is a 1975 Japanese

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

television series adaptation of Ouida's 1872 novel of the same name, produced by Nippon Animation. 52 episodes were produced. A film version was released in 1997. The series represents the bond between a boy and his ever so faithful dog living in 19th century

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...

Hoboken. The emotional story shows the boy's struggles in life as his grandfather dies and leaves him with his dog. It shows how the hopes of becoming a great classical painter have been seemingly crushed by his grandfather's passing and the way he takes after that tragedy. The anime series is notable for being the first official entry in the

World Masterpiece Theater was a Japanese TV anime staple that showcased an animated version of a different classical book or story each year from 19:30 to 20:00 on Sunday on Fuji TV. It originally aired from 1969 to 1997 and from 2007 to 2009. Commonly abbreviated to ...

series (''Calpis Children's Theater'' at the time).

Production

The animators conducted extensive research on 19th century

Hoboken. Although it has to be said that a lot of features in the series are not Flemish but typically Dutch (the girl's hat and the tulips for example). The buildings depicted in the series were modeled after the

Bokrijk The Bokrijk Provincial Domain ( nl, Provinciaal Domein Bokrijk) is a park and museum complex near Genk, Province of Limburg in Belgium. It is known for its open-air museum which displays a large collection of historical buildings from across Flan ...

open-air museum.. Although there have been some changes from the original story by Marie Louise de la Ramée, it has been faithful in keeping the storyline accurate. Isao Takahata and Hayao Miyazaki also worked on the series, respectively as storyboard artist and key animator for episode 15. ''Dog of Flanders'' aired on Fuji TV between January 5 and December 28, 1975. Having gone into production before Zuiyo Eizo and Nippon Animation division, episodes 1-20 and 24-26 of the anime were still originally credited to Zuiyo and broadcast in the ''Calpis Comic Theater'' series. In subsequent DVD releases ''Calpis Children's Theater'' title card was kept in all 52 episodes. The series was repeated daily in early mornings in 2012.

Film

A feature film remake of the series, titled ''The Dog of Flanders'' or was released in March 1997. It was distributed by

Shochiku () is a Japanese film and kabuki production and distribution company. It also produces and distributes anime films, in particular those produced by Bandai Namco Filmworks (which has a long-time partnership—the company released most, if not all ...

. It grossed ¥243,543,645 at the box office. The film was released on VHS in 1999 and later released on DVD in March 2000.

Cast

Makoto Tsumura is a Japanese voice actress. She entered a training school attached to Ezaki Productions in 1991 and belonged to Mausu Promotion (formerly Ezaki Productions) from 1993 to 2007. After leaving Mausu, she worked as a freelancer from 2007 to Septembe ...

Brady Bluhm Brady Bluhm is an American actor. He played Christopher Robin in many ''Winnie the Pooh'' films. He has also played roles in ''Dumb and Dumber'', its sequel '' Dumb and Dumber To'', and the TV series '' Get a Life''. Bluhm was a member of the Churc ...

as Nello * Sakura Tange/ Debi Derryberry as Alois *

Kousei Yagi is a Japanese voice actor affiliated with 81 Produce. Voice roles *Bakumatsu Kikansetsu Irohanihoheto (Koma no Shouten-sama) * Blue Submarine No.6 (Kouichi Nakamura) *Galaxy Angel (Kryzman) *Genesis Survivor Gaiarth (Bangor III (Ep.1)) *Parasol ...

/ Robert Loggia as Grandpa Jehan *

Honami Suzuki is a Japanese actress. Career Suzuki began acting after high school and debuted at age 19 in the television drama ''Asobi Ja Nai No Yo, Kono Koi Wa'' (TBS, 1986). Her breakthrough came in 1991 with the role of Rika in the Fuji TV television ad ...

/ Sean Young as the adult/Sister Alois *

Katsumi Toriumi is a Japanese voice actor from Saitama Prefecture. He works at Production Baobab. Toriumi performed with other voice actors on the album ''Everybody's Christmas''. Voice Roles *Hazuki in '' Pocket Monsters'' *Dalida Lolaha Chandra II in ''Mobile ...

/ Richard Cansino as the adult Paul * Yuriko Fuchizaki/ Lara Cody as the young Paul * Masato Hirano/

Randy Montgomery Randle John Montgomery (born August 12, 1947) was a National Football League cornerback and kick returner for the Denver Broncos and Chicago Bears. After going to high school at Cleveland (Seattle, WA), Montgomery attended Everett JC and Weber St ...

as Hans *

Toshiyuki Morikawa is a Japanese voice actor, narrator and singer who is the head of Axlone, a voice acting company he founded in April 2011. His name is also sometimes mistranslated as Tomoyuki Morikawa. In 2003, he and Fumihiko Tachiki formed the band "2Hearts", ...

/ Scott Menville as the adult George * Yoshiko Kamei/ Ryan O'Donohue as the young George * Yuko Sasaki as Nello's mother *

Bob Papenbrook Robert DeWayne Papenbrook (September 18, 1955 – March 17, 2006) was an American voice actor. Career Fellow voice actors often nicknamed him "Pappy". He was very well known in the worlds of anime and video game voice-overs for his voice acting o ...

as Ansole *

Sherry Lynn Sherry Lynn is an American voice actress who has played roles in anime, animated television series and video games. She portrayed Sasami Jurai in the ''Tenchi Muyo!'' franchise. In January 2010, in terms of total film gross, she was the Highest ...

as Elina *

Michael McConnohie Michael McConnohie is an American voice actor, writer and director who has provided many voice roles in movies, anime, and video games. He and fellow actress Melodee Spevack run a production company called VoxWorks. Some of his major works includ ...

as Cogetz *

Matt K. Miller Matthew Kermit Miller is an American actor, stand-up comedian and playwright. He is also known as Kermit Miller and Kermit Beachwood. His best-known voice role in anime was Tenchi Masaki in the Pioneer dub of ''Tenchi Muyo''. He reprised the role ...

as Mr. Ike * Chris Carroll as Art Store Owner * Louise Chamis as Mrs. Nulette * Brianne Siddall as Stephen *

Paul St. Peter Paul St. Peter is an American voice actor, who works on English-language productions of Japanese anime shows. He voiced Punch in '' Cowboy Bebop: The Movie'', Mondego in '' Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo'', Kurama in ''Naruto'', Razor in ' ...

as Art Judge #1 * Cliff Wells as Art Judge #2 * Mari Devon as Mrs. Jestas Voices for orphan children provided by Jessica Evans, Dylan Hart, Sophie Lechken, Alex Mandelberg, Bryce Papenbrook.

References in other media

The main opening theme song "Yoake-no Michi" (よあけのみち) has always been popular in Japan since the series' debut. It was featured in a daydream sequence in the live action adaptation of '' Nodame Cantabile'', starring ''

Juri Ueno is a Japanese actress. She first gained recognition in the 2005 film ''Swing Girls'' where she was a recipient of Newcomer of the Year prize at the Japanese Academy Awards. Ueno achieved mainstream success for playing the titular role in the live ...

'' and ''

Hiroshi Tamaki is a Japanese actor, singer, and model from Nagoya, Japan. When he was still in high school, he was discovered by a talent agent while out shopping with friends. He made his debut in the drama ''Am I Weird?'' (私ってへん？ ''Watashitte Hen ...

'', with the character of Nodame singing the song while taking a bath. It was also used in the anime adaptation of '' Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World-'' as protagonist Subaru Natsuki's ringtone.

References

External links

''Dog of Flanders'' (TV)
at Nippon Animation's English website via

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...