The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1980 TV series)
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is a Japanese anime series, directed by Hiroshi Saitô which was broadcast in 1980. It is based on the well-known and popular 1876 novel The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain.
The series was broadcast on the World Masterpiece Theater, an animation staple on Fuji TV, that each year showcased an animated version of a classical book or story of Western literature, and was originally titled Tom Sawyer no Bōken. It was the second installment of the series, after Rascal the Raccoon in 1977, to feature the work of an American author.
This series was dubbed into English by Saban International and broadcast on HBO in 1988 under the title The Adventures of Tom Sawyer at 7:30 am. It alternated with the later World Masterpiece Theater version of Little Women. Celebrity Home Entertainment released videos in the United States under the title All New Adventures of Tom Sawyer.
A different English dub of the series has been shown in Southeast Asia. In 1997, 2008, 2010 and 2014, it was shown on ABS-CBN. In 2015 and 2016, a digitally remastered version was shown on the ABS-CBN Digital TV subchannel Yey! in the Philippines.
In January 2011, the anime was shown in the United States in the original Japanese on the NHK's cable channel TV Japan.
Characters
Sawyers
- Tom Sawyer: Masako Nozawa in Japanese, Barbara Goodson in English dub.
- Sid Sawyer: Sumiko Shirakawa in Japanese, Brianne Siddall in English dub.
- Aunt Polly: Haru Endo
- Mary Sawyer: Kaoru Ozawa in Japanese, Melora Harte in English dub.
Phelpses
- Sally Phelps: Natsuko Kawaji
- Silas Phelps: Minoru Yada
- Penny Phelps: Yoshiko Matsuo
- Oscar Phelps: Kaneto Shiozawa in Japanese, Michael McConnohie in English dub.
Finns
- Huckleberry Finn: Kazuyo Aoki in Japanese, Wanda Nowicki in English dub
- Pap Finn: Toshiya Ueda
Thatchers
- Becky Thatcher: Keiko Han
- Judge Edward Thatcher: Ichiro Murakoshi
- Margaret & Jeff Thatcher: Yumi Nakatani
Others
- Jim: Ikuo Nishikawa
- Amy Lawrence: Kaoru Kurosu, Sanae Takagi
- Ben Rogers: Mie Azuma, Atsuko Mine
- Alfred Temple: Masako Sugaya
- Billy Fisher: Naoki Tatsuta, Ikuo Nishikawa
- Muff Potter: Eken Mine in Japanese, Robert V. Barron in English dub.
- Dr. Robinson: Jun Hazumi
- Injun Joe: Eiji Kanie and Kenji Utsumi in Japanese, Tom Wyner in English dub.
- Mr. Dobbins: Ichirō Nagai
- Joe Harper: Kazuhiko Inoue
- Sheriff Collins: Taimei Suzuki
- Widow Douglas: Keiko Kuge, Barbara Goodson in English dub.
- Dr. Michael Mitchell: Tadao Futami in Japanese, Michael Forest in English dub.
- Dr. Helmen: Mike Reynolds in English dub.
- Lisette
- Prosecutor: Richard Epcar in English dub.
- Peter
- Caesar
Episode list
| # | Title |
| 1 | The Small World of Tom Sawyer |
| 2 | A Fun Punishment |
| 3 | Love At First Sight |
| 4 | The Magic spell |
| 5 | Becky |
| 6 | Huck's House |
| 7 | The Rival |
| 8 | Panic at Board |
| 9 | Aunt Polly is Sick |
| 10 | Injun Joe |
| 11 | The Treasure |
| 12 | The Professor |
| 13 | The Pirates |
| 14 | Pirates Don't Go To School |
| 15 | Poor Aunt Polly |
| 16 | The Funeral |
| 17 | Back to School |
| 18 | Reconciliation |
| 19 | The Frog Race |
| 20 | The Secret of Mr. Dobbins |
| 21 | The Summer Holidays |
| 22 | The Charlatan |
| 23 | Fishing party |
| 24 | Huck Wears a Tie |
| 25 | A Stubborn Boy |
| 26 | Lisette |
| 27 | The Rising of the Curtain |
| 28 | Help Lisette! |
| 29 | Goodbye Lisette |
| 30 | Huck's Father |
| 31 | The Candlestick |
| 32 | Gold in Petersburg |
| 33 | Escape to Freedom |
| 34 | The man who came from the sky |
| 35 | Tom wants to fly |
| 36 | Fixing the balloon |
| 37 | Goodbye Arthur |
| 38 | The Accident |
| 39 | A Question of Confidence |
| 40 | The Trial |
| 41 | Where is Injun Joe? |
| 42 | A Pleasant Journey |
| 43 | The White Horse |
| 44 | The Capture |
| 45 | Freedom |
| 46 | The Haunted House |
| 47 | The Cave |
| 48 | The Death of Injun Joe |
| 49 | The Sad Ending |
Reception
- Awarded Best Film Award for TV by the Children's Cultural Affairs Agency, Government of Japan