Japan Synopsis
白蛇伝
“The adventures of a cute little panda, a dragon god and an evil serpent.”
As a young boy, Xu-Xian is forced to free his pet, a small snake. Unbeknownst to him, the snake is actually a young snake goddess named Bai-Niang and she is in love with him. Many years later, when they are both adults, the princess is magically transformed into a human and sets out to find her love. But the local wizard believes her to be a vampire, and banishes Xu-Xian from the village in order to save him. Xu-Xian's pet pandas Panda and Mimi set out to save him and bring him, in the process becoming leaders of an animal gang.
The 1957–1959 Japan Window
32 Japan films released in this three-year window, ranked here by audience rating. The Tale of the White Serpent sits at position #23.
#1The Human Condition II: Road to Eternity
★ 8.2 · 1959
#2The Hidden Fortress
★ 8.0 · 1958
#3The Human Condition I: No Greater Love
★ 8.0 · 1959
#4Throne of Blood
★ 7.9 · 1957
#5Hiroshima Mon Amour
★ 7.8 · 1959
#6Good Morning
★ 7.7 · 1959
#7Fires on the Plain
★ 7.6 · 1959
#8The Ballad of Narayama
★ 7.5 · 1958
Other Titles From Toei Animation
The 1950s Japan Landscape
Catalog density by release year in the 1950s. Highlighted year (yellow) is when The Tale of the White Serpent premiered. 76 total titles in this decade from Japan.
Reception Benchmarks
Ranked #3,469 of 4,579 Japan films indexed here (24th percentile by TMDB audience score).
Rating is -0.6 points below the Japan average of 6.9/10.
Among Japan Animation productions specifically: #2,131 of 2,532 (top 84%).
Production Details
| Primary Country | Japan |
|---|---|
| Original Language | Japanese |
| Production Companies | Toei Animation |
| Runtime | 1h 19m |
| Release Date | September 3, 1958 |
| IMDb | tt0051694 |
| Official Site | lineup.toei-anim.co.jp |