Isao Takahata’s debut feature is a dazzling Iron Age saga peopled by stone giants, fearsome silver wolves, and towering mammoths made of ice. In snow-packed Norway, young Horus is on a quest to both vanquish the evil sorcerer Grunwald and reforge an ancient sword so he can become “Prince of the Sun.” On his journey, Horus winds up the local hero of a rustic hamlet and befriends one if its residents, the enigmatic Hilda. Also known by the title Little Norse Prince Valiant, Takahata’s film features screen-filling battles and mind-bending feats of wizardry, in part thanks to the contributions by Hayao Miyazaki in concept art, scene design, and key animation. 

Also screening is Chie the Brat, an early Takahata feature that adapts a long-running manga by Etsumi Haruki. A riotous predecessor to Takahata’s subsequent portrayals of family life, Chie the Brat tracks the ups and downs of “the most unfortunate girl in Japan.” That’s at least what fifth-grader Chie believes. When not working at her family’s yakitori tavern, she’s dealing with her ne’er-do-well father, local gangsters, and the mishaps of her cat Kotetsu. The film yielded a television series, also overseen by Takahata.
 

The Great Adventures of Horus, Prince of the Sun 
Director: Isao Takahata. Cast: Hisako Ôkata, Etsuko Ichihara, Mikijiro Hira, Yukari Asai. 1968. 81 min. Japan. Color. Japanese. DCP. 

Chie the Brat 
Director: Isao Takahata. Cast: Chinatsu Nakayama, Norio Nishikawa, Kiyoshi Nishikawa, Kyoko Mitsubayashi. 1981. 95 min. Japan. Color. Japanese. DCP.

All film screenings of Everyday Life: The Films of Isao Takahata are available here.