Redwarmin This movie is the proof that the world is becoming a sick and dumb place

Curapedi I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

Lidia Draper Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

Mathilde the Guild Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

johnnyboyz Little Norse Prince was my first foray into the territory of Japanese animation, later made more popular in the West by that of Studio Ghibli, and it's a mixed effort; a film which had enough in terms of raw energy and that sense of passion or artistic integrity pumped into its animation to make me want to come back for more, but lacked an ability to really keep me entirely interested throughout. I don't think it has the sense of adventure it thinks it has, nor does it entirely make use of its premise and have us feel like we've genuinely watched the transition of a young protagonist, who's been granted a specific test or goal at this early stage in their life, from one thing into another. In essence, the film feels a lot longer than it actually is, and makes the fatal error of introducing a supporting act who ends up more interesting than the lead. Additionally, it gets bogged down in the middle with a subplot to do with a village-set power exchange and all the political strife which comes with it and enraptures the lead when all we want to see is this hero journey onwards and upwards in achieving his quest whilst learn a bit about himself in the process.The film opens in a resounding fashion, with a young boy called Horus fending off a pack of wolves along the rural plains of the ancient Nordic world with a sword and a breathtaking amount of both speed and agility. There is both something quite beautiful as well as ugly in the manner in which, with each swipe of the blade, Horus shifts and slides to-and-fro out of the way and onto the next stretch of pasture as wolves drop all around him, not necessarily killed, but with the next in line eyeing up the next available chance to attack. When all looks lost, and one of the beasts slides a sly anthropomorphic aside to our Horus as the kill looms, the ground gives way and a huge giant made entirely out of stone rises from the Earth scattering the animals but trapping Horus on his shoulder. The opening in this sense is quite magical, a really well rendered battle sequence featuring the wilds of this rural domain at work as a pack of hunters seemingly chase the next meal but coming up against a capable human-being who fends them off before everything, in this apparently enchanted land, is rounded off with a monster appearing from nowhere and now a part of the action.Things develop when Horus pulls from the giant a sword which had been stuck there, this chance encounter leading Horus to pursue a mission on which if the sword is successfully reforged, he will garner the right for a promotion into king-hood. It additionally turns out there was indeed a purpose for the wolves' being there; an off screen evil force had sent them to thwart Horus for whatever reasons in whatever capacity. Horus heads across rivers and seas to his old stomping ground, a village once torn apart by an evil which manifested itself within and tore everybody apart. He is there in his attempt to reforge that sword, and in the process garner both the respectability as well as the power an individual in the mould of Horus has the ability to achieve. Along the way, we observe him encounter an array of individuals with power able to match his own; people using such abilities and weapons for a means of bad and there are meek lessons to be learnt.Much more interesting is that of the character of Hilda (Ichihara), a girl as young as Horus whose voice is sharp and siren-like; their first interaction down by the ports of this small community, beside the waters, fitting in that sense and made even more so when we spot that she sits atop a shipwreck of some kind. Hilda is the lone survivor of a village of her own, a village which was destroyed under similar circumstances to that of Horus'. She is a loner, an outcast when brought back by Horus; her frayed beliefs and ethics clashing with the populous where duty vs. choice is at the forefront of her refusal to sew like all the 'good women' seemingly do in this community thus tying her in with the Horus we saw in the opening as a character unbounded by what's expected of them and possessing somewhat of a free spirited attitude. It is unfortunate her story and her presence overtakes that of the lead.As things unfold and Hilda's true identity, indeed prerogative, for being there becomes clearer; we sense Horus' quest undermined by the deeper tribulations and emotional conflict Hilda suffers. When the time comes for Horus to confront evil and have a big showdown at the end wherein catalysts and epiphanies and such may play out, it is with which Hilda's off screen presence and tale that we are preoccupied. The film stutters in its speed, often breezing along like a good adventure should but then unevenly pausing for more mediative moments. One of its bigger crimes is that it unfolds in an enchanted world, although often feels unenchanted – the film an unbalanced effort which has a sturdy amount of character and wonder but leaves one relatively underwhelmed on the whole.

siderite I can only imagine how hard it was to do an animation such as this in 1968. At the time Disney was doing Mickey Mouse animation (the squeaky voice ones) and Yellow Submarine was released.However, as in most Isao Takahata animes the focus is not on the animation, but on the script. People battle against the forces of evil using their most powerful weapon: will power. Evil comes in the form of bad luck, misfortune, direct attacks and sneaky social manipulation. Good's champion is a boy that has come to fulfill his dying father's last wish. You can find love, betrayal, anger, violence, marital ceremonies, friendship, all the hallmarks of good Japanese anime.OK, the animation is not great. There are whole scenes of static images that are filmed , for example. Also, there is a plague that Disney is just now getting rid of, the plague of group songs in the middle of the film. But there are a lot of good things that overcome by far the bad parts. It's like a battle of good versus evil in its own :)Doesn't hurt to mention Hayao Miyazaki, which is humbly placed somewhere in the middle of the crew list, as an animator and scene designer. As far as I know this is his first work, but you already find a lot of elements that will appear in all his work from then on.Any anime fanatic must watch this. Children or very young people might get slightly bored.

carolyn-25 With so much anime coming to the States in DVD, I don't know why this great film (possibly my first animated foreign film) hasn't recieved greater acclaim.I love the music to this film, I love the storyline, and the multi-faceted characters. I wish some studio would get on the ball, and get this a bit more attention.It's a great film. And a great intro to anime before there was "anime." Sincerely,JThree carolyn@dia.net

Zohariel This was one of the first movies that legends Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata worked on, and probably the first movie that suggested animation might be more than just for children. I understand a copy of the video is not easy to find. I was lucky enough to see it at Anime Society last night at the local university.The film is important for its place in anime history. As a story, it's slightly weak (there are several subplots that didn't quite seem to fit), but nevertheless very enjoyable. This was partly due to the fact that the fansub I watched was, um...rather poorly translated, and some of the subtitles caused me to break into fits of hilarity. The animation itself seems mediocre nowadays, but must have been exceptional for the time. There's a slightly Disney look to it, but the anime style is definitely there...and the film is much darker than anything Disney could come up with. I mean, there's an Ice Demon whose dream is to kill everyone in the world. ! I'm thinking also of the part when Hilda's squirrel companion says something like, "But Hilda, if you save this girl she will live a life of rejection and hatred! Just like your whole life has been!" (That's nowhere near an exact quotation, but it's as close as I can remember.) And then there's the scene when Horus enters the Forest of Delusion...It's fun to see the early development of Takahata and Miyazaki. You can see ideas just forming that would manifest in their later films. The film in itself is quite good, and in fact one of the better anime (animes?) I've seen. [Certainly it was better than the other feature at Anime Society that night, an inexplicable, boring, badly animated mess about a detective who is his own client and airplanes turning into fish and a two-year-old who is God...no, I didn't get it either.]In conclusion, if you ever get the chance to see "Horus, Prince of the Sun", don't hesitate. I just wish there was a way I could see it again...