Astroboy and Anne of Green Gables

Today, I read a thoughtful article called "How animé conquered the world" written by S.B. Zulueta, a lecturer-technologist who works in the Animation Department at College Central, Singapore. Published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer, the article discusses key points in the history of animé and mentions the 1979 Anne of Green Gables animé.

In the article, Zulueta describes how TV audiences initially viewed Japanese animation as "crude and corny." These opinions began to change in 1963, when Osamu Tezuka created an animated series featuring his popular manga character Mighty Atom (aka "Astroboy"). Astroboy was the first Japanese animated TV series. Tezuka had a limited budget, so Zulueta explains that he compensated for the lack of drawings and movement by applying a cinematic approach with "interesting layouts and camera movements."

This cinematic approach is Tezuka lasting legacy. During the robot animation fad of the 1970s, others used Tezuka's approach to create animation TV series quickly and cheaply and then sell toys based on the series.

Zulueta writes that, "Only Team Takahata and Miyazaki, later to form Ghibli Studio, tried to buck the system by doing better-quality TV series of Western classics such as "Heidi, Girl of the Alps," and "Anne of Green Gables." When all the other ’70s TV series had faded into obscurity, those Takahata-Miyazaki TV series remain watchable today because of the care that went into them."

According to Zulueta, the rest of the world began to appreciate animé with the release of Katsuhiro Otomo's “Akira” (1988), Mamoru Oshii’s “Ghost in the Shell” (1995), and Hayao Miyazaki’s stunning feature films.

Zulueta describes the two most important factors that have helped animé develop. The first is the strength of the manga industry, which provides source material for many popular animé adaptations for television and film. The second is the ability of animé "to absorb world stories and repackage them as its own. Indeed, the Anne of Green Gables animé is an example of the latter. As Zulueta concludes, "good stories know no borders."

Image Credit:
Drawings of Astroboy and Anne of Green Gables.

Reference:
Zulueta, S.B. How animé conquered the world. (September 20, 2010). Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved from: http://lifestyle.inquirer.net/artsandbooks/artsandbooks/view/20100920-293216/How-anim-conquered-the-world (archived).

Created September 21, 2010. Last updated November 27, 2024.
© worldofanneshirley.com

Christina Hendricks on Anne of Green Gables

I love finding mentions of Anne Shirley and L.M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables in interviews. Here’s my most recent find.

Christina Hendricks is an actress and model who stars as Joan Holloway on the television series Mad Men. The show is a period drama about a fictional advertising agency set in the 1960s. Christina Hendricks’s talent and striking beauty have made Joan Holloway a favorite on the show. In May of this year, in a poll of female readers, Hendricks was named Esquire’s sexist woman of the year.

This July, prior to the debut of the fourth season of Mad Men, Leslie Gornstein interviewed Christina Hendricks for the Los Angeles Times Magazine. It was a great interview, in which Gornstein asked Hendricks about Joan and Mad Men, her playing the accordion, her seeing Tom Waits perform and once dining with him and his wife, her three-episode role on Firefly, and her appearances in several music videos. She also spoke about finding red carpet gowns, dressing in retro costumes, and the Joan Holloway Barbie doll.

Best of all (for me, at least), Leslie Gornstein asked Christina Hendricks about how she began dying her hair red:

You’ve said you started dying your blond hair red at age 10. How exactly did you sell that choice to your folks?
They did it to me! I was obsessed with the Canadian novel Anne of Green Gables. I decided I was Anne of Green Gables. There was something that spoke to me about her, and I wanted to have her beautiful red hair. So my mother said, “Let’s just go to the drugstore and get one of those cover-the-gray rinses!” My hair was very blond at the time, but it went carrot red. And I was over the moon. I went to school the next day and felt like myself. And then I went back [to that color] over and over again. What a cool mom, right?

I think we can all agree that Christina Hendricks’s Mom was super cool for supporting her daughter’s obsession with Anne of Green Gables. And I adore Christina Hendricks’s red hair.

Reference:
Gornstein, Leslie. (2010, July) Past Perfect Christina Hendricks. Los Angeles Times Magazine. Originally retrieved from: https://www.latimesmagazine.com/2010/07/christina-hendricks.html (presently, dead link). Archived at: https://web.archive.org/web/20101227122133/https://www.latimesmagazine.com/2010/07/christina-hendricks.html

Image credits:
Left: Photograph of Christina Hendricks by Joshua Jordan with styling by Hayley Atkin from "Past Perfect Christina Hendricks", Los Angeles Times Magazine, published July 2010.
Right: Screen capture of Megan Follows as Anne Shirley in Anne of Green Gables: The Sequel © Sullivan Entertainment.

Created July 6, 2010. Last updated September 4, 2023.
© worldofanneshirley.com

Elizabeth Vargas on Anne of Green Gables

I love finding fans of Anne of Green Gables. My most recent discovery is that Elizabeth Vargas, the American television journalist and anchor and correspondent for ABC News, is a fan of Anne.

In an interview with SheKnows, Joel Amos asked Elizabeth Vargas, "What were some of those books that were so wonderful for you that when they ended you cried?"

Elizabeth Vargas mentions several books, including the Winds of War, War and Remembrance, and Charlotte’s Web, that deeply moved her. She also mentioned Anne saying, "I loved the Anne of Green Gables series. That was just as a girl, I loved those books. It’s a trilogy. When I read the last one, I was devastated that were no more coming up."

I really hope Elizabeth Vargas finds out that there are eight Anne of Green Gables novels and has a chance to enjoy them all.

Reference:
Amos, Joel D. (July 16, 2009). Elizabeth Vargas Gets Inside JK Rowling’s World. SheKnows. Retrieved from: https://www.sheknows.com/entertainment/articles/809857/elizabeth-vargas-gets-inside-jk-rowling-s-world/

Image credits:
Left: Photograph of Elizabeth Vargas.
Right: Screen capture of Megan Follows as Anne Shirley in Anne of Green Gables © Sullivan Entertainment.

Created July 19, 2009. Last updated December 17, 2024.
© worldofanneshirley.com

World Masterpiece Theater Exhibition

The Suginami Animation Museum in Tokyo, Japan is holding an exhibition called "World Masterpiece Theater," which spotlights beloved anime from the long-running television series, including Anne of Green Gables (Akage no An). The exhibition opened on May 26, 2009 and will continue through August 23, 2009.

The World Masterpiece Theater is a long-running Japanese television anime series based on classic children's stories. The series included Anne of Green Gables, A Dog of Flanders, Princess Sara (based on A Little Princess), 3000 Leagues in Search of Mother, Rascal the Raccoon, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, and Swiss Family Robinson. The most recent World Masterpiece Theater anime series titled Konnichiwa Anne: Before Green Gables aka Hello Anne: Before Green Gables is currently airing. It is based on the Anne of Green Gables prequel novel, Before Green Gables by Budge Wilson.

The exhibition includes a chronology of the World Masterpiece Theater, informative displays on 26 anime series, and rare production items, including animation cel drawings and scripts. The museum will host special workshops and events about World Masterpiece Theater. In addition, the exhibition will screen episodes from Anne of Green Gables, A Dog of Flanders, 3000 Leagues in Search of Mother, Rascal the Raccoon, Perrine's Story, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Romeo's Blue Skies, as well as the first episode of Hello Anne: Before Green Gables in the anime theater on weekends.

The Suginami Animation Museum is open from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. each day (closed on Mondays). The museum is located at 3F Suginami Kaikan, 3-29-5 Kamiogi, Suginami-ku, Tokyo 167-0043.

Image credit:
Poster advertising the World Masterpiece Theater Exhibition at the Suginami Animation Museum.

Websites and References:
Suginami Animation Museum
"World Masterpiece Theater" Exhibition at Tokyo Art Beat

Created June 1, 2009. Last updated October 3, 2024.
© worldofanneshirley.com

Looking for Anne (2009)

Looking for Anne (2009) is a film that tells an original story that was inspired by L.M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables. The contemporary tale follows the journey of Anri, a seventeen-year-old Japanese woman, who visits Prince Edward Island for three weeks. Anri arrives in Canada on a personal quest to search for her recently deceased grandmother's first love. The man was a Canadian soldier that her grandmother met at the end of World War II, and he gave her a copy of Anne of Green Gables. Beyond this, all Anri knows is that the man lived near a lighthouse.

The press kit for the film describes it as follows:

"Looking for Anne" presents an entirely original story inspired by the book "Anne of Green Gables" of the Canadian writer, Lucy Maud Montgomery. It tells how this single book, and the friendships that build around it, can change the life of people beyond time and space...

Looking for Anne starred Honoka Ishibashi as Anri and was directed by Takako Miyahira. The film's cast also included Daniel Pilon, Rosanna Zanbon, Kazuko Yoshiyuki, Johnny Sa, Mahiru Konno, Ai Takabe and Tarek Ghader. The film is 105 minutes in length, and it was produced by Zuno Films and was distributed by Filmoption International Inc.

Director Takako Miyahira first read Anne of Green Gables as an adult. In an interview with The Globe and Mail, Miyahira states, "The first time I read the book, I thought, Why did I miss this precious book? I should have read it earlier!" She felt compelled to make a film about the power of the Anne of Green Gables. Miyahira goes on to say, "Now in the world, people are confused with so many values about happiness or aiming for success. Anne of Green Gables teaches how to find happiness,"

In 2009, Looking for Anne received awards for Best Film and Best Director at the Singapore Asian First Film Festival. It had a wide theatrical run in Japan.


References:
CBC News. (2009, December 7). Anne film wins at Asian festival. Retrieved from: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/anne-film-wins-at-asian-festival-1.817665

Dixon, Guy. (2010, December 1). Anne of Green Gables' eternal life in Japan. The Globe and Mail. Retrieved from: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/film/anne-of-green-gables-eternal-life-in-japan/article1316455/

Looking for Anne Press Kit (2009). Retrieved from: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5bb117fe8dfc8ced93a929ee/t/5c9106a8eb39312d6e39b65d/1553008311339/Looking+for+Anne+-+Press+Kit+ENG.pdf

Image credit:
Official film poster for Looking for Anne © Filmoption International Inc.

Official Websites:
Looking for Anne (Filmoption International Inc.)
Looking for Anne Trailer

Created April 19, 2009. Last updated April 26, 2024.
© worldofanneshirley.com

Anne of Galactic Gables by Tom McHenry

Have you ever wondered what Anne Shirley would be like if she traveled to outer space? Well, comic and zine creator Tom McHenry has imagined it out for you.

In McHenry's one-off webcomic, Anne and Matthew Cuthbert are traveling through space. Anne is ashamed to be wearing a "horrid old wincey" spacesuit. Then she lightens up, smiling and asking Matthew about the blue planet they arrived at. When Matthew explains that it's called Earth, Anne replies, "They shouldn't call it 'Earth.' There's no meaning in a name like that. They should call it 'The Azure Orb of Delight.'"

McHenry's sci-fi comic based on Anne of Green Gables was featured in an article called, "When Classic Literature Gets Updated" by Graeme McMillan at io9.com. McMillan writes, "Move over, Pride and Prejudice And Zombies, a new updating of classic literature has come along to win your heart... Or at least make you laugh. Yes, it's Anne of Green Gables... in space."

On his livejournal, McHenry explains his inspiration: "Sara and I have been reading the original Anne novels (not my ill-fated science fiction sequels including Anne of Lavaworld and Rilla of Planetside) aloud before bed."

At io9, McMillan goes on to say, "The strip was just one of McHenry's "Future and Space Things" themed week of comics, alongside Space Yuppies. More proof that more people should be forced to come up with science fiction when they least expect it." I heartily agree. I enjoyed reading this fantastic and fun comic.

Created February 16, 2009. Last updated April 17, 2024.
© worldofanneshirley.com

National Post Review of Lucy Maud Montgomery: The Gift of Wings

Judy Stoffman wrote a comprehensive review of Lucy Maud Montgomery: The Gift of Wings by Mary Rubio for the National Post titled "Beyond the Red Haired Girl: Her Fiction May Be Upbeat, but L.M. Montgomery’s Life Was Less So." Stoffman writes about the stark contrast between the happy endings Montgomery wrote for her "plucky heroines" and her own turbulent life.

Stoffman writes,

"In her 21 books of fiction, Lucy Maud Montgomery always provided a happy ending. Her plucky heroines, the red-haired orphan Anne Shirley the most famous among them, somehow manage to seize their opportunity to love, to marry, to find acceptance in their community after vanquishing controlling mothers, gossipy neighbours, manipulative suitors, bullying fathers, cruel grandmothers, false friends, negative aunties - the whole nasty army of discouraging, judgmental, energy-sapping naysayers bent on undermining the dreams and ambitions of the young.

Yet a happy ending eluded the lively, intelligent and hard-working Montgomery herself, who lived what may be the most tragic life of any Canadian writer and died an addict to prescription medications at the age of 67, in 1942."

Stoffman writes about the new information provided by Rubio's biography, which examines Montgomery's early life, schooling, romances, career, marriage, relationships, and children.

"Five volumes of her diaries were published by Oxford University Press beginning in 1985, but the full extent of her suffering and disappointments has not been known until Mary Rubio's Lucy Maud Montgomery: The Gift of Wings (Doubleday Canada, 684 pages, $39.95). Montgomery had carefully shaped and revised her diaries throughout her life, deleting the most shameful facts. Rubio, now an emeritus professor of English at the University of Guelph, spent 30 years researching her magisterial biography and has filled in all the gaps."

According to Stoffman, Rubio's new biography puts L.M. Montgomery's life in context and considers the radical shifts following WWI, including the changes in literary tastes, psychiatric treatments, and views of religion. Rubio's extensive research shows how Montgomery's life was affected by societal, cultural, and personal factors, providing a nuanced and thorough portrait of the author.


Image credit:
Book cover of Lucy Maud Montgomery: The Gift of Wings.

Reference:
Stoffman, Judy. (2009, January 17). Beyond the Red Haired Girl: Her Fiction May Be Upbeat, but L.M. Montgomery’s Life Was Less So. National Post. Retrieved from: http://www.financialpost.com/scripts/story.html?id=1186069

Purchase and read Lucy Maud Montgomery: The Gift of Wings:


Created January 18, 2009. Last updated September 23, 2024.
© worldofanneshirley.com

Anne of Green Gables Valentines - Set 3

Here's a third set of Anne of Green Gables Valentines to give to your kindred spirits, friends, classmates, and loved ones. Save the Anne-inspired Valentines shown below. Then print the Valentine cards out on cardstock paper in landscape mode, cut them out, and share them!



To design this set of Anne of Green Gables Valentines, I used public domain images, public domain clipart from Antique Clipart, and an image of Gilbert Blythe and Anne Shirley from Sullivan Entertainment's production of Anne of Green Gables: The Sequel (1987).

Download and print more Anne of Green Gables Valentines here: Set 1, Set 2, and Set 4.

Created January 16, 2009. Last updated January 26, 2024.
© worldofanneshirley.com