World Masterpiece Theater
World Masterpiece Theater was a Japanese TV Anime staple that showcased an animated version of a different classical book or story each year on 7:30 p.m. on Sunday. It originally aired from 1969 to 1997 and from 2007 to 2009.
The first several series were produced by Mushi Production and then by Zuiyo Eizo, and then by Zuiyo's successor Nippon Animation, which was officially established in June 1975 during the run of A Dog of Flanders. 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 as produced by Nippon Animation lasted for 23 seasons, from A Dog of Flanders in 1975 to Remi, Nobody's Girl in 1997. Nippon Animation restarted the series in 2007 with the release of ', which premiered on BS Fuji on January 7, 2007, with Porufi no Nagai Tabi 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 '.
To date, only seven series were ever dubbed in English for the North American market: Fables of the Green Forest, Tom Sawyer, , Little Women, The Adventures of Peter Pan, The Bush Baby, and Tico & Friends. 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, Remi, Nobody's Girl, Little Women, and others. The serials also found success in Europe, with Anne of Green Gables, Heidi, Girl of the Alps, as well as the aforementioned Princess Sarah.
The series has been known by various names over the years, 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".
Starting in 2017 Amazon Prime Video made various series available in HD quality, but cropped for 16:9 displays in the US and UK markets. However Amazon did not utilize the "World Masterpiece Theater" label and only kept the subtitle for each series.
Productions
Before Nippon Animation - Calpis Comic Theater (1969–1974)
- Dororo
- Moomin
- Andersen Monogatari ： Adapted from several stories of Hans Christian Andersen, the Danish fairy tales writer.
- New Moomin
- Fables of the Green Forest： Adapted from the stories collection of animal-themed children stories writer, Thornton Burgess.
- Heidi, Girl of the Alps： Adapted from Johanna Spyri's novel, Heidi.
Nippon Animation - Calpis Children's Theater (1975–1977)
- Dog of Flanders ： Adapted from the novel of the same name by Maria Louise Ramé.
- 3000 Leagues in Search of Mother： Adapted from a small part of Heart, the chapter named From the Apennines to the Andes, written by Italian author Edmondo De Amicis.
- Rascal the Raccoon： Adapted from Sterling North's novel, Rascal.
Calpis Family Theater (1978)
- The Story of Perrine： Adapted from Hector Malot's novel, En Famille.
World Masterpiece Theater (1979–1985; no title sponsor)
- Anne of Green Gables ： Adapted from the novel of the same name by Lucy Maud Montgomery.
- The Adventures of Tom Sawyer ： Adapted from the novel of the same name by Mark Twain.
- '： Adapted from Johann David Wyss's The Swiss Family Robinson.
- Lucy-May of the Southern Rainbow： Adapted from an Australian novel Southern Rainbow by Phyllis Piddington.
- '： Adapted from the English children book, Treasures of the Snow by Patricia St. John.
- Katri, Girl of the Meadows： Adapted from the Finnish novel, Paimen, piika ja emäntä, the author is Auni Nuolivaara.
- Princess Sarah： Adapted from Frances Hodgson Burnett's novel, A Little Princess.
House Foods World Masterpiece Theater (1986–1993)
- The Story of Pollyanna, Girl of Love： Adapted from Pollyanna and Pollyanna Grows Up, both were written by Eleanor H. Porter.
- Tales of Little Women： Adapted from Louisa May Alcott's Little Women.
- Little Lord Fauntleroy ： Adapted from Frances Hodgson Burnett's novel, Little Lord Fauntleroy.
- The Adventures of Peter Pan： Adapted from Peter Pan, the famous story by J. M. Barrie.
- My Daddy Long Legs： Adapted from Jean Webster’s Daddy-Long-Legs.
- Trapp Family Story： Adapted from the book The Story of the Trapp Family Singers by Maria Augusta von Trapp, which also inspired the musical The Sound of Music and its film version.
- The Bush Baby： Adapted from William Stevenson's story The Bushbabies
- ： Adapted from Little Women's sequel, Louisa May Alcott's Little Men.
World Masterpiece Theater (1994–1997; no title sponsor)
- Tico of the Seven Seas
- Romeo's Blue Skies： Adapted from Die schwarzen Brüder by Kurt Held.
- Famous Dog Lassie： Adapted from the short story Lassie Come-Home, the author is Eric Knight.
- Remi, Nobody's Girl： Adapted from Hector Malot's novel, Sans Famille.
House Foods World Masterpiece Theater (2007–2009)
- s novel Les Misérables.
- s The Orphans of Simitra.
- ：Adapted from the Anne of Green Gables prequel, Budge Wilson's Before Green Gables.
Series length
- Dororo - 26 episodes
- Moomin - 65 episodes
- Andersen Monogatari - 52 episodes
- New Moomin - 52 episodes
- Fables of the Green Forest - 52 episodes
- Heidi, Girl of the Alps - 52 episodes
- Dog of Flanders - 52 episodes
- 3000 Leagues in Search of Mother - 52 episodes
- Rascal the Raccoon - 52 episodes
- The Story of Perrine - 53 episodes
- Anne of Green Gables - 50 episodes
- The Adventures of Tom Sawyer - 49 episodes
- The Swiss Family Robinson: Flone of the Mysterious Island - 50 episodes
- Lucy of the Southern Rainbow - 50 episodes
- Story of the Alps: My Annette - 48 episodes
- Katri, Girl of the Meadows - 49 episodes
- Princess Sarah - 46 episodes
- The Story of Pollyanna, Girl of Love - 51 episodes
- Little Women - 48 episodes
- Little Lord Fauntleroy - 43 episodes
- The Adventures of Peter Pan - 41 episodes
- My Daddy Long Legs - 40 episodes
- Trapp Family Story - 40 episodes
- The Bush Baby - 40 episodes
- Little Women II: Jo's Boys - 40 episodes
- Tico of the Seven Seas - 39 episodes
- Romeo's Blue Skies - 33 episodes
- Famous Dog Lassie - 26 episodes
- Remi, Nobody's Girl - 26 episodes
- Les Misérables: Shōjo Cosette - 52 episodes
- Porphy no Nagai Tabi - 52 episodes
- Hello Anne - Before Green Gables - 39 episodes