Horus: Prince of the Sun
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Horus: Prince of the Sun (太陽の王子ホルスの大冒険 Taiyō no ōji: Horusu no daibōken) also known as 'Little Norse Prince Valliant' was a Japanese anime film released in 1968 by Toei Animation. It was Director Isao Takahata's feature film debut. Hayao Miyazaki, Yasuo Otsuka, and Yoichi Kotabe worked as animators in this movie.
The film is considered something of a landmark in the history of anime. It was the first film to really break away from the Disney-esque mold of Toei animation at the time of its production. The film was produced by a group of animators who were affiliated with Toei's Union and the student protest movements of the 1960s. As a result, the film contains many references to the movement, as well as some Socialist-inspired artwork.
It was a difficult film to produce with Isao Takahata being forced to remove 30 minutes of the film prior to its completion by Toei. In addition the film was over budget, over time, and had two key sequences unfinished (in the film still shots are shown in these sequences). Also Takahata originally wanted the film to be about the Emishi (the indigenious people of Japan who were persecuted by the Japanese). Takahata was forced by Toei to change it to another nationality, so the Norse were picked instead.
The film is often seen as a precursor to later innovations in the anime world and sort of as a grandfather of progressive anime. It was not a box office success when it first came out, but was screened by student groups where it enjoyed a cult hit status. After the failure of the film most of the production staff was demoted, and Isao Takahata was prevented from directing another film for Toei again. Shortly thereafter Otsuka, Miyazaki and Takahata would leave Toei for A Pro where they would work on Lupin III (TV) (1971).