Horus, Prince of the Sun Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

Horus, Prince of the Sun Blu-ray Movie Review

Horus: Prince of the Sun (also known as Little Norse Prince) is an anime classic from production studio Toei Animation (One Piece, World Trigger). Produced by Hiroshi Ōkawa (Flying Phantom Ship, Puss 'n Boots), Horus: Prince of the Sun is the debut theatrical feature-film directorial effort of Isao Takahata – the acclaimed visionary who would gain fame as one of the chief creative filmmakers of the beloved Studio Ghibli (alongside Hayao Miyazaki). Horus: Prince of the Sun is also noteworthy as an early work from Hayao Miyazaki (as he began his career working as an animator on Takahata productions). Ghibli fans should consider it a must-see early work.

Horus (Hisako Okata) finds himself in a unique predicament when he manages to pull out a legendary blade from a stone. Retrieving the blade from the giant rock, Horus is now wielding almighty power. Considered the legendary sword of the sun, the blade now belongs to Horus. Thus, Horus becomes legend himself as the Prince of the Sun. Horus sets out on a new journey accompanied by his beloved pet bear, Koro.

Upon traveling to an ancient and mysterious village, Horus meets the beautiful Hilda (Etsuko Ichihara) and hears her melancholic songs. Befriending Hilda, Horus finds a dark secret to Hilda resides. With an onslaught of villains now attacking Horus and Hilda, Horus must do what he can to take on the evil ice demon Grunwald (Mikijiro Hira). Can Horus be the almighty hero of the tale and defeat the evil Grunwald before it is too late?

The animation is breathtaking and the centerpiece for the entire film. The production has such a sense of serene wonder. The character designs by Yôichi Kotabe (Heidi - A Girl of the Alps, Taro the Dragon Boy) are excellent and there is a lot to appreciate about the design work. Under the art direction of Mataji Urata (The Littlest Warrior, Dr. Slump) and animation direction of Yasuo Otsuka (Future Boy Conan, Lupin the 3^rd), Horus: Prince of the Sun is a beautiful epic.

The animation is astonishing for the time-period. At the time of the production of Horus: Prince of the Sun over 15,000 animation cells had been used on the production (which spanned over three years of extensive animation work). At the time of the release in 1968, this made Horus: Prince of the Sun the most ambitious anime film of all time.

The animation is also notable for the involvement of Hayao Miyazaki in many facets of the production. Miyazaki worked on the concept art and on scene designs. Miyazaki was also one of the key animators on Horus: Prince of the Sun alongside key animators Akemi Ōta, Masatake Kita, Reiko Okuyama, Sadao Kikuchi, Yasuji Mori, and Yôichi Kotabe. Miyazaki is a genius animator and he would go on to be one of the greatest of all filmmakers worldwide.

The cinematography by Jiro Yoshimura (Farewell to Space Battleship Yamato, Swan Lake) and Yukio Katayama (Be Forever Yamato, Ghost Sweeper Mikami) is compelling and aids the visual style of Horus: Prince of the Sun as well. The cinematography is often dark and bleak – an aesthetic that showcases the grim horror of the setting and some of the intense action set-pieces that unfold in Horus: Prince of the Sun.

The score composed by Michio Mamiya (Grave of the Fireflies, Gauche the Cellist) is beautiful and complex. The music adds a lot of heart to the production. The score is a great accompaniment to Horus: Prince of the Sun and the score adds charm for the character moments as well as an adrenaline-rush for the action sequences.

Written by Kazuo Fukazawa (From the Apennines to the Andes: The Movie, Marco - From the Apennines to the Andes), Horus: Prince of the Sun is a fun tale of heroics. The script has a classical storytelling style and the sense of adventure in the scripting adds to the sense of fun. A noteworthy script by Fukazawa.

Horus: Prince of the Sun is a fantastic showcase for director Isao Takahata (Grave of the Fireflies, Only Yesterday). Takahata is one of the most talented filmmakers in the history of anime and animation in general. Takahata has a style that is entirely his own and one that is quite compelling to watch unfold.

Unlike his peer Miyazaki, Takahata is known for spending many years on each film he directs (with future works taking significantly longer than the three-year production span on this film). The early genius of Takahata is readily apparent in Horus: Prince of the Sun. For Studio Ghibli enthusiasts wishing to see an early work of the developing genius of Takahata, Horus: Prince of the Sun is essential and it is a great bridge to the later works of the master filmmaker.

Horus, Prince of the Sun Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Released on Blu-ray from Discotek Media, Horus: Prince of the Sun is presented in 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high definition in the original theatrical aspect ratio of 2.18:1 widescreen. The high-definition presentation is excellent and there is a lot worth praising about the presentation. Though the transfer shows some signs of age (with some dirt and occasional thin scratches), the print quality is generally exceptional and well detailed. The animation looks stunning on the release. The background art is reproduced well and the line art makes a strong impression. The transfer has some inherent soft qualities but it is engaging throughout. A strong encode by Discotek Media.

Horus, Prince of the Sun Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The release is presented in Japanese uncompressed PCM 2.0 mono (with English subtitles). The lossless audio presentation is quite effective on the release and helps to enhance the viewing experience. The lossless encoding capably reproduces dialogue and the sound effects by Noriyoshi Oohira. The audio presentation is pleasing throughout and there is never much in the way of hiss, crackle, or other deficiencies. The release also provides an optional English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono soundtrack.

Horus, Prince of the Sun Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Audio Commentary with Mike Toole

Audio Commentary with Daniel Thomas MacInnes

Isao Takahata Interview (SD, 12:08)

Yoichi Kotabe Interview (SD, 4:15)

Every Poet is a Thief: Inspirations from Horus includes 15 click-through slides.

Horus and Hilda: Just Like Twins includes 8 click-through slides.

Reiko Okuyama: A Tribute to a Legend includes 9 click-through slides.

Message of Hope: A Conversation with Isao Takahata includes 8 click-through slides.

Production Gallery including stills by Toei Doga. These stills showcase moments from the feature-film in both color and mono. There were over 15,000 animation cells used on the feature-film. The first photo gallery section includes 19 stills. The second section of stills includes photographs of those involved directly with the production (including Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata).

The second section of photographs includes 26 stills. The third section includes movie-posters from around the globe. Featuring 13 poster slides, it gives a nice showcase of the international promotional art. The fourth section includes scans of VHS, DVD, Blu-ray, laserdisc, and vinyl records for the feature-film. This last section includes 24 scans.

Theatrical Trailer (HD, 3:18)

Horus, Prince of the Sun Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Horus: Prince of the Sun is a classic of Japanese animation. The feature-film began the theatrical feature directing career of visionary filmmaker Isao Takahata (Grave of the Fireflies, Pom Poko). The animation in the film is stunning and includes key animation by a young Hayao Miyazaki (Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke). The Blu-ray release features a strong video and audio encode. The release has plenty of bonus features to entice fans. Highly recommended.