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Toei Animation
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Foundation date 23 january 1948
Toei Animation Co., Ltd. (東映アニメーション株式会社, Tōei Animēshon Kabushiki-gaisha) is a Japanese animation studio in which Toei Company, Ltd. is the biggest shareholder. The studio was founded in 1948 as Japan Animated Films (日本動画映画, Nihon Dōga Eiga, often shortened to 日動映画 (Nichidō Eiga)). In 1956, Toei purchased the studio and it was reincorporated under its current name. Over the years, the studio has created a large number of TV series, movies, and adapted many Japanese comics by renowned authors to animated series, many popular worldwide. Hayao Miyazaki, Isao Takahata, Leiji Matsumoto and Yoichi Kotabe have all worked with the company in the past. Toei is a shareholder in the Japanese anime satellite television network, Animax, along with other noted anime studios and production enterprises such as Sunrise, TMS Entertainment and Nihon Ad Systems Inc. The company headquarters are located in the Ohizumi Studio in Nerima, Tokyo.
Until 1998, the company was known as Toei Doga (東映動画株式会社, Tōei Dōga Kabushiki-gaisha) (although even at that time the company's formal English name was "Toei Animation Co., Ltd."), with "dōga" being the native Japanese word for "animation" which was widely used until the 1970s. Their mascot is the cat Pero, from the company's 1969 film adaptation of Puss in Boots.
Toei Animation produced the anime versions of works by many legendary manga artists, including Go Nagai (Mazinger Z), Eiichiro Oda (One Piece), Shotaro Ishinomori (Cyborg 009), Mitsutoshi Shimabukuro (Toriko), Takehiko Inoue (Slam Dunk), Mitsuteru Yokoyama (Sally the Witch), Masami Kurumada (Saint Seiya), Akira Toriyama (Dragon Ball and Dr. Slump), Leiji Matsumoto (Galaxy Express 999), and Naoko Takeuchi (Sailor Moon). In addition, the studio helped propel the popularity of the magical girl and Super Robot genres of anime; among Toei's most legendary and trend-setting TV series include the first magical-girl anime series, Mahoutsukai Sally the anime adaptation of Mitsuteru Yokoyama's manga of the same name, and Go Nagai's Mazinger Z, animated adaptation of his manga, which set the standard for Super Robot anime for years to come.
Although Toei Company usually lets Toei Animation handle its official animation works, on occasion they may hire other companies to provide animation on their behalf, such as the Robot Romance Trilogy in which Toei Company handled the overall production, but the animation work went to Sunrise (then known as Nippon Sunrise) instead.
Anime created by Toei Animation that have won the Animage Anime Grand Prix award have been Galaxy Express 999 in 1981, Saint Seiya in 1987, and Sailor Moon in 1992.
In addition to producing anime for domestic release in Japan, Toei Animation also provided animation work for several American box office motion pictures and television series for US companies, dating back as far as the 1960s, but they mostly provided outsourced production work during the 1980s.
Best films
(2013)
(1993)
(1984)Filmography of Toei Animation (100 films)
Production
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Flying Phantom Ship (1969)
, 1hOrigin Japon
Genres Drama, Science fiction, Horror, Animation
Actors Gorō Naya, Masako Nozawa, Kōsei Tomita, Junko Hori, Hiroshi Masuoka, Hiroshi Ōtake
Hayato's home city is under attack from a gigantic robot. His parents are lying dead in the rubble and the only remaining friend is his dog. His only thought now is revenge against the owner of the Phantom Ship (from where the robot said he was sent).
Horus: Prince of the Sun (1968)
, 1h22Directed by Isao Takahata
Genres Drama, Fantasy, Adventure, Animation
Themes Feminist films, Political films
Actors Mikijirō Hira, Etsuko Ichihara, Yoshiko Asai, Tadashi Yokouchi, Corinne Orr, Eijirō Tōno
Set in an unspecified northern kingdom, the film opens with the young Horus (aka Hols) (Hisako Ōkata (Japanese)/Billie Lou Watt (English)) attempting to fight off a pack of "silver wolves," and accidentally waking up an ancient stone giant, named Mogue (or Rockoar in some editions of the film). Horus succeeds in pulling a splinter from the giant's shoulder, which transpires to be a rusty and ancient sword. The giant proclaims this to be the "Sword of the Sun," promising also that when the sword has been reforged, he will come to Horus, who will then be called "Prince of the Sun".
Young Jack and the Witch (1967)
, 1h20Genres Fantasy, Adventure, Horror, Animation
Themes Children's films
Actors Tetsuko Kuroyanagi, Kazuo Kumakura, Hiroshi Ōtake, Jōji Yanami, Masako Nozawa, Keiko Yamamoto
The film opens with a retelling of Beowulf, narrated over pans of paintings imitative of stained glass, then cuts to Jack, a boy who lives with his animal friends Barnaby Bear, Dinah Dog, Squeeker Mouse and Phineas Fox and drives a car resembling a Ford Model T, even inside the house. One day while out driving Jack sees a girl named Allegra in a flying machine and challenges her to race. After he loses Allegra offers him a ride and he accepts, along with Squeeker Mouse who sneaks aboard. Allegra is actually a witch, and takes Jack to the castle of the evil queen Auriana, who changes children into harpies to be her slaves. Squeeker is sucked into a machine that changes him into a harpy but Jack escapes. When Allegra and another harpy named Harvey Harpy pursue Jack he leads them away from the castle. Harvey Harpy ends up lassoing Jack's animal friends and they get tangled together in the rope. Barnaby Bear starts laughing at the predicament, and soon all are laughing. They take Harvey Harpy back to the house, where they sing and dance together. Spying on them through a window Allegra seems to soften a little as she watches the fun. However, when Jack returns to the house she tries to capture him with a magic rope that has a claw on the end, but the animals drive her away by pelting her with dishes. In some fan copies of the English version about 8 minutes is cut out here, including scenes where Allegra returns to the castle and a battle between Allegra and Jack where she pulls his house off the ground and drops it into a lake. Allegra is injured when she crash lands her flying machine, and Jack takes her back to his house to let her recover. When she comes to she sees Jack, and smiles for a moment, but then flees back to the castle, knocking Jack over as she goes. Jack and friends go back to the castle to rescue Squeeker Mouse, and they encounter Allegra again. She promises to help them since they were so kind to her when she was injured, but instead she leads them into a trap that drops them into a land where the plants try to eat everybody. At the end giant mushrooms drop Jack and friends into a pit with the machine that changes children into harpies. The wind starts to suck Jack into the machine, while the Harpies chant 'Into the Machine!'. Barnaby Bear remembers that a giant windmill powers the machine, so he runs off and stops it. With the windmill immobilized other harpies jump into the pit to take Jack prisoner, but Barnaby Bear finally lets go of the windmill and the harpies are sucked into the machine, which overloads and explodes, with Jack and friends escaping. Queen Auriana punishes Allegra for her failure to capture Jack by exiling her to the ice caves beneath the castle. Harvey Harpy is sad to see Allegra punished, even opposing the queen for her harshness, so when he runs into Jack he explains what happened to Allegra, and leads him to the ice caves to rescue her. Meanwhile, Barnaby Bear, Phineas Fox and Dinah Dog are captured by the queen, who imprisons them in magic bottles and leaves them to watch what happens to Jack in a crystal ball. When Jack rescues Allegra from the ice caves, the queen transports them back to the pit, where she battles them with a golden chain she uses as a whip. When Squeeker Mouse tries to cover up the crystal ball with his cape so no one can see what is happening to Jack he knocks the crystal ball to the ground and it cracks. This breaks the spell imprisoning the animals, and they realize that the crystal is the source of the queen's power. Barnaby Bear throws the crystal ball out the window, and when it shatters the queen loses her powers and is transformed into a large goblin-like creature. Jack and friends pursue the queen, who has a large air-ship ready for her escape. She sets a time bomb to explode after she leaves, but Harvey Harpy ties the bomb to her air-ship as it takes off. As the queen tries to remove the bomb she crashes into the castle and explodes. This destroys the castle and breaks the spell cast by the evil queen, and one by one all the harpies turn back into children, including Allegra and Harvey, who celebrate with Jack.
, 1h25Directed by Isao Takahata
Genres Fantasy, Adventure, Animation
Themes Films about animals, Films based on mythology, Films about dragons, Mythologie japonaise, Children's films
Actors Morio Kazama, Masato Yamanouchi, Kiyoshi Kawakubo
This anime film tells the story of the god Susano'o (as a cute boy), whose mother Izanami has died. He is deeply hurt by the loss of his mother but his father Izanagi tells him that his mother is now in heaven. Despite Izanagi's warnings, Susano'o eventually sets off to find her. Along with his companions, Akahana (a little talking rabbit) and Titan Bō (a strong but friendly giant from the Land of Fire), Susano'o overcomes all obstacles in his long voyage. He eventually comes to the Izumo Province, where he meets Princess Kushinada, a little girl whom he becomes friends with (he also thinks that she is so beautiful that she looks like his mother). Kushinada's family tells Susano'o that their other seven daughters were sacrificed to the fearsome eight-headed serpent, the Yamata no Orochi. Susano'o is so infatuated with Kushinada that he decides to help her family protect her and slay the Orochi once and for all and he, Akahana and Bō prepare for the showdown.
Alakazam the Great! (1960)
, 1h28Directed by Osamu Tezuka
Genres Fantasy, Adventure, Animation
Themes Films about animals, Films based on mythology, Films about apes, Musical films
Actors Peter Fernandez, Frankie Avalon, Kiyoshi Kawakubo, Sterling Holloway, Arnold Stang, Jonathan Winters
Alakazam is a young and brave monkey (a macaque) who has been encouraged by all the other monkeys to become their king. After attaining the throne, he becomes rude and dictatorial, and does not believe that human beings are greater than he is. Then he tricks/forces Merlin the magician to teach him magic (reluctantly on Merlin's part, who warns Alakazam that the powers he acquires now will bring him much unhappiness later).
Magic Boy (1959)
, 1h23Origin Japon
Genres Adventure, Animation
Themes Seafaring films, Films based on mythology, Sports films, Transport films, Martial arts films, Samurai films
Actors Katsuo Nakamura, Harue Akagi
Au Japon, un jeune garçon gravit une montagne pour trouver le magicien qui l'aidera à défendre sa famille, menacée par une redoutable sorcière.
Distribution
Slayers Gorgeous (1998)
, 1h4Genres Comedy, Fantasy, Adventure, Animation
Themes Films about animals, Films about dragons
Actors Megumi Hayashibara, Maria Kawamura, Akira Kamiya, Kyōko Hikami, Junpei Takiguchi, Kaneto Shiozawa
This script must be run from the command line
, 1h20Directed by Tatsuo Satō
Genres Drama, Science fiction, Action, Animation
Actors Yūji Ueda, Omi Minami, Houko Kuwashima, Yukie Nakama, Noriko Hidaka, Maya Okamoto
Two years have passed since the third battle of Mars, with the Nadesico taking possession of the Ruin. The Earth and the Jovian Federation have come to an uneasy peace. However, Akito and Yurika have both vanished and are presumed dead. Meanwhile, a new threat to peace is rising in the form of the "Martian Successors" (A splinter group of the original Jovian Federation who wish to continue the war and take revenge on the Earth and Nergal and bring about a new world order). A 15-year-old Ruri Hoshino, is now the new captain of the highly-mobile battleship Nadesico B, and has earned the respect and awe of many in the Military thanks to her unparalleled skill with machines.
Slayers Great (1997)
, 1h4Genres Comedy, Fantasy, Adventure, Animation
Actors Megumi Hayashibara, Maria Kawamura, Kikuko Inoue, Seizō Katō, Kazuki Yao, Takehito Koyasu
Two companion sorceresses and on-and-off adversaries, the overpowered Lina Inverse and the underdressed Naga the Serpent, wander into the town of Stoner, famous of its entertainment golem makers. There, they rescue a young girl named Laia Einberg from an out-of-control golem. Lina and Naga expect to be rewarded for their not-so selfless deed, so Laia takes them to her workplace and introduces them to her father, Galia, and her brother, Huey. Galia is a renowned crafter of classic toy golems but lately he is struggling for money. He is also in conflict with Huey, his son and student, over their very opposing ideas as to how their golems should look and act like. Huey becomes infatuated with Naga's looks, while Galia takes a liking to Lina, and so they choose both sorceresses as models for their respective new golems.
Slayers Return (1996)
, 1h1Genres Comedy, Fantasy, Adventure, Animation
Actors Maria Kawamura, Megumi Hayashibara, Akiko Hiramatsu, Kenji Utsumi, Akio Ōtsuka, Kazuki Yao
Young sorceresses Lina Inverse and Naga the Serpent travel across the world in search of adventure and money, bickering with each other along the way. They meet a girl named Saleena, who seems to be a random victim of the result of their petty food fight that ended with a powerful spell explosion. Truth is she has been already injured since when she escaped from her village of Biaz, where the evil organization Zein enslaved the population. The usually selfish Lina inexplicably agrees to help them: she has heard about an ancient elven treasure made of the nearly indestructible magical metal of orihalcon and she would like to put her hands on it. Because of Lina's suspicious behavior, the equally greedy Naga decides to follow them.
Slayers: The Motion Picture (1995)
, 1h2Genres Science fiction, Comedy, Fantasy, Adventure, Animation
Themes Time travel films, Demons in film
Actors Maria Kawamura, Fūrin Cha, Megumi Hayashibara, Keiji Fujiwara, Osamu Saka, Tesshō Genda
The powerful teenage sorceress Lina Inverse and her traveling companion and self-styled archrival Naga the Serpent, having been reunited after Naga was (once again) hired against Lina, obtain two discounted tickets for a tour to the fabled hot springs of Mipross Island. However, they discover almost immediately that those hot springs are fake and the island is controlled by a group of bandits. The two heroines clean up the island from them but learn they have been sent by someone called "the Great Master".
Sailor Moon R: The Movie (1993)
, 1h2Directed by Kunihiko Ikuhara
Origin Japon
Genres Drama, Comedy, Fantasy, Action, Animation, Romance
Themes Films about magic and magicians, Seafaring films, Transport films, Children's films, Films about extraterrestrial life, Mise en scène d'une plante
Actors Kotono Mitsuishi, Aya Hisakawa, Michie Tomizawa, Emi Shinohara, Megumi Ogata, Rica Fukami
Make Up! Sailor Soldier Usagi and Chibiusa overhear two girls talking about the Sailor Soldiers after they see a poster. As the girls debate over the smartest, most elegant, strongest, and the leader of the Sailor Soldiers, Usagi grandly claims those titles for herself. Chibiusa shakes her head at Usagi's delusion. Clips appear from the debut of each Sailor Soldier, and that girl's image song plays in the background. When even Tuxedo Mask has been mentioned, and the girls are about to leave, Usagi butts in on their conversation and asks them directly about Sailor Moon. The girls give a series of glowing compliments about Sailor Moon, but unlike their analysis of the other Sailor Soldiers, they also list her faults. After the girls leave, Usagi sarcastically apologizes for being a clumsy cry-baby and then bursts into exaggerated tears.
, 50minutesDirected by Daisuke Nishio
Genres Science fiction, Comedy, Fantasy, Action, Adventure, Animation
Themes Films based on mythology, Sports films, Martial arts films
Actors Tomiko Suzuki, Shūichirō Moriyama, Hiromi Tsuru, Tōru Furuya, Masako Nozawa, Naoko Watanabe
Curse of the Blood Rubies is a modified adaptation of the initial story arc in the Dragon Ball manga, with the original character King Gurumes substituting Emperor Pilaf's role as the main antagonist. Like in the manga, Curse of the Blood Rubies depicts how Goku meets up with Bulma. During their travel Goku meets Oolong, Yamcha, Puar and finally Master Roshi during his first search for the Dragon Balls.
, 45minutesGenres Animation
Themes Sports films
Actors Akira Kamiya, Hideyuki Tanaka, Eiji Kanie, Daisuke Gōri, Hideyuki Hori, Ichirō Nagai
While Kinnikuman is on vacation with Mari-san's kindergarten class at Easter Island, the young wheelchair-bound Kouichi-kun laments being with an idiot like Kinnikuman, preferring to instead be with his favorite Seigi Choujin Buffaloman. Meanwhile, the other Seigi Choujins are also vacationing at ancient landmarks
, 48minutesGenres Animation
Themes Sports films
Actors Akira Kamiya, Hideyuki Tanaka, Eiji Kanie, Daisuke Gōri, Hideyuki Hori, Hidekatsu Shibata