Peline Story
Original title: Perinu Monogatari Characters: Peline Paindavoine, Mary Doressany, Rosalie, Paul, Ing. Fabry, Tarel, Theodore Paindavoine, Vulfran Paindavoine, Cesare, father of Rosalie, UN, the foreman Author: Hector Malot Production:
Nippon animation Regia: Hiroshi Saito, Shigeo Koshi
| Country: Japan Year: 1st January 1978 Broadcast in Italy: 1980 Gender: Dramatic Episodes: 53 Duration: 24 minutes Recommended age: Children from 6 to 12 years old | Peline story (original title Peline monogatari) is the anime (based on the novel by Hector Malot 'In Famiglia') that was made by Japanese Nippon Animation in 1978 for the project World Masterpiece Theater and broadcast in Italy in 1980 (on Italia 1) for a total of 53 episodes each lasting 22 minutes. Peline is a girl of about 12, gifted with great intelligence, fortitude and altruism. Virtues with which he will face difficult and painful vicissitudes. After the untimely death of her father, Peline and her mother (Mary), crossing the mountain ranges of Bosnia, reach the North of France. In the meantime they make a living by continuing their father's business (who was a traveling photographer).But business is not going well and what is worse, the still young and beautiful mother of the child becomes seriously ill. So they go to Charronne, where Peline decides to sell the wagon and, despite herself, the inseparable companion: the donkey Palìcaro. All the earnings are used to cure the sick, but without any success, because within a few days the woman dies. Before the painful farewell, however, he makes his daughter promise to join Maraucourt (where his paternal grandfather resides); then Peline sets off. After endless days of cold, hunger and suffering, the little girl feels she does not have enough energy to continue, so she falls exhausted on the road. But here comes an unexpected help: Palìcaro with his new mistress (a street vendor, with a slightly masculine, but good-natured manner). The lady gives the girl refreshment, then offers her a job. Peline accepts the job long enough to keep the money needed for the trip. In fact, after a certain period, the girl resumes her journey, this time until she reaches the village of Maraucourt. At first Peline does not reveal her identity, but is hired as a worker in her grandfather's factory. Here he carries out a routine job; soon however he distinguished himself for his extraordinary abilities (among these, a good knowledge of English and a great practical-organizational sense); thanks to which he becomes the right hand of the solitary and austere Mr. Vulfran. The latter, after the drastic abandonment of his son Edmond - who refused to comply with his father's will, in marrying a woman he was not in love with - closed in on himself, falling ill with sorrow (later he also lost his sight). Unfortunately, this suffering is definitively accentuated with the shocking news of Edmond's death. Only sweet Peline knows how to act on him as a beneficial flow and will heal him from ancient wounds. It will also make him change his mind about many things, starting with the positive transformation of his relationship with the workers and their families. In fact, the little girl convinces him to take a concrete interest in the practical needs of the workers: in a short time adequate building systems and various kindergartens are built (complete with cutting-edge facilities and illuminated educational plans).
All this for the benefit of the well-being of the inhabitants of the entire village. In the meantime, however, Mr. Vulfran does not stop looking, through investigators and trusted collaborators, for his daughter-in-law and niece. So one day, at the end of exhausting searches, he discovers the truth: Peline is the long-sought niece. Hugs, clarifications, tears of joy frame a future full of promises and a long-awaited happiness. On a technical and animation level Peline story is a very pleasant cartoon. But above all the narrative depth is striking, the importance of the topics covered, as well as the effectiveness with which the character profiles of the various characters were drawn. Overall, in fact, we can see how, apart from the differences, we can breathe the same emotional tones traced by the author in the novel 'In Famiglia'. It is no coincidence that Malot sets his story at the end of the 800th century, emphasizing serious social problems, such as: the state of abandonment and misery that affected women and children (especially when it came to widows and orphans), the existential of the workers, the lack of adequate social structures, such as appropriate education-schooling programs, etc. by Helga Corpino
All characters and images of Peline are copyright Nippon Animation, 1978 and of the right holders. are used here for cognitive and informative purposes.
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