02/24/2010

Master animator's legacy crossed borders

photoTadahito Mochinaga sets up a frame for the animation movie "Little Black Sambo." (PHOTOS PROVIDED NORIKO MOCHINAGA)photoTadahito Mochinaga

SAGA--The 1964 U.S. puppet animation film "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer" that is so beloved by children around the world owes much of its magic to a Japanese animator.

But even in his homeland, Tadahito Mochinaga (1919-1999) is not well known.

Moves are afoot in the city of Saga, where Mochinaga spent his early childhood, to recognize anew how much he contributed to the film industry.

Revered as a pioneer of puppet animation in Japan and China, Mochinaga nurtured many animators in the two countries during his long career, which got its start when World War II was raging.

He was also the winner in the children's category of an international film festival in Vancouver in 1958 with his "Chibikuro Sambo no Tora Taiji" (Little Black Sambo, 1956).

Despite his accomplishments, Mochinaga is not well known in Japan. That's something people in Saga want to change. They recently organized a symposium on his contributions to the field of animation.

In the Japan-China symposium on Feb. 5 to 7, animation camerawoman Duan Xiaoxuan from Shanghai said the art of animation in China owed much to Mochinaga.

View Complete Article at The Asahi Shimbun.

Feb 24, 2010 8:51:35 PM | Art, Culture, Current Affairs, Entertainment, Film, Photography

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