Momotaro: Sacred Sailors (1945)

Original title

桃太郎 海の神兵

Directed by

Mitsuyo Seo

Genre

animation, action

Country

Japan

Runtime

1h 14m

Rated

PG-13

Rating

4.7 of 10 from 17 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

The film is a Japanese wartime propaganda piece. It uses the folk hero Momotaro and his animal crew to tell a story meant to support the war effort. The characters go on a mission that is portrayed as noble and necessary.

propagandisticpatrioticlightheartedsimplewhimsicaldatedinstructional

What happens

Momotaro: Sacred Sailors (桃太郎 海の神兵, Momotarō: Umi no Shinpei) is the first Japanese feature-length animated film. It was directed by Mitsuyo Seo, who was ordered to make a propaganda film for World War II by the Japanese Naval Ministry. Shochiku Moving Picture Laboratory shot the 74-minute film in 1944 and screened it on 12 April 1945. It is a sequel to Momotarō no Umiwashi, a 37-minute film released in 1943 by the same director and also starring the traditional Momotarō character. In English, the film is sometimes referred to as Momotaro's Divine Sea Warriors. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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• Momotarō no Umiwashi (1943)
• Omocha-Bako Series, Dai-3-Wa: Ehon 1936-nen (1934)
• Momotaro under the Sea (1932)
• A Baby Given By A Fox (1945)
• Our Job in Japan (1945)
• The Quack Infantry Troop (1940)
• Victory Song (1945)
• Gekimetsu no uta (1945)