Gauche the Cellist

A cellist learns from animal visitors before a concert.

Isao Takahata wrote and directed this 1982 Japanese animated film, which adapts Kenji Miyazawa’s short story and uses Beethoven’s music. The story centers on Gauche, a young cellist visited nightly by animals as he works to improve his playing. Oh! Production handled the animation, and the film won the 1981 Ōfuji Noburō Award.

Quick Facts

Director

Isao Takahata

Producer

Kôichi Murata

Based on

Gauche the Cellist; by Kenji Miyazawa

Starring

Hideki Sasaki
Fuyumi Shiraishi
Akiko Takamura
Atsuko Mine
Junji Chiba
Masashi Amenomori

Music

Michio Mamiya

Cinematography

Toshiaki Okaseri

Editing

T. Nishimura

Studio

Oh! Production

Facts from the source article.

Plot

Gauche lives in a small house on the town's outskirts and plays cello for a local orchestra rehearsing Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony. His poor performance frustrates the conductor, who nearly removes him. Over several nights, a cat, a bird, a raccoon dog, and a mouse visit with musical requests, unknowingly helping Gauche overcome his weaknesses for the upcoming concert.

Production

Oh! Production, a small independent company, produced the entire feature film, a rare undertaking for them. Most of the work was done by two artists: Takamura Mukuo painted backgrounds, and Shunji Saida handled all key animation. Saida learned to play the cello to accurately animate finger movements. Despite a 63-minute runtime, the film took six years to complete.

Release

In 2000, Pioneer released a Region 2 NTSC DVD with English subtitles, re-releasing it for Japan in 2003. A 2001 Region 2 PAL DVD in France included a French dub. Studio Ghibli and Buena Vista Home Entertainment issued a 2006 double-disc re-release for Kenji Miyazawa's 110th birthday, alongside Taneyamagahara no Yoru. A 2014 multi-touch book app featured illustrations, art boards, a trailer, and sakuga key animation.