For modern anime fans, it’s hard to imagine anime films not being shown in America. Today, every big-name anime film tends to make its way to American theaters or, at the very least, appear on American streaming services. These anime films receive as much attention and pre-release hype as American blockbusters, with their releases being big, heavily talked about events. But this wasn’t always the case, as until recently, many anime films didn’t come out in America. But what was the first anime film to officially arrive in the States?
Unsurprisingly there is some debate surrounding this prestigious title. And this debate hinges heavily on what classifies as a proper release. The two films widely considered to hold the crown are 1958’s Hakujaden and 1959’s Shōnen Sarutobi Sasuke. Both films were brought to the USA in 1961, with Hakujaden being localized as Panda and the Magic Serpent while Shōnen Sarutobi Sasuke was localized as Magic Boy.
What Was the First Anime Film to Come to the USA?
Magic Boy was released in America on June 22nd, 1961, and Panda and the Magic Serpent was released on July 8th, 1961. However, it should be noted that Panda and the Magic Serpent is rumored to have received some early screenings before this date, meaning that if you count these exhibitions as part of the release, it came out before Magic Boy. Showing why the title “First Anime Movie Released In America” is so hotly debated.
Both films were made by Japan Animated Films, a firm that would be purchased by Toei in 1956 and renamed Toei Doga before later becoming the now-legendary Toei Animation. These films stand out because Hakujaden is the first feature-length color anime film as well as Toei’s first theatrical feature film. Shōnen Sarutobi Sasuke was the company’s second feature film, meaning that even putting aside their American releases, these films are major historical milestones.
Magic Boy follows Sasuke, a young boy who lives with his sister and their animal friends in the forest. But this peaceful life is shattered when a young deer falls into a lake, only to get eaten by a salamander. This salamander then turns into an evil demon called Yakusha. Many years previously, Yakusha’s reign of terror was ended when a powerful sorcerer trapped her in her animal form, but now she is back to normal and can cause havoc once more. So, Sasuke leaves home and tries to find a master to train him to defeat Yakusha and avenge his animal friend.
Panda and the Magic Serpent follows Xu-Xian, a young boy forced to give up his beloved pet snake. However, during a storm, the snake turns into Bai-Niang, a beautiful princess. Years later, Xu-Xian and Bai-Niang reunite and fall in love, only for an evil monk to take Bai-Niang away, believing her to be a demon. So, Xu-Xian and his two panda pals, Panda and Mimi, head out on an adventure to save Bai-Niang and bring her home.
Interestingly, both movies have similar plot elements, as both are fantasy adventure films that follow heroes trying to track down a magical female. Plus, both are based on traditional tales, with Magic Boy being based on legendary ninja Sarutobi Sasuke, the subject of many popular kōdan stories. Similarly, Panda and the Magic Serpent is based on the Chinese folktale Legend of the White Snake. Clearly, distributors believed that the long-lasting popularity of these traditional tales proved they had mass appeal and would be enjoyed by American audiences just as much as Japanese ones.
Should Anime Fans Watch Them Today?
These films have obviously dated, but it’s unfair to expect these first attempts at feature-length-color anime to be equal to modern big-budget productions. Modern viewers will first notice how limited the animation is. Characters don’t move much, and when they do move, fewer frames are used, so both films look a little jerky at points. Plus, the backgrounds are usually static pictures or simple moving patterns. Though the animation is limited, it’s clear that the teams behind both movies knew how to use the tools available to them and what their limits were, so neither film is ever unpleasant to look at.
A fascinating thing about these movies is that they lack many stereotypical ‘anime’ visual hallmarks that most viewers would expect. In fact, the visual style of both films is clearly influenced by Disney, which makes sense when you consider that these movies are, at their core, animated folk and fairy tales, something that Disney was famous for, so its logical that studios would try and emulate their style when creating movies like these, due to the success of films like 1937’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and 1950’s Cinderella, especially when you consider that many contemporary manga and anime artists, like Osamu Tezuka, cite the Disney style as a gigantic influence on their works.
This dated animation actually helps these films as the static backgrounds, bright colors, and limited animation make the films look like storybooks come to life. In fact, both films often resemble moving ukiyo-e art. This perfectly fits the story’s tone, giving both movies a warm and fantastical atmosphere that’s still very enjoyable for modern viewers despite the age of the films.
Though, it should be noted that the original dubs of these films are not the best. The audio quality is far below modern standards, but it’s not painful to listen to at any point. Plus, some of the performances are pretty wooden, with Panda and the Magic Serpent featuring some strange line deliveries with the voice actors clearly rushing to finish their dialogue before the shot changes. The main issue is that both dubs alter the stories to make them more understandable for American audiences. But these changes are very clumsy at times. Most notably, the American dub of Panda and the Magic Serpent frequently says that Mimi, a Red Panda, is actually a cat, despite the visuals making it clear they are not. While it’s easy to understand why American distributors opted to make these changes at the time, parts like these can take a modern viewer out of the experience, especially as modern viewers are likely both more knowledgeable about and more open to Japanese culture.
Hakujaden and Shōnen Sarutobi Sasuke are massive milestones in anime history, showing the industry embracing feature-length releases and color technology. Panda and the Magic Serpent and Magic Boy, the American versions of these films, are also milestones in their own right, being an early example of the movie industry becoming truly global, with American audiences getting to sample films from other countries. Today these films are visibly dated, looking nothing like a modern animated feature. But, despite this, they are still fun to watch as the stories are just as interesting as they were when first released, showing that good stories always stand the test of time. In fact, in some ways, the dated nature of these films makes them more fascinating to modern viewers, as they are visually very different from current-day movies, making them a unique experience.