Mushi Production (虫プロダクション, Mushi Purodakushon, "Bug Production") or Mushi Pro[a] for short, is a Japanese animation studio headquartered in Fujimidai, Nerima, Tokyo, Japan.[1] It previously had a headquarters elsewhere in Nerima.
In addition to doing their anime productions, Mushi was best known for its overseas work on five traditionally animated TV projects from Arthur Rankin, Jr. and Jules Bass' Videocraft International (now Rankin/Bass Productions) in New York, New York, including the Christmas special Frosty the Snowman, with the production artwork being done by Paul Coker, Jr., along with the animation supervision by Yusaku "Steve" Nakagawa.
Morisawa argues that Tezuka "proposed an unrealistically suppressed production budget... in an attempt to outbid his competitors", a budget that contributed to the Studio's (and industry at the time) low profitability.[2] Mushi, plagued by financial difficulties, declared bankruptcy in 1973 and its assets were divided.[2] Tezuka had already left the company by then, having stepped down as acting director in 1968 and formed a new animation studio, Tezuka Productions (which made such works as Marvelous Melmo and Unico). The company was later reestablished on November 26, 1977, and has continued to operate as "legacy company".
Productions
Original (1962-1973)
(based on the works of Osamu Tezuka)
Films
Tales of a Street Corner (November 5, 1962) - experimental film
Male (November 5, 1962) - experimental film
Memory (September 21, 1964) - experimental film
Mermaid (September 21, 1964) - experimental film
Mighty Atom, the Brave in Space (July 26, 1964)
Cigarettes and Ashes (October 1, 1965) - experimental film
Moomin (October 5, 1969 – December 27, 1970; produced the anime from episode 27 to the final episode, the production from episode 1 to episode 26 was from Tokyo Movie Shinsha)
Ashita no Joe (April 1, 1970 – September 29, 1971; original; second series was created by Tokyo Movie Shinsha)
The Mad, Mad, Mad Comedians (April 7, 1970; American production by Rankin/Bass Productions with animation by Mushi Production)
The Reluctant Dragon and Mr. Toad Show (September 12, 1970 – December 26, 1970; American production by Rankin/Bass Productions with animation by Mushi Production)
Mad Mad Mad Monsters (September 23, 1972; American production by Rankin/Bass Productions with animation by Mushi Production)
Festival of Family Classics (January 1, 1972 – November 26, 1973; American production by Rankin/Bass Productions with animation by Mushi Production and Topcraft; 17 episodes)[3]
See also
Tama Production, an animation studio founded in 1965 by former Mushi Production animator Eiji Tanaka, but gone bankrupt in 2011
Tezuka Productions, an animation studio founded in 1968 as a spun-off division by Tezuka
Group TAC, an animation studio founded by former Mushi Productions employees, including sound effects director Atsumi Tashiro, and animators Susumu Akitagawa and Gisaburo Sugii, went bankrupt in 2010
^Home. Mushi Production. Retrieved on March 15, 2012. "〒177-0034 東京都練馬区 富士見台2-30-5"
^ abcMorisawa, T. (19 August 2014). "Managing the unmanageable: Emotional labour and creative hierarchy in the Japanese animation industry". Ethnography. 16 (2): 262–284. doi:10.1177/1466138114547624. S2CID147049529.
