Saturday Morning Cartoons--Kumo to chûrippu, or The Spider and the Tulip

I found this rather fascinating piece of Japanese wartime animation, titled Kumo to chûrippu, or The Spider and the Tulip. Written and directed by Kenzô Masaoka, the story is about an innocent ladybug who is seduced by the charms of a black spider, swaying in his webbed hammock. When the ladybug sees the shadow of the spider, she is frightened, and seeks refuge inside of a motherly tulip. The spider spin a web around the tulip, trapping the ladybug. Before the spider can take possession of the ladybug, a great storm appears, sweeping the spider away into a watery grave. As the storm dissipates, the ladybug is freed from the tulip by a small fly, and life becomes peaceful again in the small meadow as we see the remains of the spider's web glistening with rain droplets in the sun. The Spider and the Tulip was released in Japan on April 15, 1943, just after the Guadalcanal Campaign during the Second World War.

This animation is especially fascinating since there are many contradictions within both the story and the artwork. While the cartoon was released at a time in the Second World War when both Japan and the United States were fighting each other, The Spider and the Tulip is not really a true propaganda piece, in terms of the style that you can see with the American animation studios. If there is any propaganda, it is very subtle, to where the spider may represent "Western values" attempting to corrupt the virgin, young, Japanese ladybug. Could the tulip represent traditional Japanese values, which protects the ladybug? The storm could have two different meanings--the first being the clouds of the war forming, while the second meaning could be the divine wind which saved Japan from the Mongol invasions of 1274 and 1281. Then there is the spider himself, a black spider with the characteristic animated features of an African-American that are especially found in American animation during the 1930s and 40s. The depiction of African-Americans in American film and animation were especially racist. I'm not sure if the Japanese film-makers were depicting the spider representing the United States as an African-American, or if they were simply copying the style of American animation at that time. But it is an interesting detail to note, and it has caused a number of comments within the YouTube video. Getting away from the propaganda aspects, this animated film has some hauntingly beautiful music and animated style. The animation of the storm clouds forming, and the wind blowing against the trees and plants could have come out of any Disney studio. If you look closely at the ladybug's face, you can see the early animation influences of the round eyes and the small mouths that are common in today's Japanese cartoons. Even the style of the spider's over-sized mouth can still be seen in today's Japanese cartoons. It is just a fascinating piece of film to watch. From YouTube: