For Kids, a ‘Magical’ Sampling of Japanese Animated Stories

“Magical Boys and Girls,” a nearly three-week program of features and shorts assembled by the UCLA Film and Television Archive that begins Saturday, demonstrates the growing interest in Japanese animation in the U.S.

Fifteen years ago, Japanese features and television programs were the almost exclusive preserve of a small cadre of hard-core fans. Today, even small video stores have sections devoted to Japanese animation known as anime (Ahn-nee-MAY). More than a half-dozen books on the subject have been published in the U.S., and sales of magazines, T-shirts, toys and other merchandise continue to increase. An estimated 400 Web sites are devoted to various aspects of anime.

The Japanese animation industry turns out an extraordinary number of features and TV programs each year. Although these films can be divided into numerous genres, the work shown in the U.S. generally falls into two broad categories: children’s films and science-fiction adventures. The children’s films center on the activities of cute little characters with big eyes, and range in tone from genuinely charming to cloyingly saccharine. The sci-fi adventures are known for their robot monsters, gun battles, motorcycle chases and violence, especially violence against women.

“Magical Boys and Girls” focuses on children’s films; a second program devoted to “adult themes” will screen this spring.

The sheer volume of animation produced in Japan makes the selections in any program feel somewhat arbitrary, but “Magical” offers some genuinely interesting and noteworthy work. Although the influence of the early Disney features is apparent in many of the films, the Disney tradition of character animation never took root in Japan: The animation itself rarely rises above the level of Saturday morning television.

Because the characters cannot express subtle emotions through their movements, the filmmakers rely heavily on narration, dialogue, sound effects and camera movements to tell stories.

The outstanding feature in the series is Hayao Miyazaki’s delightful “Kiki’s Delivery Service” (screening Thursday), in the newly dubbed version released on video in America by Miramax. The story of a 13-year-old witch who must move to a new town and establish herself, “Kiki” (1989) showcases Miyazaki’s skill as a storyteller.

In contrast to the relentless spunky girls in recent American features, Kiki is enthusiastic, sad, unsure, maladroit and funny: She’s completely human and utterly charming. Miyazaki may well be the most interesting director currently working in feature animation in any country, and “Kiki’s Delivery Service” is a film that adults will enjoy as much as kids.

“Kiki” screens with Taiji Yabushita’s “The Adventures of the Little Samurai” (1959, subtitled), the second postwar Japanese animated feature. (The first Japanese features were the propaganda films “Momotaro, God’s Soldier,” of 1943, and “Momotaro, Divine Sailor,” of 1944, which have never been screened in this country.) Although interesting historically, “Samurai” is a rambling, uncertain film that repeatedly loses the thread of its narrative and seems longer than its 82-minute length.

Isao Takahata’s 1968 “The Prince of the Sun” (Jan. 16, subtitled) represents a curious amalgam of Japanese and Norse legends. Armed with a magic sword, the title character leads the people of his lost homeland against the evil sorcerer Grunwald. “Prince” offers some affecting moments and striking visuals amid long, duller sections. It screens with Yoshio Takeuchi’s “Jungle Emperor Leo” (1997, subtitled), a loose remake of Osamu Tezuka’s TV series “Kimba the White Lion.” Tezuka has a highly vocal cult following in the U.S., but viewers who are not fans will have a hard time following the film’s three loosely connected stories.

Small children will enjoy the two films in Saturday’s opening program. “Yocchan’s Magic Crayons,” from director Kosei Otani (1996, subtitled), tells the story of a popeyed little girl who gets a very special box of crayons from her grandmother: Whatever she draws with them appears--and that becomes both a privilege and a responsibility. Shin-Ichi Nakada’s “The Adventures of Pipi” (1996, subtitled) follows a brave group of fireflies searching for a new home, far from humanity’s destructive machines. Older children will quickly tire of these simple and self-consciously sweet films.

Parents interested in discussing serious issues with their children should plan on attending the program of director Seiji Arihara’s films on Jan. 24. “On a Paper Crane” (1993, subtitled) recounts the true story of Sadako Sasaki, a 12-year-old girl who died of leukemia caused by her exposure to radiation from the 1945 atomic blast that destroyed Hiroshima. “Kayoko’s Diary” (1991, in Japanese) is based on the journal of a middle-class girl who survived the firebombing of Tokyo. Both films contain powerful, disturbing images that may frighten younger children.

* “Magical Boys and Girls” screens at the James Bridges Theater in Melnitz Hall at UCLA, Saturday through Jan. 28. Admission: $6, adults; $4, children and seniors. For program information and show times, call (310) 206-FILM or check https://www.cinema.ucla.edu.