World Fairy Tale Series
Genre
Directed byHiroshi Shidara
Composer
Country of originJapan
Original languageJapanese
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes26
Production
ProducersYoshifumi Hatano
Shinji Shimizu
Running time24 minutes
Production companies
Original release
NetworkFuji TV
Release7 April (1995-04-07) –
29 September 1995 (1995-09-29)

World Fairy Tale Series (世界名作童話シリーズ・ワ～ォ！メルヘン王国, Sekai meisaku dōwa shirīzu - Wa-o! Meruhen ōkoku, lit. "World Masterpiece Fairy Tale Series - Wow! Fairy Tale Kingdom"; also known as: アニメ世界の童話 Anime sekai no dōwa, lit. "World Fairy Tale Anime") is an Italian-Japanese anime anthology series based on fairy tales and classic stories, produced by Toei Animation, Fuji Eight and Reteitalia in 1993.[1]

Premise

It consists of 26 episodes, each one adapting a popular fairy tale or a literature classic written by a famous author such as: the Brothers Grimm, Charles Perrault, Hans Christian Andersen, Carlo Collodi, Lewis Carroll, Alexandre Dumas, Howard Pyle, Jonathan Swift, Johanna Spyri, L. Frank Baum, E. T. A. Hoffmann, James Halliwell-Phillipps and Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont. Most of the episodes follow quite closely the original source material, with some changes made to alter unhappy endings or to suit the half-hour episode run. Between 1975 and 1983 Toei had already produced a similar series of animated short films: World Famous Fairy Tale Series. Some of these fairy tales had also been adapted by Toei into feature length movies (Arabian Nights: The Adventures of Sinbad, The World of Hans Christian Andersen, The Wonderful World of Puss 'n Boots, Hans Christian Andersen’s The Little Mermaid, Thumbelina and Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp).

A variety of different artists from other Toei's popular series worked on the episodes, such as Sailor Moon's director Junichi Sato and character designer Ikuko Itoh,[2][1] or Space Pirate Captain Harlock, and Saint Seya's composer Seiji Yokoyama.[2]

The series premiered in France in October 1994 in a collection of VHS, and it later aired in December on France 3 (Les Contes les plus célèbres).[3][4][5] It aired in Italy on Italia 1 from 4 February 1995 (Le fiabe più belle),[6] and in Japan on Fuji TV and other networks from 7 April to 29 September of the same year.[7] However, only 21 episodes were broadcast in Japan, with the last 5 episodes being released on home video. An 8 DVD box containing 24 episodes was released in Japan by Toei Video under the title Sekai Meisaku Mukashi Banashi (世界名作昔ばなし, lit. World Masterpiece Old Tale), skipping episodes 10 and 26.

The Italian Dub featured different incidental music composed by Enzo Draghi,[8] and it served as a basis for the French, Spanish, Polish, Romanian and Greek dubs as well. The series was also popular in the Middle East, airing on Spacetoon.

Cast

Episodes

No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date
1"Aladdin and the Magic Lamp"
Transliteration: "Arajin to mahō no ranpu" (Japanese: アラジンと魔法のランプ)		Hiroshi ShidaraEtsuo Suzuki7 April 1995 (7 April 1995)
2"Cinderella"
Transliteration: "Shinderera" (Japanese: シンデレラ)		Hiroki ShibataAya Matsui14 April 1995 (14 April 1995)
3"Beauty and the Beast"
Transliteration: "Bijo to yajū" (Japanese: 美女と野獣)		Ryo TachibaYumi Kageyama21 April 1995 (21 April 1995)
4"Puss in Boots"
Transliteration: "Nagagutsu wohaita neko" (Japanese: 靴をはいた猫)		Toru YamadaYasunori Yamada28 April 1995 (28 April 1995)
5"Hansel and Gretel"
Transliteration: "Henzeru to Gureteru" (Japanese: ヘンゼルとグレーテル)		Kiyoko SayamaYumi Kageyama12 May 1995 (12 May 1995)
6"The Little Match Girl"
Transliteration: "Macchi uri no shōjo" (Japanese: マッチ売りの少女)		Tomohara KatsumataYumi Kageyama19 May 1995 (19 May 1995)
7"Pinocchio"
Transliteration: "Pinokio" (Japanese: ピノキオ)		Atsutoshi UmezawaEtsuo Suzuki26 May 1995 (26 May 1995)
8"Snow White"
Transliteration: "Shirayukihime" (Japanese: 白雪姫)		Michihiro KanayamaYoshimasa Takahashi2 June 1995 (2 June 1995)
9"The Three Little Pigs"
Transliteration: "Sanbiki nokobuta" (Japanese: 三匹のこぶた)		Jōji ShimuraAya Matsui9 June 1995 (9 June 1995)
10"Robin Hood"
Transliteration: "Robin Fuddo" (Japanese: ロビンフッド)		Tsunekiyo OtaniYasunori Yamada16 June 1995 (16 June 1995)
11"Sleeping Beauty"
Transliteration: "Nemure ru mori no bijo" (Japanese: 眠れる森の美女)		Masayuki AkehiYumi Kageyama23 June 1995 (23 June 1995)
12"The Golden Goose"
Transliteration: "Kin nogachō" (Japanese: 金のがちょう)		Takashi KobayashiEtsuo Suzuki7 July 1995 (7 July 1995)
13"The Wolf and the Seven Young Goats"
Transliteration: "Ookami to nanahiki no ko yagi" (Japanese: 狼と七匹の子やぎ)		Yûji EndôYasunori Yamada14 July 1995 (14 July 1995)
14"Alice in Wonderland"
Transliteration: "Fushigi no kuni no Arisu" (Japanese: 不思議の国のアリス)		Hiroki ShibataYumi Kageyama21 July 1995 (21 July 1995)
15"Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves"
Transliteration: "Ari Baba to 40 nin no tōzoku" (Japanese: アリババと40人の盗賊)		Yasuo IshikawaEtsuo Suzuki28 July 1995 (28 July 1995)
16"Thumbelina"
Transliteration: "Oyayubi hime" (Japanese: おやゆび姫)		Junichi SatoYumi Kageyama11 August 1995 (11 August 1995)
17"Little Red Riding Hood"
Transliteration: "Aka Zukin" (Japanese: 赤ずきん)		Takao YoshizawaYumi Kageyama18 August 1995 (18 August 1995)
18"Gulliver's Travels"
Transliteration: "Gariba ryokōki" (Japanese: ガリバー旅行記)		Ryo TachibaYoshimasa Takahashi25 August 1995 (25 August 1995)
19"The Three Musketeers"
Transliteration: "Sanjūshi" (Japanese: 三銃士)		Toshihiko ArisakoYasunori Yamada1 September 1995 (1 September 1995)
20"The Nutcracker"
Transliteration: "Kurumi wari ningyō" (Japanese: くるみ割り人形)		Tsunekiyo OtaniAya Matsui8 September 1995 (8 September 1995)
21"The Wizard of Oz"
Transliteration: "Ozu no mahōtsukai" (Japanese: オズの魔法使い)		Yasuo IshikawaYumi Kageyama29 September 1995 (29 September 1995)
22"The Emperor's New Clothes"
Transliteration: "Hadakano ōsama" (Japanese: はだかの王様)		Toru YamadaEtsuo SuzukiN/A
23"Town Musicians of Bremen"
Transliteration: "Buremen no ongakutai" (Japanese: ブレーメンの音楽隊)		Jōji ShimuraYasunori YamadaN/A
24"The Little Mermaid"
Transliteration: "Ningyohime" (Japanese: 人魚姫)		Yukio KaizawaYumi KageyamaN/A
25"Sindbad the Sailor"
Transliteration: "Shindobaddo no bōken" (Japanese: シンドバッドの冒険)		Michihiro KanayamaEtsuo SuzukiN/A
26"Heidi"
Transliteration: "Haiji" (Japanese: ハイジ)		Hiroshi ShidaraAya MatsuiN/A

References

  1. ^ a b アニメスタイル編集部. "佐藤順一の昔から今まで（12）『ユンカース・カム・ヒア』と『ワ～ォ！メルヘン王国』 | WEBアニメスタイル". WEBアニメスタイル | もっとアニメの話をしよう。 (in Japanese). Retrieved 15 July 2022.
  2. ^ a b "世界名作童話シリーズ ワ～ォ!メルヘン王国 : 平成のテレビアニメ＆令和のテレビアニメ". televimanga.blog.jp. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
  3. ^ "EDITIONS ATLAS LE MONDE FABULEUX DES CONTES : CASSETTE VIDEO FASCICULE GAMME | INA". ina.fr (in French). Retrieved 5 March 2023.
  4. ^ Faviez, Pierre (August 2010). La Télé : un destin animé. Société des Ecrivains. ISBN 9782748047264.
  5. ^ "Planète Jeunesse - Les Contes les plus Célèbres". www.planete-jeunesse.com. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
  6. ^ "Le fiabe più belle". Radiocorriere TV.
  7. ^ "世界名作童話シリーズ・ワ～ォ！メルヘン王国 - 作品ラインナップ - 東映アニメーション". lineup.toei-anim.co.jp. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
  8. ^ "DISCOGRAFIA". ENZO DRAGHI. Retrieved 15 July 2022.

External links

Toei Animation television series
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