Little Norse Prince

A good animation, with an original style. The main character was intriguing.

Though there are no song subtitles, I did find this translation of one song:

Hilda: [sings] In the twilight red sky / a lonely star shines / Someone calls me, / "Come away, voiceless lark / Come away, wingless lark / From where did you come? And where will you go, now?"

Larks are a kind of singing bird.

P.S Also see trailer which has lyrics for 2 more songs.

Well, I say it shows its age, but I'm not really sure it does. It certainly looks a lot older than the other Ghibli films I have seen, but then it *is* a lot older than them, pre-dating Nausicaa by a massive 16 years, and My Neighbour Totoro by *twenty years* - this film is almost 40 years old now!

When you consider that, then it really is actually amazing how little it has aged. OK, the animation is quite primitive in places, with big fight/battle scenes consisting of just panning round still images - but with the added sound effects, this still works remarkably well, and gives a good sense of the energy of the scenes.

Regardless of the animation, and how dated it does look, this is actually a very enjoyable tale. Its set in a world that is less magical than those of Spirited Away or Howl's Moving Castle, and very much has the feel of the worlds of Nordic legends. As ever with Ghibli Films, the world feels believable and you become captivated by it and the story.

This film tells a story in a much more traditional sense than other Ghibli films, and you can easily see this being a story that was passed down through the ages, told from parent to child, like many traditional legends. It's possibly also more suitable for younger children than some Ghibli films, as the story is less complex and easier to follow (due to the more traditional style of the story, and story telling); however, some of the scenes could frighten some children (though it's never as scary as Watership Down - it is scary in a similar way). If your children like legends or traditional fairy tales, then they would probably enjoy this film.

Like other Studio Ghibli efforts, this one will not disappoint the fans of gentle anime. Unfortunately, since the distributors chose not to dub the film, you are stuck with subtitles. So, the PG rating is a bit of a moot point, since most children will not be able to follow the plot and the subtitles at the same time.

I would rate this a 5 for the older audience but only 3 for younger children. A shame, since the latter are surely the target audience.

This is a great film for the kids, however it is in Japanese audio with subtitles. An early film from the people that brought us Studio Ghibli and films like Spirited Away, Castle Of Cagliostrio and Castle In The Sky. Not as good as the later titles, but everyone has to start somewhere, but remember that the film was made in 1967 and the standard of animation is ten times better than anything you see now on the kids channels. Give it a try, you might be surprized.