From Wikipedia - Reading time: 12 min
| World Fairy Tale Series | |
|---|---|
| Genre | |
| Directed by | Hiroshi Shidara |
| Composer | |
| Country of origin | Japan |
| Original language | Japanese |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 26 |
| Production | |
| Producers | Yoshifumi Hatano Shinji Shimizu |
| Running time | 24 minutes |
| Production companies | |
| Original release | |
| Network | Fuji TV |
| Release | 7 April – 29 September 1995 |
World Fairy Tale Series (世界名作童話シリーズ・ワ~ォ!メルヘン王国, Sekai meisaku dōwa shirīzu - Wa-o! Meruhen ōkoku; lit. "World Masterpiece Fairy Tale Series - Wow! Fairy Tale Kingdom"; also known as: アニメ世界の童話 Anime sekai no dōwa, lit. "World Fairy Tale Anime") is an Italian-Japanese anime anthology series based on fairy tales and classic stories, produced by Toei Animation, Fuji Eight and Reteitalia in 1995.[1]
The series consists of 26 episodes, each one adapting a popular fairy tale or a literature classic written by a famous author such as: the Brothers Grimm, Charles Perrault, Hans Christian Andersen, Carlo Collodi, Lewis Carroll, Alexandre Dumas, Howard Pyle, Jonathan Swift, Johanna Spyri, L. Frank Baum, E. T. A. Hoffmann, James Halliwell-Phillipps and Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont. Most of the episodes follow quite closely the original source material, with some changes made to alter unhappy endings or to suit the half-hour episode run. Between 1975 and 1983 Toei had already produced a similar series: World Famous Fairy Tale Series. Some of these fairy tales had also been adapted by Toei into feature length films (Arabian Nights: The Adventures of Sinbad, The World of Hans Christian Andersen, The Wonderful World of Puss 'n Boots, Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Mermaid, Thumbelina and Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp).
A variety of different artists from other Toei's popular series worked on the episodes, such as Sailor Moon's director Junichi Sato and character designer Ikuko Itoh,[2][1] or Space Pirate Captain Harlock and Saint Seya's composer Seiji Yokoyama.[2]
The series premiered in France in October 1994 in a collection of VHS, and later aired in December on France 3 (Les Contes les plus célèbres).[3][4][5] It aired in Italy on Italia 1 from February 4 to March 1, 1995 (Le fiabe più belle),[6] and in Japan on Fuji TV and other networks from April 7 to September 29 of the same year.[7] Only 21 episodes were broadcast in Japan, with the last 5 episodes being released on home video. An 8 DVD box containing 24 episodes was released in Japan by Toei Video under the title Sekai Meisaku Mukashi Banashi (世界名作昔ばなし; lit. World Masterpiece Old Tale), skipping episodes 10 and 26.
The Italian dub featured different incidental music composed by Enzo Draghi,[8] and it served as a basis for the French, Spanish, Polish, Romanian and Greek dubs as well. The series was also popular in the Middle East, airing on Spacetoon.
| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Aladdin and the Magic Lamp" Transliteration: "Arajin to mahō no ranpu" (Japanese: アラジンと魔法のランプ) | Hiroshi Shidara | Etsuo Suzuki | 7 April 1995 |
| 2 | "Cinderella" Transliteration: "Shinderera" (Japanese: シンデレラ) | Hiroki Shibata | Aya Matsui | 14 April 1995 |
| 3 | "Beauty and the Beast" Transliteration: "Bijo to yajū" (Japanese: 美女と野獣) | Ryo Tachiba | Yumi Kageyama | 21 April 1995 |
| 4 | "Puss in Boots" Transliteration: "Nagagutsu wohaita neko" (Japanese: 靴をはいた猫) | Toru Yamada | Yasunori Yamada | 28 April 1995 |
| 5 | "Hansel and Gretel" Transliteration: "Henzeru to Gureteru" (Japanese: ヘンゼルとグレーテル) | Kiyoko Sayama | Yumi Kageyama | 12 May 1995 |
| 6 | "The Little Match Girl" Transliteration: "Macchi uri no shōjo" (Japanese: マッチ売りの少女) | Tomohara Katsumata | Yumi Kageyama | 19 May 1995 |
| 7 | "Pinocchio" Transliteration: "Pinokio" (Japanese: ピノキオ) | Atsutoshi Umezawa | Etsuo Suzuki | 26 May 1995 |
| 8 | "Snow White" Transliteration: "Shirayukihime" (Japanese: 白雪姫) | Michihiro Kanayama | Yoshimasa Takahashi | 2 June 1995 |
| 9 | "The Three Little Pigs" Transliteration: "Sanbiki nokobuta" (Japanese: 三匹のこぶた) | Jōji Shimura | Aya Matsui | 9 June 1995 |
| 10 | "Robin Hood" Transliteration: "Robin Fuddo" (Japanese: ロビンフッド) | Tsunekiyo Otani | Yasunori Yamada | 16 June 1995 |
| 11 | "Sleeping Beauty" Transliteration: "Nemure ru mori no bijo" (Japanese: 眠れる森の美女) | Masayuki Akehi | Yumi Kageyama | 23 June 1995 |
| 12 | "The Golden Goose" Transliteration: "Kin nogachō" (Japanese: 金のがちょう) | Takashi Kobayashi | Etsuo Suzuki | 7 July 1995 |
| 13 | "The Wolf and the Seven Young Goats" Transliteration: "Ookami to nanahiki no ko yagi" (Japanese: 狼と七匹の子やぎ) | Yûji Endô | Yasunori Yamada | 14 July 1995 |
| 14 | "Alice in Wonderland" Transliteration: "Fushigi no kuni no Arisu" (Japanese: 不思議の国のアリス) | Hiroki Shibata | Yumi Kageyama | 21 July 1995 |
| 15 | "Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves" Transliteration: "Ari Baba to 40 nin no tōzoku" (Japanese: アリババと40人の盗賊) | Yasuo Ishikawa | Etsuo Suzuki | 28 July 1995 |
| 16 | "Thumbelina" Transliteration: "Oyayubi hime" (Japanese: おやゆび姫) | Junichi Sato | Yumi Kageyama | 11 August 1995 |
| 17 | "Little Red Riding Hood" Transliteration: "Aka Zukin" (Japanese: 赤ずきん) | Takao Yoshizawa | Yumi Kageyama | 18 August 1995 |
| 18 | "Gulliver's Travels" Transliteration: "Gariba ryokōki" (Japanese: ガリバー旅行記) | Ryo Tachiba | Yoshimasa Takahashi | 25 August 1995 |
| 19 | "The Three Musketeers" Transliteration: "Sanjūshi" (Japanese: 三銃士) | Toshihiko Arisako | Yasunori Yamada | 1 September 1995 |
| 20 | "The Nutcracker" Transliteration: "Kurumi wari ningyō" (Japanese: くるみ割り人形) | Tsunekiyo Otani | Aya Matsui | 8 September 1995 |
| 21 | "The Wizard of Oz" Transliteration: "Ozu no mahōtsukai" (Japanese: オズの魔法使い) | Yasuo Ishikawa | Yumi Kageyama | 29 September 1995 |
| 22 | "The Emperor's New Clothes" Transliteration: "Hadakano ōsama" (Japanese: はだかの王様) | Toru Yamada | Etsuo Suzuki | N/A |
| 23 | "Town Musicians of Bremen" Transliteration: "Buremen no ongakutai" (Japanese: ブレーメンの音楽隊) | Jōji Shimura | Yasunori Yamada | N/A |
| 24 | "The Little Mermaid" Transliteration: "Ningyohime" (Japanese: 人魚姫) | Yukio Kaizawa | Yumi Kageyama | N/A |
| 25 | "Sindbad the Sailor" Transliteration: "Shindobaddo no bōken" (Japanese: シンドバッドの冒険) | Michihiro Kanayama | Etsuo Suzuki | N/A |
| 26 | "Heidi" Transliteration: "Haiji" (Japanese: ハイジ) | Hiroshi Shidara | Aya Matsui | N/A |