Katri, Girl of the Meadow owes its origin to Heidi (Girl of the Alps), an 1974 production directed by one of the greatest anime directors, Isao Takahata (and many episodes written and designed by Hayao Miyazaki).
Katri is directed by Hiroshi Saito, who went on to direct other wonderful World Masterpiece Theater series, such as Lucy of the Southern Rainbows, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, and The Story of Perrine.
While technically superior in almost every level, with more beautiful artwork that can rival most anime motion pictures released at the time and superb soundtrack featuring works of Jean Sibelius, its screenplay is not quite as expansive and endearing as Heidi. Nevertheless, Katri has a plenty to offer.
The series is set in 1912, in a southern village of Finland. 1912 is near the tail end of Russian Empire occupation. In about 6 years, Finland will seek its independence. Katri is a 6 year old girl, who after the death of her father, lived with her grandparents while her mother worked in another village. This time around, her mother will be working in Germany for 3 years.
With deteriorating health of her grandfather and costly misfortune, Katri works as a cow herder at a nearby Raikola farm. 2 years pass by and World War I begins. A year later, her mother is unable to return as promised and not even a single letter gets through.
At its core, Katri is about independence, paralleled by its precocious and persevering leading character and the country itself. While Finland's struggle for independence is sprinkled only sporadically, it permeates to every leading characters.
The series at times is repetitious (which is somewhat understandable given its 49 episodes) but never boring and there are plenty of surprises and growth. Its deliberate pace enables deeper exploration of each character while letting us savor the daily lives of Finnish people. If I were to criticize, it's 1-dimensional portray of Katri herself. She is often just too perfect and too resilient for a 9-year old girl.
A special nod to Aapeli, a dachshund puppy that almost any kids watching the series will want.
The series is broken down into 4 parts spanning 6 years.
Katri living with her grandparents (6 to 9).
Katri working at Raikola farm (9 to 10).
Katri working at Kuusela farm (10 to 11).
Katri working for Lotta at Turku (11 to 12).
I enjoyed two middle parts the most, which is the heart of the series. I found the final part is borderline grating (grandma and Klaus are really annoying and repetitive), saved only by my desire to see the final payoff. The final episode is both heartwarming and a bit of a letdown at the same time.
Review by nutmacBlockedParent2017-04-18T22:52:08Z— updated 2017-10-10T16:33:29Z
Katri, Girl of the Meadow owes its origin to Heidi (Girl of the Alps), an 1974 production directed by one of the greatest anime directors, Isao Takahata (and many episodes written and designed by Hayao Miyazaki).
Katri is directed by Hiroshi Saito, who went on to direct other wonderful World Masterpiece Theater series, such as Lucy of the Southern Rainbows, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, and The Story of Perrine.
While technically superior in almost every level, with more beautiful artwork that can rival most anime motion pictures released at the time and superb soundtrack featuring works of Jean Sibelius, its screenplay is not quite as expansive and endearing as Heidi. Nevertheless, Katri has a plenty to offer.
The series is set in 1912, in a southern village of Finland. 1912 is near the tail end of Russian Empire occupation. In about 6 years, Finland will seek its independence. Katri is a 6 year old girl, who after the death of her father, lived with her grandparents while her mother worked in another village. This time around, her mother will be working in Germany for 3 years.
With deteriorating health of her grandfather and costly misfortune, Katri works as a cow herder at a nearby Raikola farm. 2 years pass by and World War I begins. A year later, her mother is unable to return as promised and not even a single letter gets through.
At its core, Katri is about independence, paralleled by its precocious and persevering leading character and the country itself. While Finland's struggle for independence is sprinkled only sporadically, it permeates to every leading characters.
The series at times is repetitious (which is somewhat understandable given its 49 episodes) but never boring and there are plenty of surprises and growth. Its deliberate pace enables deeper exploration of each character while letting us savor the daily lives of Finnish people. If I were to criticize, it's 1-dimensional portray of Katri herself. She is often just too perfect and too resilient for a 9-year old girl.
A special nod to Aapeli, a dachshund puppy that almost any kids watching the series will want.
The series is broken down into 4 parts spanning 6 years.
I enjoyed two middle parts the most, which is the heart of the series. I found the final part is borderline grating (grandma and Klaus are really annoying and repetitive), saved only by my desire to see the final payoff. The final episode is both heartwarming and a bit of a letdown at the same time.