Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Mermaid

Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Mermaid
Directed by	Tomoharu Katsumata Tim Reid
Written by	Hans Christian Andersen (tale) Mieko Koyamauchi Ikuko Oyabu
Based on	The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen
Starring	Fumie Kashiyama Mariko Miyagi Taro Shigaki
Music by	Takekuni Hirayoshi
Distributed by	Toei Animation
Release date	March 21, 1975 (Japan)
Running time	68 minutes
Language	Japanese

Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Mermaid (アンデルセン童話 にんぎょ姫, Anderusen Dōwa Ningyo Hime^?, lit. "Andersen's Fairy Tales: Princess Mermaid") is a Japanese anime film based on Hans Christian Andersen's eponymous fairy tale, released in 1975 by Toei Animation. Unlike the Disney adaptation released 14 years later, this film is closer to Andersen's story, notably in its preservation of the original and tragic ending. The two main protagonists are the youngest daughter of the royal Merman family, Marina, and her best friend Fritz, an Atlantic dolphin calf. In Japan, this film was shown in the Toei Manga Matsuri (Toei Cartoon Festival) in 1975. The film was later released in the United States, dubbed into English by G. G. Communications, Inc. and Prima Film, Inc., on September 8, 1979.

The movie opens in live action Denmark. The narrator talks about Hans Christian Andersen and his authorship of the original story. After a brief shot of a live action ocean and the opening title card (with a mermaid song in the background), the scene dissolves to 2D hand-drawn anime.

Princess Marina, who lives in the undersea kingdom with her father, grandmother, and five older sisters, is playing with her best friend Fritz, a dolphin. On her way home, the Sea Witch conjures a powerful storm. Marina's sisters berate her for being late, reminding her that their grandmother won't give her the pearl hair-pin that signifies adulthood unless she is responsible. Marina and her sisters are then summoned to their father and grandmother and are told to go to bed early because of the storm.

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