The endearing Heidi, the Alps girl turns 50 since its premiere in Spain, which took place on May 2, 1975 in TVE1. Although the series was first broadcast in Japan on January 6, 1974, it was in Spain where it reached enormous success and became a television phenomenon that marked a whole generation.
Based on the homonymous novel by Swiss writer Johanna Spyri, the series consists of 52 episodes and was produced by the Zuiyo Eizo studio (currently Nippon Animation). But the true architects of Heidi’s charm were its director, Isao Takahata and Maestro Hayao Miyazaki, who designed the characters. Both created nine years later the famous Studio Ghibli, head of titles such as Chijiro’s trip, my neighbor Totoro, Princess Mononoke, Ambulante Castle and the recent, El Niño and La Garza, among others.
Children’s classic and a cultural phenomenon
In Spain, the series was a resounding success from the first moment, leading the program acceptance index in 1976 and conquering millionaire audiences in a television monopoly. Heidi was initially issued within the children’s program “A globe, two balloons, three balloons” and then went on to have its own space on Saturday afternoon, with millionaire audiences.
In addition, Heidi had a very broad cultural impact, with songs like “Grandpa, tell me” that became hymns of the time. Phrases and characters in the series were integrated into popular speech, and Heidi became a cultural reference for several generations of Spanish children. The different repositions and subsequent launches in DVD, Blu-ray and streaming platforms have kept their legacy in force.
The anime entrance door in Spain
Heidi marked a before and after in the children’s programming of TVE after its premiere in 1975. Until that time, most children’s series in Spain were adventure, science fiction or comedy, usually of American or European origin. The arrival of Heidi, with his dramatic tone and his focus on values such as friendship, solidarity and personal improvement, was an absolute novelty on the children’s grid.
Heidi’s enormous impact opened the door to Japanese animation on Spanish television. Its success facilitated the arrival of other Japanese series such as Marco and the Mayan Bee, consolidating anime as a fundamental part of children’s programming in Spain during the following decades. Japanese producers conquered both children and TVE programmers, changing the trend of content and styles in the children’s strip.
