The Magic Ballad (1982)
• January 1st, 1982 • 0h 26min
Animation
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
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
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
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
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
Released on: 1980-10-14
Documentary, Animation
Educational film about solar energy, told with striking imagery and animation.
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
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
Released on: 1975-03-17
Animation, History, Documentary
An animated film about the British engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel, who spearheaded numerous engine...
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
Released on: 2014-12-30
Animation, Documentary
This is an animated documentary about FOOD! I interviewed vegetarian, vegan, pescetarian and meat ea...
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
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
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
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...
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
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
Released on: 2023-05-26
Animation, Drama
In an incredible interplanetary adventure, three young boxers learn how to enhance their individual ...
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 ...