
A Dog of Flanders - tosh
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Dog_of_Flanders
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andybak
I'd be interested in similar examples of works that took root far from their
originating culture.

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mar77i
Heidi, the classic tale of the Swiss girl living in the mountains. The story
is very popular in Asia and there was a kids' cartoon adaptation in 1974 by a
Japanese animation studio. I thought the 2015 3d series also involved Japanese
animators, though it turns out that one was produced in and for European TV.

[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070968/](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070968/)
[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4346362/](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4346362/)

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smacktoward
_Heidi_ also became infamous here in the US in 1968, when a TV broadcast
version of it pre-empted the end of a close football game, which went down in
history as "the _Heidi_ game." The furor that resulted led to changes in the
way the TV networks managed their operations. The full story is at
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heidi_Game](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heidi_Game).

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saghm
My favorite part about this story is that they would have actually let the
football game keep running if so many people hadn't been calling in about it:

> NBC executives had originally ordered that Heidi begin at 7:00 p.m. EST, but
> then decided to allow the game to air to its conclusion. However,
> communicating this revised plan to the technicians running NBC's master
> control proved impossible – as 7 p.m. approached, NBC's switchboards were
> jammed by viewers phoning to inquire about the night's schedule, preventing
> the planned change from being communicated.

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azurezyq
Watched the adapted anime piece in China on TV when I was a kid. Deeply moved
and I even used a cassette recorder to record the finale music from the
speaker.

I would say it may not be a complex story but the feeling just conveyed really
well.

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api
Seems like a 19th century case of Death by Newbury Medal. For those who don't
know this refers to YA books that win said award. If you see a dog on the
cover that dog is going down.

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stevula
[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/DeathByNewberyMe...](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/DeathByNewberyMedal)

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crmrc114
1\. Mother Dies Early on

2\. Cute dog

3\. Sad ending

Sounds like a winning Disney film. Curious why we have not seen this yet.
Technically they own this fox work now right?
[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0052745/](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0052745/)

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jandrese
Yes, all of those Disney films with a sad ending like...um...

You know if Disney did this the kid and his dog would be adopted by loving
parents in the end.

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RcouF1uZ4gsC
The biggest example I can think of where Disney gave happy ending to a
traditionally sad story is The Little Mermaid. I believe in the fairy tale,
she fails in her quest and ends up a foam on the sea, whereas the Disney
version has a much happier ending.

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markdown
Interesting. What happens to Sabastian in the fairy tale?

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jandrese
There's a music number about being made into soup and then he's made into
soup.

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greggman3
Antwerp is a great place to visit for a day or 2. The train station is
arguably one of the most beautiful in Europe and the main walking street right
next to it is a great day trip of a walk all the way down and around to the
main cathedral.

you're also less than an hour from Bruges and Brussels as 2 of many other
places to visit in the area.

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Joeri
Yes, definitely come visit. When you do make it to the cathedral, in front of
it you can find nello and patrasche: [https://antwerpexplorer.com/wp-
content/uploads/2017/01/Nello...](https://antwerpexplorer.com/wp-
content/uploads/2017/01/Nello-5-7.jpg)

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elliottcarlson
This really shows how long it has been since I've been back home, to Antwerp
-- this wasn't there when I was there last. Time to make that trip.

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sharkmerry
Im curious why such a sad book caught on as a "children's classic". Does
anyone know the story behind how?

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yvdriess
My personal theory is that much of asia did (or does) not have the disney-
style cultural directive that children stories have to end happily. Old
european children stories pre-Grimm definitely did not have that either.

A well done sad moment probably has a lot more emotional impact than a
saccharine ending. I certainly remember Bambi's mother death scene or Alfred's
parents death, while the happy endings are lost to the fog of childhood
memories.

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MisterTea
> A well done sad moment probably has a lot more emotional impact than a
> saccharine ending. I certainly remember Bambi's mother death scene or
> Alfred's parents death, while the happy endings are lost to the fog of
> childhood memories.

Of all the things I remember from childhood the weird or scary stuff sticks in
my mind like a knife. I believe thats is critical to inspiring creative people
later in life with vivid memories of the scary or strange. A lot of those
weird and scary memories have shaped the way I think and look at life. The
sanitizing of stories leaves little to remember and likely to be forgotten
after the next sugary schlockfest has been consumed.

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yvdriess
Before I forget: Henson's Labyrinth and The dark crystal are good examples.
Especially with the latter inspiring a new generating to produce a modern
version for TV.

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Synaesthesia
Watched this on tv in South Africa as a child. (late 80's) It was an Asian
kids anime series dubbed in Afrikaans. Very sad!

Edit found the title song. “Niklaas”
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YjarYm1lVRE](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YjarYm1lVRE)

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notkaiho
Interestingly enough, in the Antwerp Museum aan de Stroom they illustrate a
part of the 19th century Antwerp exhibit with a loop of a scene from the 1975
anime.

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Supermancho
What a terrible little story. Would never show that to my kids.

The cartoon would still not be as sad as Plague Dogs though.

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muricula
It's a whole genre with classics more popular in the US like Old Yeller and
Where the Red Fern Grows. Invariably the dog dies tragically, but I guess the
boy does too in this one.

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esaym
Interesting. So which TV adaptation is the one worth watching?

