not as good as all the hype

Excellent characters with emotional depth. My wife, daughter and granddaughter all enjoyed it...and me, too! Very good movie! You won't be disappointed.

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

This was perhaps the most sophisticated animated feature ever made up to that time, in 1968. It is much more serious and dramatic than any Disney film ever made and shows that animation is equally valid as live action for serious cinema (in fact, maybe even superior, given its exaggerated expressiveness and impressionistic potential). Note: this is not a film for very young children as it deals with very serious matters despite being an animated film made in the 1960's with talking animals.Highly recommended and I think this is a must see film for those that wish to be film buffs.

excerpt, more at my location - Developed and created in 1968, Isao Takahata's first feature-length outing fuses Japanese and Norse philosophies and mythologies into the charmingly grown-up children's tale that is The Little Norse Prince. While the impact of The Little Norse Prince resonates even in today's modern anime, as an individual film, it is a triumphant hallmark of sublime animation and an adult story with genuine heart, warmth, danger and menace that the talking squirrels of Disney's preceding '60s sword film (The Sword In The Stone) could only dream of achieving. The originality that The Little Norse Prince exudes is nothing short of impressive, as his anti-aging formula transports us back in time to makes us feel young and vulnerable. While it may not be the greatest anime of all time, it is nothing short of being the most important.

Isao Takahata director of the animated Grave of Fireflies and founder of Studio Ghibli first feature film is set nominally in a Norse country, but it sure seems like old Russia to me. Hols, a young boy/man/teenagerish kid lives with his father on the edge of an ocean. Not long after he removes a thorn, actually the sword of the sun, from a giant rock man, Hols father dies. He tells his son the story of how a devil named Grunwald had spread evil in their old village and had caused things to fall apart. Hols father wanting to keep his then infant safe fled into the wilderness. As a dying wish Hols father urges him to go back and find his people. Traveling with Coro his friend who is a bear he sets out to find his people. In the process he meets Grunwald who wants Hols to join him and Hilda, a girl with a lovely singing voice and a dark secret.Moving like the wind this is an 80 minute movie that has enough plot for at least another hour. This isn't a bad thing since the film keeps moving at all times. Its a beautiful film, filled with an endless series of set pieces. Actually I don't think there is a bad sequence in the entire film. To be honest the film's script is a real mess. Its doesn't move at time so much as lurches from thing to thing. The dialog is also often stilted, which I'm guessing is the result of too faithful a translation from the Japanese (there are times when you really need to reword things. And no this is not a bootleg or a print from Asia, its the official UK release DVD).Messy script or no I think this is a masterpiece. This is a great grand adventure that hooks you and drags you along for 80 minutes. As I said the set pieces are spectacular and the sense of magic is wonderful. We have a hero is truly heroic and some characters who are very close to being real. The design of the film has echoes of later anime projects, not just Ghibli which helps give it a nice feel of familiarity when its not being wholly original. Strangely the film feels very much like the Russian fantasy films of directors like Aleksandr Ptushko. Its suppose to be set in a Norse country but the design of the costumes is very Russian.I really liked this a great deal. to be certain its flawed, deeply, but there is something about the central story thread that allows the film to survive as something wonderful. I recommend it.

Before My Neighbors the Yamadas, before Pom Poko, before Only Yesterday, and before Grave of the Fireflies. There was Little Prince Horus(USA Title). This was the first Movie Isao Takahata directed.He and legendary Anime maker Hayao Miyazaki and some other animators who were still in their early years in animation industries made this film possible.It's nothing like Isao Takahata's other works. This one is about an Alternate Viking/Scandinavian Time Period about a boy named Horus who receives a sword from some Earth God, and is sent on a quest to defeat an Ice Demon(who's pretty cool looking) meets a group of village locals and a mysterious Girl who has the key to restoring peace to the land.It took 3 years for this film to be made. Animation is well done even if this was made 38 years ago. Back when Anime was still primitive. It's interesting to watch. Too bad it didn't do well when it was in Japanese Theatures. But what's cool about it is it became known as the earliest forms of modern anime.In other words it's anime that doesn't have to be made for kids to watch.I'm not sure when it'll get licensed to get it's own English Debut. But worth seeing for those who are interested in Animes that broke the rules. I'd recommend this film for Ages 12 and up contains cartoon violence and a split second of nudity.