The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1980 TV series)
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is a Japanese anime television series produced by Nippon Animation and directed by Hiroshi Saito, which premiered on Fuji Television and its affiliates on January 6, 1980, and ended its run on December 28 the same year. It is based on the 1876 novel The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain.
The series was broadcast on the World Masterpiece Theater, an animation staple on Fuji TV, that each year showcased an animated version of a classical book or story of Western literature, and was originally titled Tom Sawyer no Bōken. It was the second installment of the series, after Rascal the Raccoon in 1977, to feature the work of an American author.
This series was dubbed into English by Saban International and broadcast on HBO in 1988 under the title The Adventures of Tom Sawyer at 7:30 am. It alternated with the later World Masterpiece Theater version of Tales of Little Women. Celebrity Home Entertainment released videos in the United States under the title All New Adventures of Tom Sawyer. It also aired on The Children's Channel in the UK and Network 10 in Australia and has also been dubbed in other languages, including French, Italian, Arabic, Hebrew, Portuguese, German, Hungarian, Dutch, Filipino and Spanish. In January 2011, it was shown in the United States in the original Japanese on the NHK's cable channel TV Japan. In the Philippines, it was shown on ABS-CBN, Q, Kapamilya Channel and A2Z, it would be also shown on TV5.
Plot
Tom Sawyer is a rustic, and mischievous boy who lives with his stepbrother Sid, his Aunt Polly, and her daughter, Mary. After the death of his parents, Polly raised her sister's two sons as if they were her own, with love, tenderness, and affection. Tom spends most of his time with his best friend, Huck Finn, sharing all kinds of adventures such as playing pirates on the Mississippi River or traveling in a balloon. While enjoying various adventures and fun, Tom and Huck accidentally discover hidden gold, which Injun Joe had supposedly found in the haunted house. He requires much of the heart of Rebecca Thacher, who believes she is his future wife.Characters
Sawyers
- Tom Sawyer: Masako Nozawa in Japanese, Barbara Goodson in English dub.
- Sid Sawyer: Sumiko Shirakawa in Japanese, Brianne Siddall in English dub.
- Aunt Polly: Haru Endo in Japanese, Philece Sampler in English dub.
- Mary Sawyer: Kaoru Ozawa in Japanese, Melora Harte in English dub.
Phelpses
- Sally Phelps: Natsuko Kawaji
- Silas Phelps: Minoru Yada
- Penny Phelps: Yoshiko Matsuo
- Oscar Phelps: Kaneto Shiozawa in Japanese, Michael McConnohie in English dub.
Finns
- Huckleberry Finn: Kazuyo Aoki in Japanese, Wanda Nowicki in English dub
- Pap Finn: Toshiya Ueda
Thatchers
- Becky Thatcher: Keiko Han
- Judge Edward Thatcher: Ichiro Murakoshi
- Margaret & Jeff Thatcher: Yumi Nakatani, Cam Clarke
Others
- Jim: Ikuo Nishikawa
- Amy Lawrence: Kaoru Kurosu, Sanae Takagi
- Ben Rogers: Mie Azuma, Atsuko Mine
- Alfred Temple: Masako Sugaya
- Billy Fisher: Naoki Tatsuta, Ikuo Nishikawa
- Muff Potter: Eken Mine in Japanese, Robert V. Barron in English dub.
- Dr. Robinson: Jun Hazumi
- Injun Joe: Eiji Kanie and Kenji Utsumi in Japanese, Tom Wyner in English dub.
- Mr. Dobbins: Ichirō Nagai
- Joe Harper: Kazuhiko Inoue
- Sheriff Collins: Taimei Suzuki
- Widow Douglas: Keiko Kuge, Barbara Goodson in English dub.
- Dr. Michael Mitchell: Tadao Futami in Japanese, Michael Forest in English dub.
- Dr. Helmen: Mike Reynolds in English dub.
- Lisette Jean
- Prosecutor: Richard Epcar in English dub.
- Peter
- Caesar
Episodes
English episode titles from the 1988 Saban dub are listed in parentheses.| # | Title | Original Air Date |
| 01 | The Small World of Tom Sawyer | |
| 02 | A Fun Punishment | |
| 03 | Love At First Sight | |
| 04 | The Magic Spell | |
| 05 | Becky | |
| 06 | Huck's House | |
| 07 | The Rival | |
| 08 | Panic at Board | |
| 09 | Aunt Polly is Sick | |
| 10 | Injun Joe. | |
| 11 | The Treasure | |
| 12 | The Professor | |
| 13 | The Pirates | |
| 14 | Pirates Don't Go To School | |
| 15 | Poor Aunt Polly | |
| 16 | The Funeral | |
| 17 | Back to School | |
| 18 | Reconciliation | |
| 19 | The Frog Race | |
| 20 | The Secret of Mr. Dobbins | |
| 21 | The Summer Holidays | |
| 22 | The Charlatan | |
| 23 | Fishing Party | |
| 24 | Huck Wears a Tie | |
| 25 | A Stubborn Boy | |
| 26 | Lisette | |
| 27 | The Rising of the Curtain | |
| 28 | Help Lisette! | |
| 29 | Goodbye Lisette | |
| 30 | Huck's Father | |
| 31 | The Candlestick | |
| 32 | Gold in Petersburg | |
| 33 | Escape to Freedom | |
| 34 | The Man who Came from the Sky | |
| 35 | Tom wants to Fly | |
| 36 | Fixing the Balloon | |
| 37 | Goodbye Arthur | |
| 38 | The Accident | |
| 39 | A Question of Confidence | |
| 40 | The Trial | |
| 41 | Where is Injun Joe? | |
| 42 | A Pleasant Journey | |
| 43 | The White Horse | |
| 44 | The Capture | |
| 45 | Freedom | |
| 46 | The Haunted House | |
| 47 | The Cave | |
| 48 | The Death of Injun Joe | |
| 49 | The Sad Ending |
International titles
- As aventuras de Tom Sawyer
- De avonturen van Tom Sawyer
- Las Aventuras de Tom Sawyer
- Le avventure di Tom Sawyer
- Les Aventures de Tom Sawyer
- Przygody Tomka Sawyera
- Tom Sawyer
- Tom Sawyer no Bōken
- Tom Sawyers Abenteuer
- Tom Sawyerin ja Huckleberry Finnin seikkailut
- Tom Story
- תום סוייר
- توم سوير
- ماجراهای تام سایر
- トム・ソーヤーの冒険
- 湯姆歷險記
- 톰 소여의 모험
- Приключения Тома Сойера
Reception
- Awarded Best Film Award for TV by the Children's Cultural Affairs Agency, Government of Japan