Like many of the cartoons I found on the website for Japanese Animated Film Classics, "Manga: Kobutori" has a very strong moral...one intended to reinforce good traditional values to the audience. And, like all these early cartoons from the 1910s-1930s, they all have English subtitles!
Tarobei and Jirobei are two neighbors who are very similar and very dissimilar. They both have an enormous growth on their cheek--sort of like a giant goiter. But Tarobei is a good sort and Jirobei is lazy and conniving.
One day, Tarobei is out in the mountainside when a storm arrives. He seeks shelter inside a hollow tree to wait out the rain. When he awakens much later, he is surprised to hear some very pleasant music nearby. He can't help but start dancing and his dancing interrupts a group of Tengu having a dance party. Tengu are mountain spirits who either have beaks or very long noses. They also are magical and quite hermit-like...and usually hate to be bothered by anyone. But the Tengu love Tarobei's dancing and they enjoy it so much that they beg him to return the next night for more dancing. To make him want to return, they steal something they think is most precious to Tarobei...his giant lump! Well, Tarobei is happy to be rid of it and soon tells Jirobei about his good fortune. As for Jirobei, he's a schemer and decides to go in Tarobei's place the next day. He assumes the Tengu will adore his dancing and reward him with money. Things DON'T work out so well for Jirobei! See this cute animation and you'll see why.
The story is funny, clever and cute. This combined with nice period animation make this one of the best of the early Japanese cartoons I've seen. Well worth seeing. And, oddly, although IMDB says it's a 10 minute long film, it actually runs about 14 minutes.
Tarobei and Jirobei are two neighbors who are very similar and very dissimilar. They both have an enormous growth on their cheek--sort of like a giant goiter. But Tarobei is a good sort and Jirobei is lazy and conniving.
One day, Tarobei is out in the mountainside when a storm arrives. He seeks shelter inside a hollow tree to wait out the rain. When he awakens much later, he is surprised to hear some very pleasant music nearby. He can't help but start dancing and his dancing interrupts a group of Tengu having a dance party. Tengu are mountain spirits who either have beaks or very long noses. They also are magical and quite hermit-like...and usually hate to be bothered by anyone. But the Tengu love Tarobei's dancing and they enjoy it so much that they beg him to return the next night for more dancing. To make him want to return, they steal something they think is most precious to Tarobei...his giant lump! Well, Tarobei is happy to be rid of it and soon tells Jirobei about his good fortune. As for Jirobei, he's a schemer and decides to go in Tarobei's place the next day. He assumes the Tengu will adore his dancing and reward him with money. Things DON'T work out so well for Jirobei! See this cute animation and you'll see why.
The story is funny, clever and cute. This combined with nice period animation make this one of the best of the early Japanese cartoons I've seen. Well worth seeing. And, oddly, although IMDB says it's a 10 minute long film, it actually runs about 14 minutes.
