is a 1982

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 ...

feature film A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...

directed by Fumihiko Takayama, from a screenplay by

Yoshimitsu Banno was a Japanese film director, best known for the cult-classic '' Godzilla vs. Hedorah'' (1971), which he directed and co-wrote. Banno was a special guest at G-Fest XII in 2005. He was an executive producer on Legendary Pictures's American ''God ...

and Akira Miyazaki, which is based on the 1900 children's novel by

L. Frank Baum Lyman Frank Baum (; May 15, 1856 – May 6, 1919) was an American author best known for his children's books, particularly ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' and its sequels. He wrote 14 novels in the ''Oz'' series, plus 41 other novels (not includ ...

, produced by

and Katsumi Ueno for

Toho is a Japanese film, theatre production and distribution company. It has its headquarters in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Osaka-based Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group. Outside of Japan, it is best known as the producer an ...

Cast

Production

The film was produced in 1981. It is notable for its Western character design, unusual in anime. In fact

Topcraft Topcraft (トップクラフト ''Toppukurafuto'', also written as "Top Craft") was an animation studio established on February 1, 1972 by former Toei Animation producer Toru Hara, and located in Tokyo, Japan. It was famous for the production of ...

used to work for American animation studio

Rankin/Bass Rankin/Bass Animated Entertainment (founded and formerly known as Videocraft International, Ltd. and Rankin/Bass Productions, Inc.) was an American production company located in New York City, and known for its seasonal television specials, usual ...

at the time. Voice actress

Mari Okamoto is a Japanese actress and voice actress. Biography Despite being born in Tokyo, Okamoto was actually raised in Hirakata, Osaka, where she also spent her elementary-school years. In 1961, she made her debut for performing arts activities in c ...

had already voiced Dorothy in the 1974 TBS dub of the 1939 '' The Wizard of Oz''. This film's writer, Akira Miyazaki, also wrote for the 1986 anime television series of the same name.

Relation to the novel

The film is known for staying particularly close to the novel, its primary elimination being the journey to

Glinda Glinda is a fictional character created by L. Frank Baum for his ''Oz'' novels. She first appears in Baum's 1900 children's classic ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'', and is the most powerful sorceress in the Land of Oz, ruler of the Quadling Coun ...

, which is only now slightly less of a

deus ex machina ''Deus ex machina'' ( , ; plural: ''dei ex machina''; English "god out of the machine") is a plot device whereby a seemingly unsolvable problem in a story is suddenly and abruptly resolved by an unexpected and unlikely occurrence. Its function ...

than in the MGM version. Also borrowed from that version are the red "magic shoes" rather than the silver shoes of

Baum Baum is a German surname meaning "tree" (not to be confused with the French surname Baume). Notable people with this surname include: * Bernie Baum (1929–1993), American songwriter * Carol Baum, American film producer * Christina Baum (b ...

's text. Some familiarity with the later books is clear, as the houses are the same two-chimneyed domes found in the artwork of

John R. Neill John Rea Neill (November 12, 1877 – September 19, 1943) was a magazine and children's book illustrator primarily known for illustrating more than forty stories set in the Land of Oz, including L. Frank Baum's, Ruth Plumly Thompson's, and three o ...

, who never illustrated the first Oz book. Glinda's appeareance is also borrowed from Neill's illustrations of

Princess Ozma Princess Ozma is a fictional character from the Land of Oz, created by American author L. Frank Baum. She appears in every book of the Oz series except the first, ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' (1900). She is the rightful ruler of Oz, and Baum i ...

. It is one of the rare films to depict the various forms the Wizard appears to each of the travelers, such as the Beautiful-Winged Lady (shown to be a puppet rather than the Wizard in a costume, as in the book), the Terrible Beast (looking like an ordinary

rhinoceros A rhinoceros (; ; ), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. (It can also refer to a member of any of the extinct species o ...

) and the Ball of Fire.

Music

The music was written by future

Studio Ghibli is a Japanese animation studio headquartered in Koganei, Tokyo."Studio Ghibli Collection - Madman Entertainment". ''Studio Ghibli Collection - Madman Entertainment''. Retrieved 2020-12-14. It is best known for its animated feature films, and ha ...

's composer Jō Hisaishi along with Yuichiro Oda and performed by Columbia Orchestra. The Lyrics were written by Keisuke Yamakawa. The single containing the songs was released in April 1981 (Catalog# CK-584), over a year prior the movie release; thus, it is possible that it was decided only later to use it as a soundtrack. #"Someone is waiting for me" (だれか私を待っている, ''Dare ka watashi wo matte iru'') (Main theme) (Singer:

Mitsuko Horie is a Japanese actress, voice actress and singer. She was born in Yamato, Kanagawa. She has voiced several characters throughout her career, such as Sailor Galaxia in '' Sailor Moon: Sailor Stars'' and Remi in the Nippon Animation World Masterp ...

) #"What is 1+1?" (1＋1は何？, ''Ichi tasu ichi wa nani'') (Insert song) (Singers: Mitsuko Horie and

Koorogi '73 were a Japanese backing vocals group best known for their contributions to the Super Robot series and Toei's Super Sentai and Kamen Rider Series. The group was disbanded after 1990. The Japanese word means "a cricket Cricket is a bat- ...

) The English dubbed version featured new different lyrics by

Sammy Cahn Samuel Cohen (June 18, 1913 – January 15, 1993), known professionally as Sammy Cahn, was an American lyricist, songwriter, and musician. He is best known for his romantic lyrics to films and Broadway songs, as well as stand-alone songs premier ...

and Allen Byrns, all sung by Aileen Quinn. #"It's Strictly Up to You" (Main theme) #"I Dream of Home" #"A Wizard of a Day"

Release and home media

Although it was produced for a theatrical release, the film was eventually released in Japan straight to VHS,

Betamax Betamax (also known as Beta, as in its logo) is a consumer-level analog recording and cassette format of magnetic tape for video, commonly known as a video cassette recorder. It was developed by Sony and was released in Japan on May 10, 1975, ...

and on satellite television (CS) on July 1, 1982. It was also broadcast on AT-X as early as December 19, 2002. The English version of this film, edited by Johann Lowenberg and produced by John Danylkiw, appeared on television and home video in the United States on October, 9 1983. Alan L. Gleitsman was the executive producer of Alan Enterprises, which did the English dub for the North American release. New Hope Entertainment was also involved in producing the English-dubbed version. It was distributed in English-speaking countries and territories, including the United States and Canada, by Alan Enterprises.

Paramount Home Video Paramount Home Entertainment (formerly Paramount Home Media Distribution, and originally Paramount Home Video) is the home video distribution arm of Paramount Pictures, a division of Paramount Global. The division oversees PPC's home entertainme ...

released the English dubbed version on VHS, Betamax, Laserdisc, and CED in 1983 and on VHS in 1991. In the 1980s, a re-edited version of the film was released in

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

. The film was dubbed into the

Slovak language Slovak () , is a West Slavic language of the Czech–Slovak group, written in Latin script. It is part of the Indo-European language family, and is one of the Slavic languages, which are part of the larger Balto-Slavic branch. Spoken by appro ...

except for the songs, which were performed by Japanese singers (from the original Japanese music version). Some other foreign dubs, such as the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

and

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

versions, had this premise edit as well. Except for a Polish Japanese-language DVD the movie never got an official DVD release in any other country.

References

External links

* *
The Wizard of Oz
' at

Anime News Network Anime News Network (ANN) is a news website that reports on the status of anime, manga, video games, Japanese popular music and other related cultures within North America, Australia, Southeast Asia and Japan. The website offers reviews and oth ...

*
Review at Anime News Network, June 17 2003
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wizard of Oz, The 1982 films 1982 anime films Toho animated films 1980s Japanese-language films Topcraft Animated films based on The Wizard of Oz 1982 animated films Toho films Japanese animated fantasy films Japanese fantasy adventure films Films about witchcraft 1980s children's animated films Films directed by Fumihiko Takayama