Aesop's Fables (Toei Animation)

**Aesop's Fables** or **Manga Aesop's Fables** (also known as **Manga Isoppu Monogatari** in Japanese) is a 1983, Japanese, children, family, adventure, fantasy, musical film. It is based on the fables of the renowned, Greek storyteller, Aesop. It was written by Hirohisa Soda and directed by Norio Hikone. It is a co-production between Toei Animation and Toei Company. Not to be confused with the anime TV series of the same title by Nippon Animation that premiered the same year as this.

## Plot

Aesop is a mischievous boy who loves playing havoc around his village for his own amusement. He does things like tying the tails of a dog and cat to each other, replacing a hen's chick egg with a snake egg, and drawing a scary face on the side of a sow, frightening her piglets. A few of the other villagers complain to Aesop's mother about all of this and she assures them that he'll be disciplined. When she finds Aesop emerging from behind a pile of hay, she spanks him as punishment. His mom tells him that she's arranged a job for him to watch sheep to keep him out of trouble. That is just what Aesop does the next day. But he finds it tedious, so he decides to cause chaos again by yelling from afar to the other villagers that there's a wolf coming. Some of the villagers flee to safety while others, especially several men, come running towards where Aesop is, armed with various weapons. Aesop's mom is disappointed and in disbelief that her son is at it again. The mayor asks Aesop just where the wolf is, but he tells him and the others there wasn't really a wolf as he was just pranking. The male villagers are displeased with Aesop for making them waste their time for nothing and the mayor tells him not to do that again. Aesop promises he won't do it again. Later that night, back at home, Aesop and his mom talk about what happened earlier in the day and she tells him he shouldn't tells lies and pull pranks to fool others because of the consequences that follow. But he doesn't take what he did nor what she says too seriously. Since Aesop still doesn't seem to get the message, his mom asks if he wants another spanking and he tells her that's not necessary, then heads off to bed. He wonders why the other villagers were mad at him for his prank, as he thought they would've been as amused by it as he is. The day after, Aesop decides to pull that prank again. As he makes way into a forest, he happens to encounter a wolf for real this time. He flees for his life and the wolf chases after him. While doing this, he calls for help, but the other villagers don't come to his aid, doubting he's serious this time and thinking it's just another prank. Not even his mother comes, staying inside the house. Upset and fed up with this, she tells him to stop telling lies, and cries. As Aesop passes his home, his mom comes out and sees there really is a wolf this time. She and a few men, including the mayor, go after them while Aesop and the wolf run into a dark part of the forest. Aesop's mom trips, falls forward, and cries for him, but he's long gone and fearing for her son's well-being, she faints and the men comfort her. The wolf howls and several, other wolves emerge, pursuing Aesop. Suddenly, a hole in the ground opens and Aesop falls down it into some sort of portal as he ends up in an alternate, fantastical world.

As Aesop regains consciousness, he hears someone trying to get his attention. It turns out to be a talking mouse named Skitter. Aesop is freaked out to find a talking mouse before him, but Skitter says all mice in his world can speak. Being too much for Aesop, he runs away. Aesop thinks that the talking mouse is a curse that was put on him for his mistreatment of animals. He hears someone crying and sees a large, butterfly-like wing sticking out from the side of a tree. Startled, Aesop thinks it's a monster at first, but it's revealed to be a spring elf. They look at each other for a moment, greet each other, and introduce themselves. The spring elf tells him her name is Silkwing and she explains that she's crying because a gust of wind blew her away from her home in a garden, and she ended up lost. Aesop tells her that he's lost too, trying to get back to his own home as well. He thinks that since the wind was blowing South, she must've come from the South, which must be where her home is. Silkwing compliments him for being smart. Modest, he doesn't watch where he's going and falls in a lake. She asks him if he's alright and he says he's never been better. They befriend each other and decide to go off together. They walk on a path when they come across and meet a mostly purple mouse who says he's a city mouse. The city mouse tells them he's friends with a country mouse, which is Skitter. They then head over to Skitter's home. Skitter meets Aesop and Silkwing. He's smitten with Silkwing at her beauty and he invites them for lunch. The food is supposed to be healthy, yet it doesn't taste all that good. The city mouse tells them that he knows of a place where there's better food in the city. That's just where they travel later that night. They enter a mansion and enter a dining room where they have a feast. But their feast is interrupted when they hear someone else enter and the city mouse tells the others to hide. A cat and three chef cats enter the dining room. The cat tells the chef cats he wants a mouse for dinner, as he's fed up with having his favorite meal as the same for dinner every night and an uneasy Skitter hears this. When the coast is clear and the cats leave, the city mouse tells his company it's safe to re-enter. But the cats come back and catch them in there. A commotion ensues along with the chaos. The cat orders his chef cats to catch the mice, but Aesop and Silkwing help put a stop to the felines. A sheet falls on the cats and they become stuck under it. The city mouse and the others take advantage of this while the cats are distracted, and they escape. Once they're home free, Skitter tells the city mouse that even though the city food is better, having to take risks with sneaking around the mansion just to get food is too much trouble for him and he'd rather be back in the country. The city mouse understands and gives the others some food to take along with them, including cat-nip pies. He bids them farewell and tells them to revisit any time. Aesop says the pies remind him of those his mother would bake, save for the catnip. Skitter tells them he's heading back home, but Aesop and Silkwing invite him to join them, and Skitter happily accepts. Since Skitter has no family of his own, he considers Aesop like family.

The threesome walk along a path the next day when they come across a tortoise and a hare. The hare makes fun of the tortoise for being so slow, which makes the tortoise angry, as they explain to them. Aesop suggests that they have a race to settle their debate. As soon as the race starts, the hare speeds ahead of the tortoise who falls behind. The hare decides to take a break to rest and Aesop joins him while Skitter goes back and forth between giving each of them massages. While the tortoise still lags, Silkwing follows and encourages him to keep going. The tortoise finds a short cut as a way to get to the end sooner. As he struggles to run faster, he gradually gains speed. Surprised, the hare realizes just how far the tortoise has gotten and hurries to catch up to him. He almost makes it to the tree that's their stopping point, but the tortoise just narrowly beats him. The hare knows when he's been defeated and relents to his loss. They both learn a lesson, let bygones be bygones, and become friends. Everyone has a hearty laugh.

Having run out of food, the trio decide to search for work to earn money for it. Their help is sought and accepted by a monkey who wants them to use a donkey named Hawhee to deliver sacks of salt. Hawhee complains about having to carry the sacks of salt on his back, he despises labor, and would rather not do it. When they come across a river, Hawhee loses his balance and falls, which causes the sacks to break open and the salt to fall out of it. A fox, another monkey, and a boar laugh at Hawhee's misfortune. The first monkey gives Aesop, Silkwing, and Skitter another chance and tells them he can't afford any foul-ups, as his customer will take his business elsewhere. The second time Hawhee carries some sacks, they contain cotton. Hawhee complains about the sacks being too heavy, but Aesop tells him they contain cotton and the water from the river is what's causing them to become less light. Hawhee falls in the river again. After the second failure, the first monkey sacks them and tells them not to return as they apologize.

Aesop, Silkwing, and Skitter hear music being played by a grasshopper. They enjoy the merriment he's making with various, other kinds of bugs and watch the show. Meanwhile, a colony of ants are heading home carrying food supplies. When asked why they're doing so, they tell them they have to be prepared to stock up for winter to avoid a food shortage. The grasshopper mocks the ants for working so hard and taking precautions. He dumps some water on an elderly ant as a joke, telling him he should cool off and is amused. The lead ant is offended by this, but the elderly ant tells him not to pay the grasshopper any mind and the colony carry on their task. Meanwhile, Hawhee is fretting about how everyone makes fun of him for not being so bright when he comes across what he thinks is a live lion originally, but is actually a lion skin. Hawhee decides to wear the skin to fool and scare the fox, monkey, and boar for always taunting him. When he sees them again, he commands that they bow down to him and show courtesy. When Hawhee attempts to roar, the sound that comes out is a bray instead. Realizing they've been tricked, they attack him for the deception. After Aesop, Silkwing, and Skitter also encounter the fake lion, they watch what's happening and go to him. They ask him why he would wear such a disguise and he tells them that he believed that he would finally be respected and taken seriously if he pretended he was a lion. They tell him they're trying to find their way back to their homes and invite Hawhee to accompany them. Hawhee asks if they really want him to join them even though he always messes up and they're happy to have him just the same. He cheerfully agrees to come with them. They continue when they come across what appears to be a large rock. Skitter investigates it and says it's too soft, and furry to be a rock. It's revealed to be the back of a bear and the four flee. Aesop and Skitter climb up a tree, while Silkwing flies up towards a higher area near it. Hawhee gets left behind, the bear catches up to him, and it looks like the end for the mule as the bear prepares to go in for the kill. Helpless, the three others tell him goodbye. But the bear just sniffs Hawhee, who plays dead, and thinking he's dead, the ursine whispers something to him before leaving. When the others come down, they're relieved to see that Hawhee is still in one piece. They're impressed by his quick thinking to play dead, but Hawhee tells them about their selfish behavior of abandoning him when he needed them. Ashamed of what they did, they apologize. He forgives them, but says he would've done the same thing if he could move as fast as they can and if he could climb trees. Suddenly, a autumnal wind blows and everyone can feel it, especially Silkwing, as she must be taken to some place warmer since she's a spring elf. Hawhee offers to give her a ride and she thanks him for it.

Winter arrives and the comrades meet the grasshopper again. Shivering and hungry, the grasshopper is desperate for food, and asks if they have any on them. They have none but offer to take him along with them and search for some help. They go to one home, which happens to belong to the ant colony. The grasshopper begs them to share their food with him, but the lead ant asks why they should since the grasshopper spent so much time playing instead of working. But the elderly ant says they should give the grasshopper a break, since it dawned on the grasshopper just what a mistake he made and he did apologize. The ants invite the group in and everyone has their meal. The grasshopper is tearfully happy and grateful for the ants' kindness. Aesop tells the ants he's trying to return home to his village in the real world. The elderly ant asks why he would want to do that and he says that's where he's from and he's sure his mother must be worried about him. He wants to show her that he has reformed and dropped his mischievous ways. The elderly ant tells him that before he can get back, he and the others would have to pass through a mountain known as the Mountain of Terror inhabited by a mysterious spirit, and that neither the ants nor anyone else has successfully passed through there to discover just what's on the other side. The ants think it would be better if Aesop and his friends just stayed with them. Aesop insists he must try despite the possible danger there may be and they understand. After Aesop and his friends bid farewell to the ants, they carry on their journey.

Once Aesop and the others get to the mountain, a spirit known as the Spirit of Winter stops them. Undeterred, Aesop tells him they intend to keep going and the Spirit of Winter causes a crack in the ground, separating it. Everyone but Hawhee gets to the other side, but Hawhee has to hang on for dear life. The others help pull him up with them. Another spirit, known as the Spirit of Spring, arrives and she proposes to the Winter Spirit that they have a contest to settle this. The Winter Spirit becomes the North Wind while the Spring Spirit becomes the sun. As the North Wind, Winter Spirit tries to blow off the friends' coats given to them by the ants, but he fails. As the sun, the Spring Spirit melts the ice and snow. The weather changes from snowy to hot. Aesop and his friends remove their coats because of this. The Winter Spirit recognizes the Spring Spirit as the winner and allows everyone to pass. Aesop and company meet the Spring Spirit, who introduces herself to them. She tells Aesop that she has been watching him since he arrived in her world. As the whole thing seems to have been some sort of test to see if Aesop truly had learned his lesson, she grants him with being a future storyteller and that his stories will be heard, and beloved, by future generations of children. She then magically has the foursome brought back into the real world. Aesop is back home and his friends are with him. They land in a garden and Silkwing is happy to be back there. She says she's going to fly and land on some flowers, but she and the others notice she no longer has wings, as she is now a real girl. Aesop's mother calls for him and he comes running towards her. Happily reunited, they embrace each other while Silkwing, Skitter, and Hawhee watch from a distance. Skitter comments on this, but Silkwing reminds him that animals aren't supposed to talk in this world. It ends with mother and son still hugging.

## Why It Rocks

1. The art style, while somewhat simple and flat, is still nice-looking. The animation is just as nice, as it moves smoothly.
2. Top-notch writing. It is written innovatively well in how the various fables of the real Aesop crossover and come together so flawlessly.
3. A lot of great, likable, and memorable characters. Aesop goes through development that has to do with him learning how to change his ways.
4. The character designs are also flat-looking, but also, still nice.
5. The musical numbers are written well, both musically and lyrically.
6. The voice acting in the English dub sounds done well.
7. There are plenty of things going for the dialogue.
8. It is one of the better movies that feature an assortment of stories come together, so it's well-organized.
9. It has several, comical moments.
10. The point is driven home about the message of how one should never fabricate things because it could lead to bad consequences and it's given well.
11. It's intriguing how after the experiences that Aesop had, the occurrences would reflect upon and inspire the stories he'd later go on to create, even though this is a fictionalized version of the real Aesop.

## The Only Bad Quality

1. A couple of goofs involving the talking animation. After giving praise to the tortoise for winning the race, the latter says, "Aw, Shucks! You're making my shell blush!", but his mouth is left in the open position as he says this. Also, Hawhee's mouth doesn't move when he's walking through a forest, complaining about others making fun of him before he finds the lion skin.