Ringing Bell

Ringing Bell (チリンの鈴, Chirin no Suzu) is a 1978 Japanese animated film based on a storybook by Takashi Yanase, who also created Anpanman. Produced by Sanrio, the film is known for starting as a family-friendly story before taking a sudden, violent turn that examines revenge and war. It debuted as a double feature with the Sanrio-produced American film *The Mouse and His Child*.

The story follows a young lamb named Chirin, who wears a bell so his mother can find him when he wanders. She warns him never to leave the farm, or a wolf from the nearby mountains might kill him. Soon after, the wolf sneaks into the barn and kills the flock, including Chirin’s mother, who dies protecting him. Seeking revenge and feeling abandoned by the other sheep’s indifference, Chirin leaves the farm to find the wolf. After a long journey, he realizes he cannot defeat the wolf and instead asks to be trained. The wolf agrees, knowing Chirin plans to kill him one day. Over three years, Chirin grows into a powerful, fearless ram with deadly horns, abandoning his quest for vengeance and seeing the wolf as a father figure. Together, they dominate the land. When the wolf later orders Chirin to kill the sheep at his old farm, Chirin hesitates after seeing a mother protect her lamb. The two fight, and Chirin kills the wolf, who accepts his death and is grateful it was his student. Though Chirin saves the flock, they reject him, and he returns to the mountains alone. After hallucinating the wolf, he cries out in sorrow. He is never seen again, but his bell is said to ring on stormy nights, like the howls of lone wolves.

The cast includes Minori Matsushima as young Chirin (voiced by Barbara Goodson in English), Akira Kamiya as adult Chirin (Gregg Berger in English), Taeko Nakanishi as Chirin’s mother (Alexandra Kenworthy in English), and Seizō Katō as the Wolf (Bill Capizzi in English). Hitoshi Takagi and Ron Gans narrate the Japanese and English versions, respectively.

Western critics have praised the film’s dark storyline and artwork. Justin Sevakis of Anime News Network described it as a “quick punch-to-the-face of the innocent,” noting it maintains a sense of adorableness while destroying concepts of nature’s beauty.