This is film was not a "first" in any strict sense. It was the second feature-length animated film made in Japan. The first was made by the same director in 1943, and featured the same character, the brave and powerful "Peach Boy" of Japanese folklore. But this film was far better than Seo's earlier effort, and, although it was a box office flop (It was made for children, but Japan's urban children had all been evacuated to the countryside at the time!), it was enormously influential, and inspired the young cartoonist/ physician TEZUKA Osamu to become an animator. Like it predecessor, it is a war propaganda film, and for that reason is both disturbing and laughable, but Seo must be given credit for his masterful direction and animation. The title, by the way, translates as "Peach Boy: Divine Warrior of the Sea." A final aside: Seo was an apprentice of MASAOKA Kenzô, who created the brilliant Kumo to chuurippu ("The Spider and the Tulip") in 1943.
8 Reviews
The Flowering Of Anime
boblipton6 November 2019
The Navy Air Corps of Japan, under the command of Momotaro, and staffed by the monkeys, rabbits, pheasants and other animals, sets up a base and invades an island controlled by futile, stammering English army officers.
Often acclaimed as the first anime feature, this movie is a pure propaganda piece divided into three parts. In the first, a member of the corps visits the young animals at home; in the second, they build an airfield in the jungle, aided by the local animals; in the third, they invade, and are totally victorious.
There are some lovely sequences of the fields of home, with dandelions blowing about a field; in the second, there are contemplative views of the clouded sky; the third is all action and caricatures of silhouetted Dutchmen -- labeled 'pirates' and ineffectual Englishmen. It's aimed at children as entertainment, but it's also pure propaganda. In America, almost all animal cartoons fall into the 'funny animal' variety. There are no funny animals here! Although the cutely drawn animals clearly stand in for the children of Japan, they are fierce and dedicated soldiers. Even the rabbits are fearsome and warrior-like in their aspects. Here is propaganda aimed not at adults, but at small children.
Often acclaimed as the first anime feature, this movie is a pure propaganda piece divided into three parts. In the first, a member of the corps visits the young animals at home; in the second, they build an airfield in the jungle, aided by the local animals; in the third, they invade, and are totally victorious.
There are some lovely sequences of the fields of home, with dandelions blowing about a field; in the second, there are contemplative views of the clouded sky; the third is all action and caricatures of silhouetted Dutchmen -- labeled 'pirates' and ineffectual Englishmen. It's aimed at children as entertainment, but it's also pure propaganda. In America, almost all animal cartoons fall into the 'funny animal' variety. There are no funny animals here! Although the cutely drawn animals clearly stand in for the children of Japan, they are fierce and dedicated soldiers. Even the rabbits are fearsome and warrior-like in their aspects. Here is propaganda aimed not at adults, but at small children.
Malevolent Wishful Thinking On the Part of a Nation Staring Imminent Destruction in the Face
richardchatten8 May 2018
For years I've wanted to see a bloodthirsty, "Gung Ho!" Japanese equivalent of those eye-watering war movies that came out of Hollywood during the war in the Pacific, and have always been sceptical of the claim that such films simply weren't made. Japan's overwhelming military defeat in 1945 and the destruction of most of their film output up until that time makes this claim difficult to test, but my scepticism is now further reinforced by the final ten minutes of this bizarre film which narrowly survived Japan's postwar cinematic auto-de-fé.
For nine tenths of its running time this could pass for a rather dodgy childrens' film in which various fluffy animals in flying suits vaguely resembling the Gremlin in 'Nightmare at 20,000 Feet' sing, frolic about and express their enthusiasm for serving their country as airmen at the shrill urging of the one character in the film who actually looks as if he might be human, the baby-faced, staring-eyed Momotaro.
But when the hectoring Momotaro (who has just the kind of face you'd like to slap) eventually parachutes into 'Devil's Island' with his airbourne comrades to blow up and bayonet swarms of cringing caricature Yanks & Tommies - after which, arms folded, he sternly issues his terms for 'Unconditional Surrender' to their flummoxed commanding officers - one is forcefully reminded of the total lack of magananimity Japan had shown the people of the territories they had occupied throughout the thirties; and remain relieved that this concluding sequence never managed to be more than just a pipe dream.
For nine tenths of its running time this could pass for a rather dodgy childrens' film in which various fluffy animals in flying suits vaguely resembling the Gremlin in 'Nightmare at 20,000 Feet' sing, frolic about and express their enthusiasm for serving their country as airmen at the shrill urging of the one character in the film who actually looks as if he might be human, the baby-faced, staring-eyed Momotaro.
But when the hectoring Momotaro (who has just the kind of face you'd like to slap) eventually parachutes into 'Devil's Island' with his airbourne comrades to blow up and bayonet swarms of cringing caricature Yanks & Tommies - after which, arms folded, he sternly issues his terms for 'Unconditional Surrender' to their flummoxed commanding officers - one is forcefully reminded of the total lack of magananimity Japan had shown the people of the territories they had occupied throughout the thirties; and remain relieved that this concluding sequence never managed to be more than just a pipe dream.
First Japanese Anime film
dudeman568514 November 2002
I've been looking forever for this. As the title might suggest (Momotaro's Divine Sea Warriors) this, the first full length animated Japanese film, was a propaganda cartoon comissioned by the Navy to spread morale among youngsters. It was premiered just weeks before the surrender (which just shows its effectiveness) and was forgotten and for some reason neglected for years after the defeat. A copy was found in an old warehouse 1983 and a video was released in 1984. Whoever owns the copyright has shown understandable hesitation to distribute it in the West, or for that matter in other Asian countries.
From what I gather from the Anime encyclopedia, which is the source of the above facts by the way, the film starts out with several animals (a monkey, a rabbit, etc) training for the Navy when on graduation the monkeys younger brother loses his siblings cap and it falls into a river, and all the animals jump down into the river to retrieve it. Then we are inexplicably transported to a Pacific Island, where another group of animals is teaching the native youngsters how to play Japanese games (good sense of Imperialism here) but soon an airplane arrives caryring Momotaro, a traditional Japanese folk hero, with his traditional allies, our friends from the Navy academy. Most of them join naval infantry, but the rabbit becomes a pilot.
The movie gets blatent when a British memo is intercepted and the little band of (probably) cute animals and fairy tale characters drive the Brits out of the island. In the final sequence we see the "divine warrior" back in Japan celebrating their victory, then playing parachute over a map of the US.
It's 64 min. which is pretty typical for a first animation feature, and would be of great historical interest, not only to disgruntle Pokemon fans, but also a superb example of self-delusion & propaganda. And I'm sure it would have it's own surreal qualities.
From what I gather from the Anime encyclopedia, which is the source of the above facts by the way, the film starts out with several animals (a monkey, a rabbit, etc) training for the Navy when on graduation the monkeys younger brother loses his siblings cap and it falls into a river, and all the animals jump down into the river to retrieve it. Then we are inexplicably transported to a Pacific Island, where another group of animals is teaching the native youngsters how to play Japanese games (good sense of Imperialism here) but soon an airplane arrives caryring Momotaro, a traditional Japanese folk hero, with his traditional allies, our friends from the Navy academy. Most of them join naval infantry, but the rabbit becomes a pilot.
The movie gets blatent when a British memo is intercepted and the little band of (probably) cute animals and fairy tale characters drive the Brits out of the island. In the final sequence we see the "divine warrior" back in Japan celebrating their victory, then playing parachute over a map of the US.
It's 64 min. which is pretty typical for a first animation feature, and would be of great historical interest, not only to disgruntle Pokemon fans, but also a superb example of self-delusion & propaganda. And I'm sure it would have it's own surreal qualities.
Making war and genocide seem fun and patriotic through the use of cute animated animals...and a few creepy ones.
planktonrules23 July 2020
"Momotarô: Umi no shinpei" ("Momotaro, Sacred Sailors") is a creepy and rather insidious animated Japanese film that also has the distinction of being the first full-length animated movie from that country. Since it was made during WWII, it's not surprising that the film is infused with lots of propaganda and glamorizes life in the Japanese Imperial Navy. The film has little to do with the traditional Japanese tale of Momotarô. It uses the characters from the story but otherwise is mostly a film extolling the virtues of hard work and patriotism...and the evils of Westerners and is targeted mostly to kids Targeting such ugly propaganda at kids isn't unheard of...but it's pretty sad.
The story begins with Momotarô and his friends from the folk tale (a dog, a monkey and a pheasant) returning home on leave from the navy. Surprisingly, however, for the longest time not very much happens in the film. The characters scamper about, sing and make all sorts of vacant, creepy faces at the audience...but not much occurs apart from this and the local children idolizing these heroes to the Empire. The slowness of the film is made more obvious because the animation quality of this black & white movie isn't very good and the film seems to be moving in slow-motion. To save money, the studio used a lower than usual cel-count and it's certainly NOT qualitatively similar to Disney!
What follows is a long montage showing all the animals working hard for the good of the country. During much of this, they sing about lucky they are to work hard and they are preparing for the next military encounter. Then, Japanese plane after plane arrive...and the happy pilots and bunny ground crew prepare for the next glorious mission. Eventually, this spirit of patriotism is tested when the nice Japanese animals are attacked by the enemy. The nice animals rise up to destroy the evil Westerners...and a few scenes, such as them bayoneting the rubbery-armed Western soldiers, are amazingly graphic for a kids movie. Again, it's obvious that this is Momotarô in name only!
So is all this any good? Not really. The animation is third-rate (at best) compared to later Japanese animation, the story has a vile pro-war message specifically targeted to young children and, worst of all, it's really boring. The story lacks fun and song after song about the joys of hard work and patriotism hardly are the sorts of things kids would enjoy...at least NORMAL kids! In fact, it's such a creepy and nasty film I don't recommend it for ANY kids. The animation of the faces is often nightmare-inducing! It's more a curiosity...one history lovers might find interesting though not especially good and incredibly slow. And, sadly, I wondered like another reviewer just how many kids who saw this didn't even ultimately survive this ugly war.
The story begins with Momotarô and his friends from the folk tale (a dog, a monkey and a pheasant) returning home on leave from the navy. Surprisingly, however, for the longest time not very much happens in the film. The characters scamper about, sing and make all sorts of vacant, creepy faces at the audience...but not much occurs apart from this and the local children idolizing these heroes to the Empire. The slowness of the film is made more obvious because the animation quality of this black & white movie isn't very good and the film seems to be moving in slow-motion. To save money, the studio used a lower than usual cel-count and it's certainly NOT qualitatively similar to Disney!
What follows is a long montage showing all the animals working hard for the good of the country. During much of this, they sing about lucky they are to work hard and they are preparing for the next military encounter. Then, Japanese plane after plane arrive...and the happy pilots and bunny ground crew prepare for the next glorious mission. Eventually, this spirit of patriotism is tested when the nice Japanese animals are attacked by the enemy. The nice animals rise up to destroy the evil Westerners...and a few scenes, such as them bayoneting the rubbery-armed Western soldiers, are amazingly graphic for a kids movie. Again, it's obvious that this is Momotarô in name only!
So is all this any good? Not really. The animation is third-rate (at best) compared to later Japanese animation, the story has a vile pro-war message specifically targeted to young children and, worst of all, it's really boring. The story lacks fun and song after song about the joys of hard work and patriotism hardly are the sorts of things kids would enjoy...at least NORMAL kids! In fact, it's such a creepy and nasty film I don't recommend it for ANY kids. The animation of the faces is often nightmare-inducing! It's more a curiosity...one history lovers might find interesting though not especially good and incredibly slow. And, sadly, I wondered like another reviewer just how many kids who saw this didn't even ultimately survive this ugly war.
No wonder they lost the war!
vawlkee_200015 March 2012
A crude primitive excuse for animation! This film was begun in 1942 and not completed and released until just months before Japan's capitulation. The Japanese had been attempting to perfect animation since the early 30's and by this time still hadn't a clue what the hell they were doing! I have a BG in animation and WWII. This story follows the Momotaro (peach boy) legend but updates it. He's the sole human on his side, yet they fight the Brits who are all human. The animation indicates that while the Japanese tried hard, they were still in the stone age as far as mastering animation. Look at the pans of the L3Y's taking off, look at the character turnarounds! Absolute disaster! In reality the taking of Singapore was accomplished by ground troops. Percival and his staff are laughably portrayed as horned demons as per the Momotaro legend. I think the print has been modified and updated. Only good as a curiosity.
Propaganda piece aimed at children
jennyhor200410 August 2011
Warning: Spoilers
Japan's first full-length animated movie is a World War II propaganda film aimed at children and centred around a young boy Momotaro ("Peach Boy") and his animal friends who represent military sailors. The film's aim is to instill love and loyalty for Japan and belief in its military invincibility and inevitable victory over British and American forces. The importance of the group over the individual is stressed and collective action based on absolute obedience and loyalty is preferred over individual action which the film suggests can cause a person to go astray.
What plot exists is very loose and falls into three parts that are related only through shared characters. The film-makers' grasp on history, geography and sociology is precarious. In the first part Momotaro and his sailor friends are on leave and visiting their families. A young child gets lost chasing a runaway sailor cap and its life is in danger. The sailors and others in their community hear a rescue call and rise as one to save the child. In the second part Japanese naval forces take over a tropical island where they are welcomed by the natives who are represented by exotic species of animals; the sailors build an airbase and take time to teach the locals their language and culture. In the third part of the film the Japanese invade islands in Southeast Asia from the air and force the British overlords there to relinquish control. After parachuting to the ground and ambushing a tank together, Momotaro takes charge of negotiating with the Brits while his friends take notes.
The animation is very uneven: the main characters of Momotaro and his friends (bear, monkey, cat, pheasant) are drawn well with bodies and limbs in correct chubby proportions. Their faces are usually serene and confident with shining eyes though creepy lipsticked lips don't always synchronise well with speech. Momotaro resembles a plump-cheeked kindergarten-age boy straight out of old Chinese Communist propaganda posters. The animals that represent the Pacific Islanders are all very cute and include creatures not usually native to the Pacific islands: elephants, rhinos, crocodiles, squirrels, bunnies, small wildcats and kangaroos all co-exist happily. Perhaps lacking high-order predators like lions and tigers among them gives the folks that open and hospitable attitude towards the invaders. The animals' portrayal varies from cute and sweet for small critters to rubbery and comic for the crocs and elephants which could have come straight out of old 1930s cartoons. Just as rubbery, dated and definitely caricatured are a trio of three adult monkeys who look and act suspiciously like 1930s blackface minstrels and the British who are shown as lacking in discipline, cowardly and spineless. Against backgrounds that look solid and almost three-dimensional and the fairly detailed depictions of machinery, the variable standard of animation means the film doesn't have a distinctive visual style.
Whatever comedy exists in the film seems forced and the songs have been written and played to urge singing along by children. No point in preaching to audiences unless they can be pushed to participate in the message! The film plays hard and fast with the history and geography of Southeast Asia and its colonisation by Europeans. Most likely the islands "freed" by Japan in the third part of the film aren't a specific reference to Singapore but representative for eastern Asia and the western Pacific region. Parts of the plot are cut off unexpectedly and the film never returns to them. At the end of the film various small animals practise parachute-jumping onto a map of North America; the implied message is that Japanese domination of the entire Pacific region and beyond is the next step. Given that when the film was released Japan had already been retreating from US-led forces for two years, and the country was in dire economic as well as military straits, the message is desperate and shrill.
Viewers may note the tone of the whole film can be strident: the pace is steady and fast, the story trajectory is onwards and upwards, and the animals obey orders and act promptly and efficiently without hesitation. The portrayal of some animals as rabbits has an unintended and slightly amusing suggestion of cloned conformity especially in scenes where they prepare the airfield for military planes to land and to take off with almost preprogrammed foreknowledge. A message of unquestioned obedience with one's heart, mind and soul being at the service of the nation, its government and emperor is strong. Characters might pause only to look at photographs of loved ones and realise how much they miss their families but that's the only kind of reflection and character development allowed here.
Not a film I'd recommend for children until they're of an age to understand how seductive and inviting propaganda can be and the different forms it can take to persuade people to adopt particular beliefs and actions.
What plot exists is very loose and falls into three parts that are related only through shared characters. The film-makers' grasp on history, geography and sociology is precarious. In the first part Momotaro and his sailor friends are on leave and visiting their families. A young child gets lost chasing a runaway sailor cap and its life is in danger. The sailors and others in their community hear a rescue call and rise as one to save the child. In the second part Japanese naval forces take over a tropical island where they are welcomed by the natives who are represented by exotic species of animals; the sailors build an airbase and take time to teach the locals their language and culture. In the third part of the film the Japanese invade islands in Southeast Asia from the air and force the British overlords there to relinquish control. After parachuting to the ground and ambushing a tank together, Momotaro takes charge of negotiating with the Brits while his friends take notes.
The animation is very uneven: the main characters of Momotaro and his friends (bear, monkey, cat, pheasant) are drawn well with bodies and limbs in correct chubby proportions. Their faces are usually serene and confident with shining eyes though creepy lipsticked lips don't always synchronise well with speech. Momotaro resembles a plump-cheeked kindergarten-age boy straight out of old Chinese Communist propaganda posters. The animals that represent the Pacific Islanders are all very cute and include creatures not usually native to the Pacific islands: elephants, rhinos, crocodiles, squirrels, bunnies, small wildcats and kangaroos all co-exist happily. Perhaps lacking high-order predators like lions and tigers among them gives the folks that open and hospitable attitude towards the invaders. The animals' portrayal varies from cute and sweet for small critters to rubbery and comic for the crocs and elephants which could have come straight out of old 1930s cartoons. Just as rubbery, dated and definitely caricatured are a trio of three adult monkeys who look and act suspiciously like 1930s blackface minstrels and the British who are shown as lacking in discipline, cowardly and spineless. Against backgrounds that look solid and almost three-dimensional and the fairly detailed depictions of machinery, the variable standard of animation means the film doesn't have a distinctive visual style.
Whatever comedy exists in the film seems forced and the songs have been written and played to urge singing along by children. No point in preaching to audiences unless they can be pushed to participate in the message! The film plays hard and fast with the history and geography of Southeast Asia and its colonisation by Europeans. Most likely the islands "freed" by Japan in the third part of the film aren't a specific reference to Singapore but representative for eastern Asia and the western Pacific region. Parts of the plot are cut off unexpectedly and the film never returns to them. At the end of the film various small animals practise parachute-jumping onto a map of North America; the implied message is that Japanese domination of the entire Pacific region and beyond is the next step. Given that when the film was released Japan had already been retreating from US-led forces for two years, and the country was in dire economic as well as military straits, the message is desperate and shrill.
Viewers may note the tone of the whole film can be strident: the pace is steady and fast, the story trajectory is onwards and upwards, and the animals obey orders and act promptly and efficiently without hesitation. The portrayal of some animals as rabbits has an unintended and slightly amusing suggestion of cloned conformity especially in scenes where they prepare the airfield for military planes to land and to take off with almost preprogrammed foreknowledge. A message of unquestioned obedience with one's heart, mind and soul being at the service of the nation, its government and emperor is strong. Characters might pause only to look at photographs of loved ones and realise how much they miss their families but that's the only kind of reflection and character development allowed here.
Not a film I'd recommend for children until they're of an age to understand how seductive and inviting propaganda can be and the different forms it can take to persuade people to adopt particular beliefs and actions.
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