I have recently been watching many old Japanese cartoons with English subtitles from the Japanese Animated Film Classics website. However, I have noticed a mistake in some of the cartoons--a mistake I have actually see in other Japanese cartoons as well when they are translated. Again and again, I see a raccoon-like creature, called a 'Tanuki' or 'Raccoon Dog'....but they are NOT raccoons and raccoons weren't even introduced to the country until the 1970s (they have since bread like a plague and are VERY common there today). The Raccoon Dog is a dog-like creature and is not related to a raccoon in any way. And, incidentally, in Japanese mythology the Tanuki has magical powers and is a mischievous creature that can change form.
The story in this cartoon is much like a reworking of the Aesop fable about the Ant and the Grasshopper. However, instead of having a lazy partying grasshopper, here he's a fox who spends his summers indulging himself instead of preparing for winter. In contrast, the Tanuki are hard working and spend their time planting crops and planning for the future. So what's next? See the film!
The quality of the animation in "Namakegitsune" is much better than other Japanese cartoons I've seen. I am certainly no expert and have only seen a few dozen of them...so I could easily be wrong about this. But I was impressed to see the nice shaded backgrounds and smooth animation. All in all, well worth seeing and rather cute.
The story in this cartoon is much like a reworking of the Aesop fable about the Ant and the Grasshopper. However, instead of having a lazy partying grasshopper, here he's a fox who spends his summers indulging himself instead of preparing for winter. In contrast, the Tanuki are hard working and spend their time planting crops and planning for the future. So what's next? See the film!
The quality of the animation in "Namakegitsune" is much better than other Japanese cartoons I've seen. I am certainly no expert and have only seen a few dozen of them...so I could easily be wrong about this. But I was impressed to see the nice shaded backgrounds and smooth animation. All in all, well worth seeing and rather cute.