The Magic Ballad

The Magic Ballad (1982)

January 1st, 19820h 26min

Animation
50%

Overview

The 25 minute film tells the tale of an ailing elderly woman named Itako who encounters a fox named Okon. The story opens with Itako lying bedridden, as she has for a long time. Okon enters her home and Itako tells the fox that he is welcome to take anything that he wants, for she has no use for anything anymore. Okon is delighted and in order to return the favour (the act of ongaeshi), Okon performs a magic jyōruri (a ballad with shamisen accompaniment) that heals Itako so that she is fit enough to walk again. Everyone is surprised by Itako's sudden recovery. She then hears of a hunter who has been badly injured and is near death. Itako hides Okon in the back of her shirt and has the fox sing the song while she plays shamisen in order to heal the man. This act of kindness is repeated for others until Itako's good fortune leads some to be suspicious of her.


Make sure to check your pop-up blocker!!

Trailer

Similar Movies

Curtain Razor

Curtain Razor


Released on: 1949-05-21
Animation, Comedy

Porky, a talent scout for "Goode and Korney Talent Agency," auditions various acts. A final gag has ...

The Elephant's Garden

The Elephant's Garden


Released on: 2014-06-21
Animation

The Elephant's Garden is an animated short made by Felix Colgrave. The short was released in 2013 on...

The Hole Idea

The Hole Idea


Released on: 1955-04-16
Animation, Comedy, Crime

A scientist invents the portable hole, only to have a thief steal his samples to go on a crime spree...

Cats and Bruises

Cats and Bruises


Released on: 1965-01-30
Animation, Comedy

Sylvester Cat intrudes on Speedy Gonzales' Cinco De Mayo celebration, starting a chase that ends in ...

The Solar Film

The Solar Film


Released on: 1980-10-14
Documentary, Animation

Educational film about solar energy, told with striking imagery and animation.

Dieci Cadute

Dieci Cadute


Released on: 2012-01-01
Animation

An underground fight is taking place in a painter's studio between the artist and the ten tyrants.

Bonita & the Bandit

Bonita & the Bandit


Released on: 2024-04-01
Animation

Bonita & the Bandit is a short film and the full, color-version, of the 'mini-Episode' that plays th...

Great

Great


Released on: 1975-03-17
Animation, History, Documentary

An animated film about the British engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel, who spearheaded numerous engine...

Mushroom Park

Mushroom Park


Released on: 2020-01-13
Animation

Two friends locked in a love-hate relationship bury a dead frog as rain beings to fall. They make a ...

Food

Food


Released on: 2014-12-30
Animation, Documentary

This is an animated documentary about FOOD! I interviewed vegetarian, vegan, pescetarian and meat ea...

Harvest

Harvest


Released on: 2019-06-20
Animation

An animation in which a small grasshopper hunts for the season’s most sought-after fruits. His drama...

The Great Malaise

The Great Malaise


Released on: 2020-02-21
Animation

The hedgehog between balloons, the feline predator on the hamster wheel, the fish in the lifebuoy: A...

Uncle Au's Mistake

Uncle Au's Mistake


Released on: 1979-12-01
Animation, Family

Uncle Au is a usual wood goblin loving to frighten and misbehave. Once he woke up and surprised, how...

Cedric

Cedric


Released on: 2006-01-01
Animation, Family

Death as a global service provider? Unthinkable! So far Death has thought that too. But then his nep...

Rondino

Rondino


Released on: 1977-06-01
Animation

A minimalist absurdist comedy about a martyr and torturers.

Some Thing

Some Thing


Released on: 2015-04-24
Animation

Oil, gold and fire are the treasures inside the proud giant mountains. For the little mountain it's ...

Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget

Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget


Released on: 2023-12-08
Family, Animation, Adventure, Comedy

A band of fearless chickens flock together to save poultry-kind from an unsettling new threat: a nea...

Creed: Shinjidai

Creed: Shinjidai


Released on: 2023-05-26
Animation, Drama

In an incredible interplanetary adventure, three young boxers learn how to enhance their individual ...

Ein Boxkampf mit John Bull

Ein Boxkampf mit John Bull


Released on: 1918-08-09
Animation

A German propaganda animation.

Snoopy Presents: Welcome Home, Franklin

Snoopy Presents: Welcome Home, Franklin


Released on: 2024-02-15
Animation, Family

Franklin is new to town and hoping to make friends, but his usual tactics don't work on the Peanuts ...