Thanks to the miracle of the internet, I was able to get copies of the two sequels to Toei's 1969 classic Puss in Boots. This is the second movie, Nagagutsu Sanjuushi ("The Three Musketeers," which I'm guess are those three black cats who chase Pero). This movie was released in 1972...and it's a Western! That's a big surprise.
This movie isn't anywhere in the same league as the original, and that's largely because Takahata, Miyazaki, Otsuka and Kotabe had moved on by this point. The remaining members of the Toei gang - Reiko Okuyama, Akemi Ota, Akira Daikuhara, and animation director Yasuji Mori - do an admirable job under the circumstances, and this is a very enjoyable movie that closes out the era of Toei Doga classic animation.
We have the "raw" video available as a download, but an English fansub has yet to be made. Hopefully, somebody could get to that one of these days. We should all be adding to the fansub community; it's easier than ever to provide subs for sharing. Remember to support the scene, kids - you're not just a passive consumer.
1 comment:
I can't be entirely certain about this, but apparently Miyazaki (along with Yasuji Mori and Yoichi Kotabe) drew imageboards for this film previous to leaving Toei: http://www.anido.com/html-e/bookzenbo-e.html
I must clarify that I haven't yet seen the film, yet nevertheless would not be surprised if Miyazaki influenced the final product at the pre-production stage, as his final work at Toei. I'm sure Ben Ettinger can answer, however.
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