Gulliver's Space Travels / Space Gulliver / Gulliver no uchū ryokō
Gulliver's Space Travels (original Japanese title: Garibā no uchū ryokō), also known as Space Gulliver, is a 1965 animated film directed by Masao Kuroda and Sanae Yamamoto. The film, released in Japan on March 20, 1965 and in the United States on July 23 of the following year, is produced by Toei Animation and based on Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift.
The story follows a homeless boy named Ted who, after watching a film about Lemuel Gulliver, meets Gulliver in a forest. Gulliver is now an elderly scientist who travels in space together with his assistant Crow and Ted's companions, a talking dog and a toy soldier. Together, they travel across the Milky Way in search of the Planet of Blue Hope, threatened by the Queen of the Purple Planet and her evil robots.
Armed with water guns and water balloons that will melt enemies, Ted helps Gulliver liberate the planet. However, when the boy wakes up, he discovers that it was all just a dream. Despite expectations of widespread international success, the film failed to match Toei's previous Asian successes.
The film was one of Toei's first animated products to take inspiration from non-Asian tales, drawing inspiration from the formula of Disney musicals and incorporating elements of classic fairy tales and science fiction. Although retrospective critics have expressed mixed reviews of the film's quality, numerous resources on animated films include it among the notable works of the era.
In conclusion, Garibā no uchū ryokō represents an interesting experiment by Toei Animation in an attempt to broaden its audience and conquer the international market. Despite not achieving the desired success, the film left a mark in the history of Japanese animation and represents an important step in the path of Hayao Miyazaki, future master of the genre.
Technical Sheet of the Film “Gulliver no Uchū Ryokō”
- Original title: ガリバーの宇宙旅行
- Original language: Japanese
- Country of Production: Japan
- Year: 1965
- Duration: 80 minutes (Japanese edition), 85 minutes (US edition)
- Gender: Animation, Science Fiction
- Directed by: Masao Kuroda, Sanae Yamamoto
- Subject: Based on “Gulliver's Travels” by Jonathan Swift
- Film script: Shin'ichi Sekizawa, Hayao Miyazaki (uncredited)
- Producer: Hiroshi Okawa
- Production House: toei company
- Music: Isao Tomita (Japanese edition), Anne DeLugg, Milton DeLugg (US edition)
- Original voice actors:
- Chiyoko Honma
- Masao Imanishi
- Seiji Miyaguchi
- Akira Oizumi
- Shoichi Ozawa
- Kyū Sakamoto
“Gulliver no Uchū Ryokō” is a science fiction adaptation of the literary classic “Gulliver's Travels” by Jonathan Swift, transposed into a space travel context. This work, produced by the Toei Company and directed by Masao Kuroda and Sanae Yamamoto, stands out for its unique interpretation of the original story, imagining Gulliver's adventures not on the seas, but in space. Hayao Miyazaki's uncredited participation in the script adds a particular historical and artistic value, considering the important future career of the master of Japanese animation. The soundtrack, curated by Isao Tomita for the Japanese edition, and by Anne and Milton DeLugg for the American one, enriches the film with an evocative and immersive sound dimension.
