xu-Xian, a young boy, once owned a pet snake in West Lake until his parents forced him to give her up. Years pass and during a violent storm, the snake magically transforms into the beautiful princess Bai-Niang. Bai-Niang finds Xu-Xian, but the lovers are separated by a local monk, Fa-Hai, who believes that Bai-Niang is an evil spirit. Xu-Xian's two panda pets, Panda and Mimi, try to find Xu-Xian. In the end, Bai-Niang gives up her magical powers and remains in human form to prove that her love for Xu-Xian is genuine.

Cast
Character Japanese voice actor English dubbing actor
Xu XianHisaya MorishigeGeorge Matsui
PandaFernando Tejeda
FahaiMel Welles
Dragon KingBob Neuman
Catfish King
NarratorMarvin Miller
Bai NiangMariko MiyagiLisa Lu
XiaoqingMiiko Taka
MimiVirginia Blackman
DuckJodie McDowell
WeaselSara Meric

Production
Landmark at Nerima City, Tokyo

The film is essentially an adaptation of the Song Dynasty Chinese folktale Legend of the White Snake (白蛇傳).[3] Shin Uehara adapted the folktale and kept the Chinese-style characters and names. The decision of a Chinese story being used as the concept blueprint came from Toei Doga president Hiroshi Ōkawa, who wanted to strike a tone of reconciliation with the Asian neighbors.[4]

Given the point in time, the film pushed Japanese animation technology to the limit. The film was a large scale major project, involving a total of 13,590 staff; surprisingly, it only took eight months to finish.[5] And while the film received honors at the Venice Children's Film Festival in Italy in 1959, it was regarded as a disappointment when released to the United States on March 15, 1961 by Global Pictures. Historically, this film marked Tōei Dōga's first attempt to follow the example of American feature animation studios and become the so-called "Disney of the east."

The US version made changes to the film such as interpreting the small red panda, Mimi, as a cat.[6] In addition, all traces of the Japanese production teams were removed from the credits.

Rintaro, who would later go on to become a well known and respected director of Japanese animation, had his first job in the animation industry (at age 17) as an in-between animator on this film.[7][8]

See also

References
  1. "Magic Boy (1959)". IMDbPro. Retrieved 13 January 2014.
  2. "Cannes Classics 2019". Festival de Cannes. 26 April 2019. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
  3. "Chinese Mythology." Bilingual Book Explanation of Legend of the White Snake. Retrieved on 2006-12-08. Archived 2006-12-09 at the Wayback Machine
  4. "Anipages Daily." Anipages Daily. Retrieved on 2006-12-08.
  5. "Masterpiece of last 50 years Archived 2006-07-01 at the Wayback Machine." Japanese Animated Film Festival. Retrieved on 2006-12-08.
  6. Clements, Jonathan. McCarthy Helen. [2006] (2006). The Anime Encyclopedia: Revised & Expanded Edition. Berkeley, CA: Stone Bridge Press. ISBN 978-1-933330-10-5
  7. Llewellyn, Richard (2007-05-12). "Rintaro Filmography". Animated Divots. Archived from the original on 2008-09-22. Retrieved 2008-08-22.
  8. Berkwits, Jeff (2002-01-22). "Interview: Animation legend Rintaro reinvents the city to build a better Metropolis". Science Fiction Weekly. Sci Fi.com. Archived from the original on 2008-05-05. Retrieved 2008-08-22.

Bibliography
  • Panda and the Magic Serpent, DVD, Cartoon Craze.
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