Tonpei and Sarukichi

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Original Title	漫画豚平と猿吉
Japanese kana Rendering	Manga Tonpei to Sarukichi
English Title	Tonpei and Sarukichi
Production Date	1932
Author	Yasuji Murata
Duration (minutes)	8
Sound	silent
Color	b/w
Plot	The lazy Tompei is still asleep past 10 o'clock and even at 11 o'clock. He finally wakes up at 12 o'clock at the deafening sound of the angry clock. Hungry, Tompei walks to Sarukichi's house and grabs food Sarukichi has harvested. The next day, while Sarukichi is working in the hills, Tompei beats Sarukichi's two children who are staying at home and tries to steal things from Sarukichi's house. Sarukichi, who is alerted of the situation via telephone from his children races home, is infuriated at the cruel Tompei and punches him so hard he falls down. Beaten by Sarukichi, Tompei lies to the King Lion to get him on his side. The credulous lion mobilizes all the animals of the forest, including raccoons, rats, squirrels and foxes to attack Sarukichi's house. The lion attacks Sarukichi as he comes out startled. However, Sarukichi's house turns into a tank to fight against the lion's army. Wounded, the lion fights back with a mountain gun and with the help of the machine gun brigade, he attacks Sarukichi's tank from both sides. The mole, who has been watching the battle from his hole, takes sides with the outnumbered Sarukichi. The lion's army attacks from the sky and destroys Sarukichi's tank. Sarukichi and his sons barely escape the attack to take shelter in a tree. As the lion's army gives a shout of triumph, a bomb set underground by the mole's army explodes, blowing the lion's army to pieces.
Description	The heart-rending message that justice wins even in an outnumbered battle may reflect the social situation at the time when the war was expanding from the Manchurian Incident to the Shanghai Incident and narrative films began to be produced under the theme of the Three Heroic Bombers by many companies. 16-mm Sakura Graph films released by Konishiroku Honten include a version retitled Sarukichi Has Won.
Production Company	Yokohama Cinema Shokai*
Distribution	35-mm version: Okamoto Yoko (Kanto)* and Oku Shokai (Kansai); 16-mm version: Konishiroku Honten
Release Date	June 1, 1932
Credits: Director	Animation: Yasuji Murata
Credits: Staff, Cast, etc.	Story: Kuraji Takahashi
Intertitles	T1: Tonpei and Sarukichi T2: Story by Kuraji Takahashi T3: Animation by Yasuji Murata T4: Shamelessly, Tonpei went to Sarukichi's again the next day. T5: Is your dad home? T6: He's gone to work in the hills. T7: That horrible pig! I'll make him pay for this. T8: Does a visit in your absence cause you distress? T9: The pig lied to the King Lion to get him on his side. T10: The moles decided to help the monkeys who were outnumbered. T11: Justice always wins in the end. Tonpei the tyrant perished. Sarukichi enjoyed a glorious victory. T12: Tonpei and Sarukichi / The End
Censorship - Date and Number	[Note] Home Ministry censorship number: G2736 (March 3, 1932)
References	・ "Introduction to New Movies: Tonpei and Sarukichi," Eiga Kyoiku, No. 50 (April 1932), p. 39 (with photos) ・ "Review of Short Movies in Japan and Elsewhere: Tonpei and Sarukichi," Cinema Junpo, No. 440 (July 1, 1932), p. 19.
Frames per Second	24fps
Source of Digital Copy	The 16mm positive owned by NFC -> The 35mm internegative
Completeness	complete
Additional Notes	The mark of "*" will provide an additional explanation gained from the bibliographical information.
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