くもとちゅうりっぷ (Spider and Tulip): An Early Masterpiece of Japanese Anime

This short cartoon from 1943 is considered in Japan to be one of the greatest anime movies of all time. Even though I didn’t watch an awful lot of anime, it makes perfect sense to me that this wonderful little movie has gained such a standing. Kenzō Masaoka, who created Spider and Tulip is an important figure in the history of Anime, as he was the first to introduce both cel animation and synchronized sound to the genre. He was also a master animator, rivalling his contemporaries in the USA and elsewhere with exceptional drawing skills and stylistic confidence. In Spider and Tulip, we meet an innocent, singing little ladybug, and the  sly Mr. Spider, who cunningly tries to capture her in his web.

April 6, 2013 | Categories: animation, Movies | Tags: animation, anime, cartoon, cute, Donbei Masaoka, early, fourties, japan, monochrome, origin, Shochiku, studio, vintage | Leave a comment