(NOTE: Source for history and background: http://www.nausicaa.net/miyazaki/otherfilms/)
When modern anime connoisseurs make their own lists of the most influential anime classics, they miss the name of Horus: Prince of the Sun. This one movie was groundbreaking in many ways. At the time it was released in 1968, animation projects were led more by the parochial philosophy of production companies wanting to market safe animations for as wide an audience as possible. Although Hols could not completely break free from the reins of the production company, it was one of the first instances where the artists attempted to wrest control and create something that was a step above what the industry was doing at that time.
Horus (or Hols) was the first major project for Ghibli co-founders and anime legends Takahata Isao (Director) (Grave of the Fireflies), Hayao Miyazaki (Concept Artist and Scene Design) and their mentor and colleague, Yasuo Ohtsuka (Animation director) of the Lupin III fame, among others. It is an important milestone in anime history, and not just because it launched the careers of Takahata and Miyazaki. Although the immediate impact of the movie was negligible, the long-term results were many and far-reaching. Hols was the first major anime to break free from the ‘animation-for-kids’ Disney mindset that was accepted as the norm at that time, and inspired as well as influenced a whole generation of artists and auteurs. After this movie, the industry gradually shifted away from the producer-centric trend to an approach where the artists would have more freedom and say. The change was slow, but the seeds were sown with Hols. For that reason, this movie is considered as the first modern anime by many anime history buffs and critics.
Hols was a project marred with difficulties throughout its production period; many Toei Doga artists were embroiled in a union tussle with the company and management, and the fallout resulted in numerous problems and disagreements between the management and the team of artists. The paltry budget was not enough to satisfy the movie’s ambitions, and it took three years to complete the movie when its schedule was only 8 months. Toei refused to grant the budget to complete two action sequences and decided to pull the plug soon after release, and kept the movie in the theatres for only 10 days; the movie bombed at the box office, but was a hit with the critics, students and aspiring artists who had not seen anything like it before. Many who worked on the project were singled out by the company and ostracized, including director Takahata Isao who was demoted and was never allowed to direct a project for Toei again.
Hols may be garbed in Scandinavian and East European culture, but it is in fact based on a puppet-theater drama written by script writer Kazuo Fuzakawa, which in turn is based on the ancient legend of aborigines of North japan. The producers at Toei Doga company changed the setting to make it more acceptable internationally, especially to the western audience, and they attempted to tone down the content to make it more ‘safe’ for the intended audience (i.e. children), but the young,and rebellious team of artists made sure that the management would not succeed completely in that endeavour.
The movie’s concept of a chosen hero and the fight between good and evil was in vogue back in the late 60’s, and had not yet become a cliche. Yet the film was ahead of its time in handling the concept, because it not just explored the external concept of the struggle, but also the internal psychological aspect of it. It does this by exposing the depth of cruelty and deceptiveness that even the most well-meaning human beings can fall to, and how xenophobia and fickle-mindedness can degenerate and lead astray even the most amiable and harmonious of people.
This psychological phenomenon is best represented in Hilda, the lone survivor of a massacre, and the movie’s tragic female lead. Her schizophrenic, inner psychological and moral conflicts throughout the story is perhaps the most striking part of the movie, and the one thing that probably stands out the most after the credits stop rolling. The sheer depth of her character overshadows even the protagonist, Hols, and the villain, Gruinwald, and sets Hilda apart from all the ‘heroines’ of not just her own time, but many female leads of today as well. Miyazaki himself acknowledged the character as a breakthrough, and some believe that it influenced his female characters.
There is more to Hols than meets the eye. Despite its outer simplicity and kid friendly tone, Its treatment of such themes as Good and Evil, morality, unity among people, psychological realism etc is such that can only be appreciated by greater minds.The importance of community and rebellion against authority are also among the recurrent themes of the movie, poignantly reflecting the disagreements between the Toei team artists and workers against the company.
However, a warning is due for modern viewers. In all its aspects, whether it be animation, sound, story, direction or pacing, Hols reflects the sensibilities of its times, even if it is superior to most animation projects of that period. This one is mostly for old school fans, or for fans of early Takahata/Miyazaki movies. Age may not have been kind to Hols, but it is so far ahead of its time that more informed viewers would be surprised that this movie was made in 1968 in spite of the production woes and a low budget.
