Chiisana Jumbo

The first anime feature produced by Sanrio (actual production was started in 1975). This is a colorful, painstakingly animated musical about a boy and his pet white elephant who one day drift onto a peaceful island which soon finds itself caught between two larger islands at war. The film is is based on a Yanase Takashi story, like The Bell of Chirin, but stylistically the two couldn't be further apart. Where Chirin is hard-boiled and realistic, Jumbo is light-hearted and cartoonish, though underneath it all also treating of a serious theme. Yanase earlier made the film The Kindly Lion (1970) at Mushi Productions, a film that likewise reveals the darker side of Takashi "Anpan Man" Yanase. Animated in a vivid, bold style and featuring an original and striking dramatic form, this is a film sure to please children and animation connoisseurs alike. Unfortunately it's completely unknown outside of Japan.