|
One of the best things about the success of Hayao Miyazaki's Oscar winning Spirited Away is that it ignited interest in his other films and also those of his Studio Ghibli colleague, Isao Takahata. Optimum Asia have really been spoiling us of late with the announcement that nearly the entire Ghibli catalogue will be coming to DVD in 2006, but what has really excited me is that they have also looked beyond this to Miyazaki & Takahata's earlier works. The Little Norse Prince, also known as Hols Prince of the Sun, is a film by Isao Takahata from 1968 which follows the quest of a young boy named Hols to rid the world of a demonic sorcerer named Grunwald. Hols is sent to the village of his birth by his dying father and tasked with helping the villagers overthrow the evil Grunwald, who uses magic and beasts to keep them in thrall. However, it is not going to be an easy task. Grunwald knows of the threat the boy poses and will do everything in his power to crush him and the village he seeks to protect. All is not lost for Hols though, an encounter with a rock giant has left him with the Sword of the Sun, an ancient blade which could hold the power he needs if it is re-forged. Has he the power to re-forge it? And what secrets are being harboured by Hilda, a mysterious and distant girl that Hols finds and brings to the village? The problem with finding out that something is by Isao Takahata is that it really increases your expectations. The Little Norse Prince is an old film - a very early one from the master animator - and is not his best. It has many good points though. The animation has clearly benefited from a decent budget and the design is frequently impressive, particularly on the giant creatures like the monstrous pike and rock giant. The most stunning though is the gigantic Ice Mammoth Grunwald unleashes on the village, which is beautifully drawn and really conveys a sense of huge size and scale. It truly is spectacular, and would have been amazing to witness on a cinema screen. The story itself is a pretty standard child-takes-on-evil-overlord one but in places has some real depth, especially towards the end when the mysteries surrounding Hilda begin to deepen, and the setting draws heavily on North European mythology. However, it must be said that The Little Norse Prince doesn't meet the high standards of other Takahata works. The main problem is the length, the story seems to try and fit too much in to a short period of time without really a pause for breath. It really would have benefited from being made as a TV series rather than a film, as the increased time would have given a lot more scope to explore the characters - Hilda in particular. The film print is also old and in places it is noticeable, it could really do with being remastered but in fairness it just wouldn't be financially viable for Optimum to do this for such a niche title. It is also interesting to note that the film is intended to be for children, but it covers some very dark topics and would probably be seen as a bit mature for young children by most parents. The Little Norse Prince is an interesting film. It contains flashes of brilliance, and the character of Hilda is really deep and intriguing, even if there isn't enough time devoted to her motives. Some scenes are excellent, such as the attack of the awesome Ice Mammoth, but annoyingly some of the big action scenes are rendered in a series of still images rather than full animated mayhem. The film is still action packed though and darker than you may expect, whereas Hols makes a likeable and determined lead character. As is often the case with early works of famous directors, The Little Norse Prince suffers in comparison with Takahata's more illustrious films, but taken on its own merits it is more than just a mere curio. It comes across something like The Brothers Grimm doing Scandinavian mythology, and despite trying to squeeze too much in to its short running time it does show enough signs of the director's talent to elevate it above the norm. Anyone interested in Takahata's work should definitely give this a look. Extras: Minimal, as you'd expect for a very old film that has not been released in the US, basically boiling down to a trio of trailers and a scene select. Two of the trailers are for other Optimum Asia releases (Grave of the Fireflies and Castle of Cagliostro), whereas the third is a hilariously overenthusiastic promo for The Little Norse Prince itself. Kudos to Optimum for managing to track down a trailer for a film from 1968, but the extras on this disc are pretty weak overall. Ratings Feature:
|
