Animal Treasure Island
| Industry | Animation, Film production |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1948 |
| Headquarters | Tokyo , Japan |
| Products | Anime films, Television series |
| Website | www |
is a 1971 Japanese anime adventure comedy film directed by Hiroshi Ikeda, adapted from Robert Louis Stevenson’s 1883 novel Treasure Island. Created by Toei Animation and launched to coincide with the studio’s 20th anniversary, the film was later licensed and distributed in English-speaking regions by Discotek Media.
Plot
Jim, who works as an assistant at the Admiral Bembo inn, along with his mouse companion Gran (known as Rex in the English version), receives a casket from a one-legged stranger being chased by assassins. After a narrow escape from an attack, they find that the casket contains a map leading to the treasure of the pirate Captain Flint.
They embark on a journey aboard their steam-powered barrel boat, joined unexpectedly by Baboo, the innkeeper’s infant son who stows away. Soon after, they fall into the hands of Captain Silver’s pirate crew and are enslaved on Pirate Island. Jim loses possession of the map to a monocled Baron who hopes to secure captaincy by presenting it to the pirate council.
While imprisoned, Jim and Gran encounter Kathy, Captain Flint’s resolute granddaughter. Together, they manage to escape and retrieve the map; however, Kathy steals it and accepts the Baron’s offer of passage, which Silver quickly seizes control of. Throughout the voyage, Silver’s efforts to reclaim the map are consistently blocked by Kathy’s alertness and Jim’s secret aid. After surviving an assault led by the pirate chairman, Jim and Gran use their own sleeping potion to incapacitate Silver’s crew.
Before reaching Pirate Island, a storm destroys their ship. Jim, Gran, Baboo, and their guardian Otto the walrus arrive shortly after Silver, his crew, and captive Kathy. Kathy proposes guiding Silver to the treasure in exchange for safety for her friends, but Silver intends to betray them all.
While Otto fends off the pirates—who surrender once they realize Silver’s betrayal—Jim chases Silver up an extinct volcano where the treasure lies hidden. Kathy sacrifices key information to save Jim, but Silver activates a mechanism that drains the volcano’s crater lake instead of revealing treasure. As Silver and his helmsman Spider are swept into the sea by the draining waters, Flint’s sunken ship is exposed. Jim, Gran, Kathy, and reformed pirates recover the treasure. The story ends with Jim and Kathy sailing away on Silver’s ship while Silver and Spider pursue them on makeshift rafts.
Voice cast
| Character | Original | English |
|---|---|---|
| Jim | Minori Matsushima | Billie Lou Watt |
| Gran | Eiko Masuyama | |
| Kathy | Soko Tenchi | Corinne Orr |
| Silver | Asao Koike | Ray Owens |
| Otto | Kosei Tomita | Unknown |
| Ossan | Hitoshi Takagi | Ray Owens |
| Spider | Nishikibito Tamura | Unknown |
| Kankan | Naozumi Yamamoto | Unknown |
| Count | Joji Yanami | |
| Sailors | Hidekatsu Shibata Kunihiko Kitagawa Isamu Tanonaka | |
| Pub | Sachiko Chijimatsu | |
| Chairman of the council of pirates | Ichirō Nagai |
Manga
To promote the film, Hayao Miyazaki created a manga adaptation serialized in 13 color segments published in the Sunday edition of Tokyo Shimbun between January and March 1971.
External links
- at Toei Animation (archived)