Tenguri, the Boy of the Plains
STORY
In 1977, Shinei Animation set up as an independent company from Tokyo Movie Co., Ltd. This is the first film of the new company. Although it is a small piece, --a theatrical promotion film for Snow Brand Dairy Products Inc.--it turned out to be a fine piece of work made by the major creators of modern Japanese animation. The story features a friendship between the cheerful boy Tenguri and his calf in the vast plain of Mongolia. In the village where Tenguri lives, it is a custom to kill cows for food during winter when food becomes scarce. Now it is time for Tenguri's beloved calf to be killed. "My friend will be killed!" Tenguri cries, and lets the calf escape. Time passes and Tenguri matures to become one of the main cow hunters in his village. This winter again, Tenguri goes to hunt cows with his fellow men to save the village people from the cold winter. There he meets the full-grown cow that had once been his calf. The cow asks Tenguri why humans kill cows. When Tenguri answers, "To survive the cold winter. We have no choice," the cow teaches him how to make "preserved food to survive the cold winter." This is cheese. So Tenguri teaches the people of his village people how to make the preserved food called cheese. However, people still try to kill cows, so Tenguri fights them to stop the killing. He then leaves the village and goes on a journey with a herd of cows beyond the vast plains in search of nature's great wisdom, unknown to humans... This is just a promotion film for a company, but we can perceive its high quality from the amount paid for it. Selected by the Ministry of Education for its recommendation film, Recommended by the Central Children's Welfare Council, and Recommended by the Distinguished Cinema World's Introduction.
CREDIT
(C) Sakura Cinema Co., Ltd.
STAFF
Producer: Murayama Hideyo
Planning: Snow Brand Dairy Products Inc.
Rendition and Animation Director: Otsuka Yasuo
Original Plan: Tezuka Osamu
Camera: Wakana Akio
Music: Mamiya Yoshio
Sound: Urakami Yasuo
Recording: Nakatogawa Tsuguo
Layout: Otsuka Yasuo, Miyazaki Hayao
Original pictures: Otsuka Yasuo, Kojishima Yoshio, Kondo Yoshifumi, Nakamura Eichi, Motoki Hisatoshi, Aoki Yuzo, Yazawa Noriko, Otabe Yoichi
Art: Kawamoto Masahira
Color: Kondo Hiroko
Motion pictures: Arihara Seiji, Harutaka Kenji, Ito Takao, Suzuki Shinichi, Nishimura Tetsukazu, Hara Keiko, Honda Toshiyuki, Yamada Michiyo, Kobayashi Masayoshi
Finishing: Yamaki Mitsuko, Nonaka Sachiko, Hosouchi Yoko, Besshi Mariko, Wakai Yoshiharu, Iwakawa Yoko
Backgrounds: Kudo Goichi, Numai Nobuo, Takano Masamichi, and Yajima Miyoko
Rendition Assistant: Yoshida Shigetsugu
Editing: Furukawa Masashi
Camera: Misawa Katsuji, Koyama Nobuo, Kaneko Hitoshi, and Kamiyama Shigeo
Production Manager: Sanada Yoshifusa
