It was directed by Isao Takahata and features contributions by numerous other anime luminaries, including Yoichi Kotabe character design, animation director , Toyoo Ashida co-character design, animation director , Yoshiyuki Tomino storyboard, screenplay , and Hayao Miyazaki scene design, layout, screenplay.
Heidi is one of several World Masterpiece Theater titles produced around the "classical children's literature period" β , based on classic tales from the Western world. The feature-length movie edit of the TV series, released in March , was engineered completely by Zuiyo, with no additional involvement from Nippon Animation, Takahata or Miyazaki. Heidi short for Adelheid is five years old when her aunt Dete, who has raised Heidi since her parents' death four years earlier, takes Heidi to live with her formidable grandfather on the Swiss Alps.
Dete has found a promising job in Frankfurt , but cannot leave while still Heidi's guardian, nor can she take Heidi with her. Now he lives a solitary life with his dog Josef in a cabin halfway up the mountain. However, Heidi quickly wins her way into his heart with her enthusiasm and intelligence, firmly establishing herself in his life. She spends her summer days on the mountain top with the goatherd Peter, whose responsibility it is to take the villagers' goats to the high mountains for pasture, and her winters occasionally visiting Peter's grandmother, a blind old woman whose dream is to one day hear her cherished book of psalms read to her.
Alm-Onji's misanthropy and seclusion prevents Heidi from going to school, of which she has no experience anyway, ultimately leaving her illiterate. Heidi continues to live happily in the mountains until Aunt Dete returns from the city, excited about a good opportunity for Heidi. A wealthy German businessman, Mr. Sesemann, is searching for a companion for his crippled daughter Clara. Thwarted by Alm-Onji, Dete tricks Heidi into accompanying her, ostensibly to get a present for Peter and her grandfather.
Promised that she can return at any time, Heidi is taken to Frankfurt. There, Dete abandons her to the "care" of Miss Rottenmeier, the strict, no-nonsense governess in charge of Clara's welfare. Heidi and Clara quickly become friends, and Heidi quickly turns the household topsy-turvy with her escapades and well-meaning faux pas. Clara is enchanted by Heidi's stories of the Alps, which paint a picture of a life completely different from the sheltered and lonely one she is accustomed to.
