Taro the Dragon Boy (1979) on Netflix

NR19791h 15mAdventure Animation Family Fantasy

Taro is lazy and selfish until a Tengu's potion grants him the strength of a hundred men, usable only when he helps others. He goes to find his mother, now a dragon.

Netflix3.8/5
IMDb7.5/10997 votes
Rotten TomatoesNot available

Plot summary

Taro has no direction in his life in the distant past of Japan. He is lazy and selfish, and his days go to eating, sleeping and wrestling with the animals. A Tengu appears and gives him a potion that brings the strength of a hundred men, though it works only when he is helping someone else. Little by little he learns what helping means, first by fighting Akaoni to save Aya, a girl who plays the flute, then by collecting firewood for his village. One night his grandmother tells him how his mother became a dragon. Taro sets off to find her.

Cast

Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Taro the Dragon Boy (1979)

Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.

SPOILER
In China, the film's ending included an uncensored shot of Taro's mother completely nude, the first time the audience there had seen a nude woman in a movie. By the 21st century, Chinese online video platforms censored the scene.
Taro the Dragon Boy was the first animated film imported from Japan to China; it was released there in 1979, when many kindergartens organised outings for children to see it.