Horus: Prince of the Sun

Horus, a boy living with his ailing father in the wilds of an Iron Age Scandinavia, pulls a rusted blade from the shoulder of a stone giant and learns it is the legendary Sword of the Sun. After his father's death, he sets out to find the people of his ancestors and reaches a small fishing village, where he meets Hilda, a girl as gifted as she is troubled. The village soon draws the attention of Grunwald, an ice demon determined to rule the region, and Horus takes it upon himself to defend the inhabitants.

The film was directed by Isao Takahata from a screenplay by Kazuo Fukazawa, with animation work overseen by Hayao Miyazaki, and was made at Toei Animation. It was Takahata's first time in the director's chair, standing at the head of a run that later includes Grave of the Fireflies, Only Yesterday and The Tale of The Princess Kaguya. The voice cast features Hisako Ôkata as Horus, Etsuko Ichihara as Hilda, Eijirō Tōno as Ganko, Mikijiro Hira as Grunwald and Tadashi Yokouchi as Paul and the rock giant Moog.

An 82-minute adventure spanning animation, drama and fantasy, the film has drawn modest ratings from viewers: 6.6 out of 10 on IMDb and 6.4 out of 10 on TMDB, from around 2,700 and 111 votes respectively. The comparatively small TMDB total alongside the larger IMDb count suggests a title whose reputation rests more on its place in Japanese animation history than on broad contemporary viewership.