World Masterpiece Theater

World Masterpiece Theater (世界名作劇場, Sekai Meisaku Gekijō^?) is a Japanese TV anime staple that showcased an animated version of a different classical book or story each year on 7:30p.m. on Sunday. It originally aired from 1969 to 1997 then resumed in 2007.

It was originally produced by Zuiyo Eizo, and then by its successor Nippon Animation. In both cases, the series originally aired primarily on Fuji Television. Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata both worked on several of the series. World Masterpiece Theater lasted for 23 seasons, from A Dog of Flanders in 1975 to Remi, Nobody's Girl (家なき子レミ, Ie Naki Ko Remi, Sans Famille) in 1997. Nippon Animation restarted the series in 2007 with the release of Les Misérables: Shōjo Cosette, which premiered on BS Fuji on January 7, 2007, with Porufi no Nagai Tabi (The Long Journey of Porphy) subsequently airing on the same network beginning on January 6, 2008, making it the 25th World Masterpiece Theater series. The most recent and 26th series is Kon'nichiwa Anne 〜 Before Green Gables (lit. Hello Anne ~ Before Green Gables).

To date, only three series were ever dubbed in English for the American market: Tom Sawyer (1980), Swiss Family Robinson (1981), and Little Women (1987). The anime satellite television network, Animax, who also aired numerous installments of the series across Japan, later translated and dubbed many of the series' installments into English for broadcast across its English-language networks in Southeast Asia and South Asia, such as Princess Sarah (小公女セーラ, Shōkōjo Sēra), Remi, Nobody's Girl (家なき子レミ, Ie Naki Ko Remi), Little Women (愛の若草物語, Ai no Wakakusa Monogatari), and others. The serials also found success in Europe, with Anne of Green Gables (1979, Miyazaki's last work for Nippon Animation before leaving the studio), Heidi, Girl of the Alps as well as the aforementioned Princess Sarah.

The series has been known by various names over the years (as shown below), but "World Masterpiece Theater" is the name most commonly used by viewers. Nippon Animation's official English name for the series is "The Classic Family Theater Series"[1].

1 Productions
2 Series length
3 See also
4 External links

Productions

Before Nippon Animation - Calpis Comic Theater (1969–1974)

Dororo and Hyakkimaru (どろろと百鬼丸, Dororo to Hyakimaru^?, 1969)
Moomin (ムーミン, Mūmin^?, 1969 - 1970)
Andersen Stories (アンデルセン物語, Anderusen Monogatari^?, 1971)
New Moomin (新ムーミン, Shin Mūmin^?, 1972)
Rocky Chuck the Mountain rat (山ねずみロッキーチャック, Yama Nezumi Rokkī Chakku^?, 1973)
Heidi, Girl of the Alps (アルプスの少女ハイジ, Arupusu no Shōjo Haiji^?, 1974)

Nippon Animation - Calpis Children's Theater (1975–1977)

A Dog of Flanders (フランダースの犬, Furandāsu no Inu^?, 1975)
Marco, 3000 Leagues in Search for Mother (母をたずねて三千里, Haha o Tazunete Sanzen Ri^?, 1976)
Rascal the Raccoon (あらいぐまラスカル, Araiguma Rasukaru^?, 1977)

Calpis Family Theater (1978)

The Story of Perrine (ペリーヌ物語, Perīnu Monogatari^?, 1978)