Jack and the Witch

Jack and the Witch , Shnen Jakku to Mahtsukai? , literally The Boy Jack and the Witch is a Japanese animated fantasy adventure feature film, the 10th cinema feature produced by Tei Animation then Tei Dga, released in Japan in 1967. It was developed by Jir Sekimasa, Seiichi Moro and Takeshi Ariga, written by Shinichi Sekizawa and Susumu Takaku and directed by Taiji Yabushita and has an essentially original story, though one which alludes in structure and character names to the Jack tales and Beowulf, both of English folklore. A working title for the film was Fushigina Sekai no Daibken ? , Great Adventure in a Strange Land . The animation director is Akira Daikuhara.

The film opens with a retelling of Beowulf, narrated over pans of paintings imitative of stained glass, then cuts to Jack, a boy who lives with his animal friends Barnaby Bear, Dinah Dog, Squeeker Mouse and Phineas Fox and drives a car resembling a Ford Model T, even inside the house. One day while out driving Jack sees a girl named Allegra in a flying machine and challenges her to race. After he loses Allegra offers him a ride and he accepts, along with Squeeker Mouse who sneaks aboard. Allegra is actually a witch, and takes Jack to the castle of the evil queen Auriana, who changes children into harpies to be her slaves. Squeeker is sucked into a machine that changes him into a harpy but Jack escapes. When Allegra and another harpy named Harvey Harpy pursue Jack he leads them away from the castle. Harvey Harpy ends up lassoing Jacks animal friends and they get tangled together in the rope. Barnaby Bear starts laughing at the predicament, and soon all are laughing. They take Harvey Harpy back to the house, where they sing and dance together. Spying on them through a window Allegra seems to soften a little as she watches the fun. However, when Jack returns to the house she tries to capture him with a magic rope that has a claw on the end, but the animals drive her away by pelting her with dishes. In some fan copies of the English version aboutminutes is cut out here, including scenes where Allegra returns to the castle and a battle between Allegra and Jack where she pulls his house off the ground and drops it into a lake. Allegra is injured when she crash lands her flying machine, and Jack takes her back to his house to let her recover. When she comes to she sees Jack, and smiles for a moment, but then flees back to the castle, knocking Jack over as she goes. Jack and friends go back to the castle to rescue Squeeker Mouse, and they encounter Allegra again. She promises to help them since they were so kind to her when she was injured, but instead she leads them in

Source: Wikipedia