The Melancholy Promise of Heidi, Girl of the Alps

Isao Takahata made a big name for himself with his adaptation of Johanna Spyri’s Heidi, Girl of the Alps. In doing so he made Heidi the national treasure she is today, celebrated as much in Japan as she is in Switzerland, and she is as famous as the late, great director himself. But there’s more to Heidi than meets the eye, and in this video I take a look at the glimpses we get into the man Takahata would become, just past the saccharin, cute tale of a small girl chasing goats across the Swiss Alps. This video was originally produced as part of the Anituber Anthology 4, an homage to the works of Isao Takahata. You can find the full video here: