The Little Prince and the Eight-Headed Dragon

Wanpaku Ōji no Orochi Taiji
Scene from the film
Directed by	Yūgo Serikawa
Screenplay by	Ichirō Ikeda Takashi Iijima
Starring	Morio Kazama Yukiko Okada Chiharu Kuri
Music by	Akira Ifukube
Cinematography	Mitsuaki Ishikawa Hideaki Sugawara
Edited by	Ikuzō Inaba
Production company	Tōei Animation
Distributed by	Tōei Company (Japan) Columbia Pictures (United States)
Release date	March 24, 1963 (1963-03-24)
Running time	86 minutes
Country	Japan
Language	Japanese

Wanpaku Ōji no Orochi Taiji (わんぱく王子の大蛇退治, literally The Naughty Prince's Orochi Slaying) is a Japanese animated fantasy adventure feature film, the 6th feature produced by Tōei Animation (then Tōei Dōga), released in Japan on March 24, 1963. English-dubbed versions have been released under several titles, including The Little Prince and the Eight-Headed Dragon, Prince in Wonderland and Rainbow Bridge.

Based on the Shintō myth of the storm god Susanoo's battle with the Yamata no Orochi, the color, "TōeiScope" anamorphic format film is scripted by Ichirō Ikeda and Takashi Iijima and directed by Yūgo Serikawa. It is considered one of the very best of the Tōei Dōga features and a landmark in anime and animated features in general, placing 10th in the list of the 150 best animated films and series of all time compiled by Tokyo's Laputa Animation Festival from an international survey of animation staff and critics in 2003. It features distinctively modernist, abstracted character, background and color design, formalised the role of animation director, performed here by Yasuji Mori, in the Japanese system and drew attention to the talents of key animators Yasuo Ōtsuka and Yōichi Kotabe (whose key animation for the film, though he is credited in it as an in-betweener, is his first) and assistant directors Isao Takahata and Kimio Yabuki. The score, composed by Akira Ifukube, is also acclaimed.