Ringing Bell

Ringing Bell (チリンの鈴, Chirin no Suzu; lit. Chirin's Bell) is a 1978 Japanese anime adventure-drama film adaptation of the storybook of the same name written by Takashi Yanase, the creator of Anpanman. It is most notable by fans and critics as a family film which makes a sharp, sudden turn into a dark and violent story that criticizes and reflects upon the theme of revenge and war.

Ringing Bell was produced by Sanrio and originally shown as a double feature alongside the US/Sanrio co-production The Mouse and his Child. It is Sanrio's first anime film to have a dark plot, only two films they co-produced with Sunrise, The Ideon: A Contact and The Ideon: Be Invoked – both of which serve as the conclusion to Yoshiyuki Tomino's Space Runaway Ideon, follow suit. Like the above-mentioned Ideon films, it is among Sanrio's first works to be aimed at young adult audience members in and outside Japan.