"Ringing Bell" is a film from the 1970s from Sanrio, a company best known for cute mascots like "Hello Kitty!" It was one of the first films they released, in a bid to mark their place in the entertainment world. Indeed, they had the funding, and likely saw themselves comparable to the likes of Disney: like many early anime from Japan, the characters are quite cheery and cute with their hopeful large eyes, and the animation is smooth and expressive, much more so than the "limited" animation that would make up anime in the decades that followed. Somehow, the effort didn't last more than a decade, and Sanrio would stop making films after 1985 (new films did come in the 2000s). During that short time, the films were a bit daring (the company even experimented with live-action films too) than the safer kid-friendly works Sanrio continued to be known for.What do I mean by "kid-friendly?" Isn't a film about a cute little lamb named Chirin like on the posters? Isn't it a film meant for young children?No.This is precisely why parents should research, and ideally watch, most films before showing them to their young children. At least until the children are old enough that they can make their own decisions about what to watch and take responsibility for any nightmares they later have. I am exaggerating, but "Ringing Bell" has grown to have a bit of a reputation to the well-researched anime fan. Barely long enough to be considered a feature (47 minutes, it originally ran as a double-feature with another film), it still stands as worth watching if you haven't seen it before. That the film had been released with a complete English dub that doesn't ruin the original story not long after its original release, at a time when anime was still a niche market, is even more remarkable. The film starts with cheery visuals of young lamb Chirin running and playing, initially in mid-air with a background of misty mountains and ominous music singing a lullaby about the lamb. Again, the music is sung in English for the dub, quite well and still uneasy to hear. The film proceeds to show Chirin playing on the farm with other lambs, protected by an old fence on the edges of the property. "Do not wonder past the fence" says Chirin's mom. "There is a fierce wolf that eats baby lamb." Chirin agrees to not wonder off, and they return to the barn to sleep with the other lamb. Up to now, it still feels ominous. Why did the film spend so much time on the mother lamb's fear? Why was she so genuinely scared? If Sanrio was intending to compete against Walt Disney Studios, then "Ringing Bell" might be considered Sanrio's "Bambi," in that both feature a cute four-legged baby animal and its journey in growing up, and feature a horrid scene where the baby's mother dies. Sure enough, shortly into the film, Chirin's farm is attacked by a demonic wolf in the night, and in an attempt to safe him, his mother is killed and the wolf slinks back into the mountains. The scene feels even more potent here then even in "Bambi," and ranks to me as one of the saddest scenes in animation. To see Chirin slowly realize his mother's limp body won't wake up again, and to see his expression turn to horrow and intense grief, and to hear his cries while the rest of the herd watches solumnly... it's a powerful moment of despair.
And this is where Japan's attitude creeps into the story. There is a common theme across most anime, such that when characters are faced with extreme sorrow, they don't just accept it as a part of life. They glare under their eyebrows and fight back. Chirin learns how unfair life is, and without a second thought runs out of the farm and up the misty mountains. It becomes a revenge story. However, Chirin quickly realizes when facing the Wolf that he is much too small to do anything. That's when the film really gets interesting... Chirin demands the Wolf take him as an apprentice to learn how to be fearsome. And eventually, the Wolf agrees.At first, the intention is clear. Chirin wants to grow strong, not shivering in fear like the rest of the herd, to be able to face the world and its terrors, to protect himself and those he cares about. But to do so he is asking the devil to make him into a demon. This isn't all too uncommon in anime (see "Afro Samurai" or "Attack on Titan" as more recent examples) where a thirst for change and revenge causes the hero to become what they despise. But to see it so clear as this, for the villain and hero to be working together as a team... this is different. This is a lamb and a wolf, the lamb asking to learn how to attack other lambs and other such animals. And remember, this is a children's film, and was marketed as such! Mercifully, eating animals is not a focus of the story, although this gives an extra dimension some critics pick up on in that the Wolf dosen't attack for food, it just does because it is in his nature. And most violence is off-screen. But as the story evolves (without spoiling anything, it's a modern fairy tale of how "the fierce mountain ramb came to be") and the sad but inevitable ending comes around, it is clear this is NOT a film well-suited for young children. It would scar and traumitize me had I seen it at the age I first saw "Bambi." But these very things are also what make it stand-up so well today, along with the overall quality of the production. Perhaps the animation and character designs is a bit dated, but they manage to exceed the quality of most anime that came in the decades that followed. Perhaps that art is further reduced on the horrid video quality o the American DVD release from 2014, but it might be accepted to further enhance the nostalgia as if watching a well-worn VHS tape. Perhaps the voice-acting is a bit too grating and not unlike acting in most children's films of the era, but it rings true emotionally for the story. Even in its short runtime, the film does not feel particularly rushed.The only reason I hesitate to recommend this wholeheartedly is that, given its grim subject matter and relatively unsatisfying ending, this isn't a particularly fun film to watch. The fun comes into seeing the story twist into something dark and sinister for the first time, and it doesn't have much rewatchability, and could only be recommended to friends with unusual tastes. If this sounds like a movie too good to pass up, then go on. Take the path you can never take back. You have been warned.