Rediscovered Classics of Japanese Animation: The Adaptation of Children's Novels into the World Masterpiece Theater Series - Paperback

by Maria Chiara Oltolini (Author)

Rediscovered Classics of Japanese Animation is the first academic work to examine World Masterpiece Theater (Sekai Meisaku Gekijô, 1969-2009), which popularized the practice of adapting foreign children's books into long-running animated series and laid the groundwork for powerhouses like Studio Ghibli.

World Masterpiece Theater (Sekai Meisaku Gekijô, 1969-2009) is a TV staple created by the Japanese studio Nippon Animation, which popularized the practice of adapting foreign children's books into long-running animated series. Once generally dismissed by critics, the series is now frequently investigated as a key early work of legendary animators Isao Takahata and Hayao Miyazaki. In the first book-length examination of the series, Maria Chiara Oltolini analyzes cultural significance of World Masterpiece Theater, and the ways in which the series pioneered the importance of children's fiction for Japanese animation studios and laid the groundwork for powerhouses like Studio Ghibli.

Author Biography

Maria Chiara Oltolini has a BA, MA, and PhD from Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore of Milan, Italy, where she has been working as a Teaching Assistant in Semiotics and History and Language of International Cinema for several years. In 2017, she was a visiting scholar at Cardiff University, UK as part of her PhD program. Her research interests include adaptation as a form of intermedia and intercultural expression, focusing on the relationships between Japanese animation and Children's literature.