Tarō-san no Kisha (Taro's Toy Train)

Murata worked mostly with cut-outs rather than cels, and this short shows how far the technique could go: the train, the passengers and the scenery all move with real weight.

Our copy came from a 16mm reduction print that was telecined for a school library in the 1980s. There is visible flicker in the first minute, which we left alone rather than filter away.

The transfer runs longer than the figure usually quoted for the film because the reduction print carries a long music-only tail after the last scene. We kept it.