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To me, this movie is perfection.

Excellent but underrated film

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

"Shônen Sarutobi Sasuke" (known as "Magic Boy" in English) was the first anime feature film to be released in the United States, and was handled by a major Hollywood studio on these shores. Those facts alone make the movie interesting, but the movie itself has other attributes that make it worth a look. It's clear that there was some influence from the Disney studio, most notably with the design of some of the animal characters, and how these animals are used for comic relief. But for the most part, the movie does its own thing, and in a very professional manner. The animation is generally smooth, and there is some animation that is surprisingly detailed even by today's standards. The art design of the backgrounds and various characters is also eye-catching. The movie definitely looks good. However, when it comes to the writing, there are some notable weaknesses. The basic story itself has nothing wrong with it. In fact, the ancient Japan setting and use of Japanese mythology gives it some freshness compared to American animated production. Where the writing goes wrong is with the characters. The characters are pretty weak. We learn little about the hero before he goes out on his quest to become a magician. He is trained by a wizard that we hardly learn anything about, such as why he decides to train the boy. The witch, the chief villain of the movie, doesn't have much dialogue and it's hard to determine what is motivating her.Despite these weak characters, the movie still can be enjoyed. Kids will probably be captivated by the color, action, and child protagonist. Adults will appreciate the animation and the insight into a foreign culture. It's worth a look.

I too saw ''Magic Boy'' on it's first release back in 1960. Being a fan of fantasy films, I was enchanted by the story and characters, though it was over 40 years before i saw it again. Alas, it lacks much of the magic I remembered. The story is just an excuse for the beautiful animation, and the characters are undeveloped. The motives of the witch, for instance, are left unexplained (yes, she's wicked, but why?) Many will think that my revised opinion is the result of seeing the film again not as a child, but as an adult. However, this is not true. Many films I enjoyed as a child still hold up wonderfully. ''Alakazam The Great'' for instance, is a superior Japanese animated feature.

Like Jerri LaPoint and Attila, I also saw this movie when I was very young (probably 1970). I know it as Magic Boy, because I saw it in my hometown theater for free every Saturday for about a year. I never got tired of it, and I often still think about it. It had a definite Zen feel to it, and I would give a lot to see it again. The film is classic Japanese animation, probably a lot rougher around the edges than Disney, with dubbed voices that are stiff but still quite likeable. And that's about as much as I remember about it from 32 years ago, other than I would absolutely love for my five-year-old son to see it when he turns six or seven. That gives me a little while to track it down, and any help would be appreciated. Another movie that affected me the same way was The Snow Queen (I see it titled as Snezhnaya koroleva on the IMDb site), which had a similar mixture of spine-tingling adventure, great villains and an emotional ending.

I saw this flick when I was quite young ... around 1960 or 61. It made such a lasting impression on me that I would love to have the movie in video. I recall crying after the movie ended, because it was so beautiful. It started me on a lifetime of appreciation of all things magical and mystical. I can't find it anywhere. Is it available? Anywhere?