A Journey Through Fairyland Explained

A Journey Through Fairyland
Director:Masami Hata
Producer:Atsushi Tomioka
Tsunemasa Hatano
Story:ShintarĂ´ Tsuji
Editing:Satoshi Yoshioka
Cinematography:Iwao Yamaki
Music:Naozumi Yamamoto
Starring:Masachika Ichimura
Tomoko Kaneda
Studio:Sanrio
Distributor:Celebrity's Just for Kids (US video), Discotek Media (US DVD)
Runtime:91 minutes
Country:Japan
Language:Japanese

is a 1985 Japanese animated film by Sanrio, the company which animated Unico, The Sea Prince and the Fire Child and Ringing Bell, though this story is less sought out as a rarity among Sanrio cult classic collectors. It was Sanrio's final feature-length anime film until 2007. It was brought to America in 1989 through a company called Celebrity Home Entertainment. Unlike previous works, this one mainly focuses on music more than plot, prompting it to be compared with Disney's older work Fantasia (Video Business review). The one original piece is "My Name is Florence," which contains lyrics and is sung in the film; all other songs on the soundtrack are works of classical composition, written by Beethoven and other similarly noteworthy composers.

Summary

A gentle and talented boy named Michael played beautiful music on his oboe, and his greatest love was to play for and tend to the flowers in the greenhouse at the school of music where he attended. Unfortunately, his gardening made him constantly late for orchestra practice and resulted in his dismissal from the school. When Michael fell asleep that same night, he was awakened by a dainty Flower Fairy named Florence, who would take him on an enchanted journey to a land where flowers came alive, treble notes were mischievous, and adventure beckoned. There, he would soon come to realize that his love of flowers and desire to become a great musician could go hand-in-hand and help him to become focused in life and discover himself.

Voice cast

CharacterOriginalEnglish
MichaelMasachika IchimuraJeremy Graham
FlorenceTomoko KanedaAudra Sears Henning
Music Teacher/Prof. Low NoteAsei KobayashiA. Gregory
Musica/TrebleMizuki Nakajima
LauraChika TakamiBarbara Jane Henning
Narrator-Jo Catanzaro

Classical music

  1. Voices of Spring Waltz - Johann Strauss II
  2. Oboe Sonata - Gaetano Donizetti
  3. Symphony No. 5 - Ludwig van Beethoven
  4. Nocturne No. 1 op. 9 - Frederic Francois Chopin
  5. Salut d'amour (Meeting of Flower) - Edward William Elgar
  6. Symphony No. 8 "Unfinished" - Franz Peter Schubert
  7. Oboe Concerto in D minor, II Adagio - Alessandro Marcello
  8. Fugue in G minor - Johann Sebastian Bach
  9. Souvenir - Drdla
  10. Hungarian Dances No. 5 - Johannes Brahms
  11. Piano Sonata No. 11 1st mov - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
  12. Waltz of the Flowers from The Nutcracker - Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky
  13. Tritsch-Tratsch-Polka - Johann Strauss II
  14. Barcarolle from Les Contes d'Hoffmann - Jacques Offenbach
  15. Duet of Love - Naozumi Yamamoto
  16. Symphonie Fantastique 4th mov - Louis Hector Berlioz
  17. Flight of the Bumblebee - Rimsky-Korsakov
  18. L' Arlesienne Suite No. 2 "Farandole" - Georges Bizet
  19. Symphonie Fantastique 5th mov - Louis Hector Berlioz
  20. The Firebird - Igor Fyodorovitch Stravinsky
  21. Clair de Lune - Claude Achille Debussy
  22. Salut d'amour (Separation of flower) - Edward William Elgar
  23. Oboe Concerto 3rd mov - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
  24. Violin Concerto 3rd mov - Felix Mendelssohn