Wonderful Pollyanna
| Anime television series | |
|---|---|
| title | Wonderful Pollyanna |
| Original title | 愛 少女 ポ リ ア ン ナ 物語 |
| transcription | Ai shōjo Porianna monogatari |
| Country of production |
 Japan
|
| original language | Japanese |
| year | 1986 |
| Studio | Nippon animation |
| length | approx. 24 minutes |
| Episodes | 51 in 2 seasons |
| Theme music | Youki Kudoh |
| idea | Eleanor Hodgman Porter |
| production | Kōichi Motohashi |
| music | Reijirō Koroku |
| First broadcast | January 12th - December 28th 1986 on Fuji TV |
| German-language first broadcast |
June 21, 1993 on RTL 2 |
Wonderful Pollyanna ( ) ( Japanese 愛 少女 ポ リ ア ン ナ 物語Ai shōjo Porianna monogatari , literally: The story of Pollyanna, the girl of love ) is a Japanese cartoon series ( anime ) directed by Kōzō Kuzuba from 1986. The main character is a little girl named Pollyanna, who repeatedly impresses those around her with her unshakable optimism. The message of the series is: Life is beautiful because there are many things to be happy about everywhere.
The series is based on the book Pollyanna by Eleanor H. Porter from 1913 .
action
The focus of the plot is Pollyanna, an eight-year-old, happy little girl. Pollyanna lives with her father, a pastor, in a small church in the United States. Pollyanna lost her mother at the age of four. At that time, her father taught her something that she has never forgotten to this day: There is something to be happy about everywhere. This message not only gives Pollyanna courage even in the most difficult situations, she also relentlessly conveys it to her fellow men.
Pollyanna soon has to cope with another blow of fate. After her father survived a serious heart attack, he died a little later of another heart attack. In his will he decreed that Pollyanna should move to her aunt Polly Harrington in Beldingsville. Pollyanna is looking forward to her aunt, but is quickly disappointed: Aunt Polly is bitter and very strict. Slowly, however, Pollyanna manages to soften her heart.
Pollyanna quickly becomes friends with the domestic servant Tom, his wife, their son Timothy and the nanny Nancy. Then Pollyanna meets the orphan boy Jimmy. She quickly becomes friends with him too. She asks Aunt Polly to adopt him, but indignantly refuses.
Then Pollyanna meets Mr. Pendleton, an old, sullen man. With him, too, Pollyanna manages to soften his heart with her cheerful manner. She suggests that he adopt Jimmy too. Mr. Pendleton initially refuses. To make the adoption possible, more information about Jimmy's origins is needed, which should be in an envelope. Pollyanna and Jimmy want to get the envelope. However, Pollyanna has a serious accident when she is hit by a car. The accident does not seem to have any major consequences at first, but a little later Pollyanna can no longer walk.
To please Pollyanna, Mr. Pendleton finally adopts Jimmy. Pollyanna is happy about that; however, the fear that she might never be able to walk again drives her to despair. Even a renowned doctor from New York doesn't give her a chance. Dr. However, Chilton, with whom Aunt Polly was once together, does not want to give up. He learns from a professor in Boston who has achieved great success with a new method in comparable cases. Together with aunt Polly and Dr. Chilton drives Pollyanna to Boston and has an operation there. She survives the operation well and is making good progress in walking thanks to exercise therapy. Aunt Polly and Dr. Chilton have now married.
In Boston, Pollyanna, Aunt Polly, and Dr. Met Chilton Della, a nurse. After a while, Della appears surprisingly in Beldingsville. She wants Pollyanna to move in with Della's sister, Mrs. Carew, to cheer her up. Mrs. Carew also lives in Boston and has been depressed for some time.
After an initial reluctance, Aunt Polly, who needs some rest after a breakdown, lets Pollyanna go.
As is so often the case, Pollyanna succeeds in improving Mrs. Carew's state of mind with her cheerful manner. One day, Mrs. Carew tells her about Jamie, her nephew, who disappeared a long time ago.
In the meantime Pollyanna has met James, a boy who is in a wheelchair. After learning that James is adopted, Pollyanna suspects that James is Mrs. Carew's nephew, Jamie. However, this assumption is wrong. After all, Mrs. Carew arranges for James' family's poor apartment to be renovated.
A little later, Pollyanna returns to Beldingsville. After Dr. Chilton dies in a tragic accident, it is revealed that Jimmy, Mr. Pendleton's adopted son, is Mrs. Carew's nephew, Jamie. This realization causes some turbulence, but the problem solves itself: Mr. Pendleton proposes to Mrs. Carew.
Voice actor
| role | Japanese speaker ( seiyū ) | German speaker |
|---|---|---|
| Pollyanna | Mitsuko Horie | Diana Borgwardt |
| Aunt Polly | Masako Nozawa | Karin Schröder |
| Dr. Chilton | Hideyuki Tanaka | Leon Boden |
| Jimmy Bean | Eiko Yamada | Daniela Reidies |
| Aunt Carew | Masako Ikeda | Rita Engelmann |
| John Pendleton | Banjou ginga | Lothar Blumhagen |
music
All songs in the series are sung by Youki Kudoh . For the opening credits Shi-a-wa-se Carnival ( し ・ あ ・ わ ・ せ カ ー ニ バ ル , dt. "Happy carnival") up to episode 27 and from episode 28 Hohoemu Anata ni Aitai ( 微笑 む あ な た に 会 い た い , dt . "I want to see you smile"), for the credits Ai ni Naritai ( 愛 に な り た い , dt. "I want to become love") up to episode 27 and from episode 28 Shiawase ( 幸福 , dt. "Luck"). In between, the songs Hoshikuzu no Chandelier ( 星 屑 の シ ャ ン デ リ ア , dt. "Star Nebula Chandelier") and Yumeiro Tenshi ( 夢 色 天使 , dt. About: "An angel like in a dream") were played.
DVD release
KSM Anime released the series in two boxes, the first with episodes one to 26 on September 21, 2015, the second with episodes 27 to 51 on November 9, 2015. It contains the German dubbed version, as "extras" there are various Anime trailers and picture galleries.