It is with ambition that Eurozoom wishes to create a new Animerama box, which would bring together three masterpieces of Japanese animation: Cleopatra, One Thousand and One Nights and La Belladonna. To finance this project, the distributor started a crowdfunding campaign. He is counting on the participation of enthusiasts to revive from the ashes these three pioneers of adult animation.
Animerama: a cult and yet little-known trilogy
After having rediscovered in 2016 the psychedelic Belladonna on the big screen, Eurozoom wants to bring up to date the series Animerama (One Thousand and One Nights, Belladonna, Cleopatra) in its entirety. Produced between 1969 and 1973 by the famous TEZUKA Osamu (Astroboy) and scripted by Eiichi YAMAMOTO, this is a trilogy that has become cult, but which has disappeared from the screens for nearly 40 years. These three nuggets of Japanese animation have a symbolic dimension that sets them apart. For the first time in history, animated creations are aimed at adults, both by the messages they seek to convey and by their respective scenarios, as original as they are striking.
One Thousand and One Nights (1969), the first part of the saga, is a free adaptation of the collection of folktales of the same name; a sensual and more psychological reinterpretation of these Middle Eastern fables. Beyond this general aspect, the work has an initiatory dimension through the journey and meetings of Aladdin.
The following year, in 1970, it was Cleopatra's turn to see the light of day. Inspired by the story of the famous Queen of Egypt, the anime ventures into a reflection on man against a backdrop of science fiction and time travel. An original way to approach this historical figure while addressing an informed public.
The Belladonna Wonder
The last installment in the series and surely the most significant, was released in 1973. This is Belladonna, a real treasure, both in terms of its themes and the issues addressed. A young woman, about to get married, is sexually abused by her lord. Her trauma leads her to take refuge in the Belladonna Valley and make a pact with the devil who will then grant her the power to take revenge. She then becomes a pagan high priestess, whose powers find their source in nature. Belladonna positions herself both as a feminist pamphlet, but also as a need to return to primitive nature. Questions about sex and drugs also contribute to the intellectual abundance of anime. The graphics and music, at least original, help to distinguish it from a more "material" point of view. Although hailed by critics, this daring animation will only make a short passage in the cinema before practically disappearing from circulation. Yet it has a special value and Hayao Miyasaki (Princess Mononoke, Chihiro's Journey…) he himself will affirm that his work has its roots in Belladona.
The fundraising for the realization of the Animerama box project, bringing together these three joyful in high definition is therefore a huge opportunity to be able to introduce these Japanese classics to the current generation. The box set which Eurozoom wishes to create includes in particular the DVDs and BLU-RAYS of the three films, CDs of the soundtracks of Belladonna and One Thousand and One Nights and a book entirely devoted to Belladonna.
A new content that promises to be, as diverse as it is exciting!
To make a donation for the creation of this box: crowdfunding KISS KISS BANG BANG
