World Masterpiece Theater
World Masterpiece Theater, commonly abbreviated to Meigeki, was a Japanese prime time television programming block produced by Nippon Animation. The timeslot showcased a different classical book or story from European or North American children's literature each year. It aired at 19:30 to 20:00 on Sunday on Fuji Television and its affiliates. The series ran from 1975 to 1997 with a revival on BS Fuji from 2007 to 2009.
Preceding World Masterpiece Theater was Calpis Comic Theater, which ran from 1969 to 1974. The programming block aired as Calpis Children's Theater from its official establishment in 1975 to 1977 and as Calpis Family Theater in 1978. The first series aired under the World Masterpiece Theater title was Anne of Green Gables in 1979.
History
The first several series were produced by Mushi Production and sometimes Tokyo Movie Shinsha, often commissioned by Zuiyo Eizo, and then by Zuiyo itself. The series was then continued by Zuiyo's division Nippon Animation, which was officially established in June 1975 during the run of A Dog of Flanders. In both cases, the series originally aired primarily on Fuji TV. Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata both worked on several of the series. World Masterpiece Theater as produced by Nippon Animation lasted for 23 seasons, from A Dog of Flanders in 1975 to Remi, Nobody's Girl in 1997. Nippon Animation restarted the series in 2007 with the release of Les Misérables: Shōjo Cosette, which premiered on BS Fuji on 7 January, with Porufi no Nagai Tabi subsequently airing on the same network beginning on 6 January 2008, making it the 25th World Masterpiece Theater series. The most recent and 26th series is Kon'nichiwa Anne: Before Green Gables.To date, only seven series were ever dubbed in English for the North American market: Fables of the Green Forest, The [Adventures of Tom Sawyer |Tom Sawyer], Swiss Family Robinson, Little Women, The Adventures of Peter Pan, The Bush Baby, and Tico and Friends. The anime satellite television network, Animax, who also aired numerous installments of the series across Japan, later translated and dubbed many of the series' installments into English for broadcast across its English-language networks in Southeast Asia and South Asia, such as Princess Sarah, Remi, Nobody's Girl, Little Women, and others. The serials also found success in Europe, with Anne of Green Gables, Heidi, Girl of the Alps, as well as the aforementioned Princess Sarah.
The series has been known by various names over the years, but "the World Masterpiece Theater" is the name most commonly used by viewers. Nippon Animation's official English name for the series is "The Classic Family Theater Series".
The sponsorship of this series has changed several times; the first was Calpis alone, while the second was House Foods alone.
Starting in 2017 Amazon Prime Video made various series available in HD quality, but cropped for 16:9 displays in the US and UK markets. Amazon did not use the "World Masterpiece Theater" label and only kept the subtitle for each series.
In March 2023, Capcom teamed up with Nippon Animation to promote Resident Evil 4 with a mini-series called ''Resident Evil Masterpiece Theater: Leon S. Kennedy, with voices provided by the game's development team.
Companion volume
Apart from Fuji TV, there was also a companion volume of the World Masterpiece Theater, which was broadcast on TV Tokyo from 19:30 to 20:00 on Thursday. This is sponsored by Sumitomo Electric Industries alone, but it is characterized by the theme of a specific field rather than the family. Moero! Top Striker and Jeanie [with the Light Brown Hair |Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair] are works of this companion volume.Recurring casts
The following people frequently appeared in the World Masterpiece Theater, including the companion volume on TV Tokyo.;Director
- Kōzō Kusuba
- Yoshio Kuroda: Other than the director, he also worked on storyboards and series composition, for example.
- Etsuji Yamada
- Eiko Yamada
- Mitsuko Horie
- Keiko Han
- Rihoko Yoshida
- Taeko Nakanishi
- Yoshiko Matsuo
- Ai Orikasa
- Kazue Ikura
- Ogata Ken'ichi
Productions
Before Nippon Animation – Calpis Comic Theater (1969–1974)
Note: These are the only series that are not included into the World Masterpiece Theater franchise.- Dororo, 26 episodes: Adapted from the manga Dororo by the Japanese manga artist Osamu Tezuka. Produced by Mushi Production. The only series in black and white.
- Moomin, 65 episodes: Adapted from the Moomin books by the Finnish author Tove Jansson. Produced by Zuiyo and animated by Tokyo Movie Shinsha.
- Andersen Monogatari, 52 episodes: Adapted from several stories by Hans Christian Andersen, the Danish fairy tale writer. Produced by Zuiyo and animated by Mushi Production.
- New Moomin, 52 episodes: A remake of the 1969–1970 Moomin series, based more closely on the books. Produced by Zuiyo and animated by Mushi Production.
- Fables of the Green Forest, 52 episodes: Adapted from the stories of animal-themed children's writer, Thornton Burgess. Produced by Zuiyo and animated by Mushi Production.
- Heidi, Girl of the Alps, 52 episodes: Adapted from Heidi'' by Johanna Spyri. Produced and animated by Zuiyo.
Nippon Animation – Calpis Children's Theater (1975–1977)
- Dog of Flanders, 52 episodes: Adapted from the novel of the same name by Maria Louise Ramé. First series produced by Nippon Animation but still credited to Zuiyo and broadcast in the Calpis Comic Theater only in episodes 1 to 20 and 24 to 26.
- 3000 Leagues in Search of Mother, 52 episodes: Adapted from a small part of Heart, the chapter named "From the Apennines to the Andes", written by Italian author Edmondo De Amicis.
- Rascal the Raccoon, 52 episodes: Adapted from Rascal by Sterling North.
Calpis Family Theater (1978)
- The Story of Perrine, 53 episodes: Adapted from En Famille by Hector Malot.
World Masterpiece Theater (1979–1985; no title sponsor)
- Anne of Green Gables, 50 episodes: Adapted from the novel of the same name by Lucy Maud Montgomery.
- The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, 49 episodes: Adapted from the novel of the same name by Mark Twain.
- The Swiss Family Robinson: Flone of the Mysterious Island, 50 episodes: Adapted from The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann David Wyss.
- Lucy-May of the Southern Rainbow, 50 episodes: Adapted from the Australian novel Southern Rainbow by Phyllis Piddington.
- Story of the Alps: My Annette, 48 episodes: Adapted from the English children book, Treasures of the Snow by Patricia St. John.
- Katri, Girl of the Meadows, 49 episodes: Adapted from the Finnish novel Paimen, piika ja emäntä by Auni Nuolivaara.
- Princess Sara, 46 episodes: Adapted from A Little Princess'' by Frances Hodgson Burnett.
House Foods World Masterpiece Theater (1986–1994)
- The [Story of Pollyanna, Girl of Love], 51 episodes: Adapted from Pollyanna and Pollyanna Grows Up, by Eleanor H. Porter.
- Tales of Little Women, 48 episodes: Adapted from Little Women by Louisa May Alcott.
- Little Lord Fauntleroy, 43 episodes: Adapted from Frances Hodgson Burnett's novel, Little Lord Fauntleroy.
- Peter Pan: The Animated Series, 41 episodes: Adapted from J. M. Barrie's play and novel, Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up and Peter and Wendy.
- My Daddy Long Legs, 40 episodes: Adapted from Daddy-Long-Legs by Jean Webster.
- Trapp Family Story, 40 episodes: Adapted from The Story of the Trapp Family Singers by Maria Augusta von Trapp, which also inspired the musical The Sound of Music and its The [Sound of Music |film version].
- The Bush Baby, 40 episodes: Adapted from The Bushbabies by William Stevenson.
- Little Women II: Jo's Boys , 40 episodes: Adapted from Little Womens sequel, Little Men by Louisa May Alcott.
- Tico and Friends, 39 episodes: An original story.
World Masterpiece Theater (1995–1997; no title sponsor)
- Romeo and the Black Brothers, 33 episodes: Adapted from Die schwarzen Brüder by Kurt Held.
- Famous Dog Lassie, 26 episodes: Adapted from the short story Lassie Come-Home by Eric Knight.
- Remi, Nobody's Girl, 26 episodes: Adapted from Sans Famille'' by Hector Malot.
House Foods World Masterpiece Theater (2007–2008)
- Les Misérables: Shōjo Cosette, 52 episodes: Adapted from Les Misérables by Victor Hugo.
- Porphy no Nagai Tabi, 52 episodes: Adapted from The Orphans of Simitra by Paul-Jacques Bonzon.
World Masterpiece Theater (2009)
- Kon'nichiwa Anne: Before Green Gables, 39 episodes: Adapted from the Anne of Green Gables prequel, Before Green Gables'' by Budge Wilson.
Feature films
Re-edited footage films of Heidi, Girl of the Alps, 3000 Leagues in Search of Mother, The Story of Perrine and Anne of Green Gables were also released in theater in Japan over the years. Subsequently, every series of the franchise received a re-edited footage OVA released on DVD by Bandai and later broadcast as TV specials.