Just over fifty years ago, South Korea released its first feature-length animated film. A Story of Hong Gil Dong (Shin Dong-hun, 1967) is based on a nationally famed hero story, dating back centuries. This cartoon version was specifically adapted from a 1960s comic-strip retelling, written by the director’s brother.
Hong Gil-dong is the illegitimate son of a nobleman who’s cast out of his home and vows to fight injustice. He’s joined by a pint-sized tearaway thief, Chadol Bawi, and together they face evil officials who exploit poor people. The story has obvious parallels to Britain’s Robin Hood legends, but there are also magic monsters, an archetypal sage-teacher, and sly references to Disney animation (watch out for a wonderful mini-parody of the early Disney film, Skeleton Dance, 1929). The film’s design style is close to contemporary Japanese animated features of the 1950s and 1960s, but it also features outrageously wacky cartoon movements and jokes.