Haha wo Tazunete Sanzen Ri (3000 Leagues in Search of Mother: From the Appenines to the Andes, 3000 Miles in Search of Mother, Marco, Marco of the Prairies) 1976, 52 episodes, Japanese animation by World Masterpiece Theatre, Directed by Isao Takahata, Scene Design and Scene Organization by Hayao Miyazaki.

The series is said to be based on a single chapter from a short story, Cuore: an Italian schoolboy's journal, a book for boys, by Edmondo de Amicis, a fictional diary of a boys third year in a Turin Minicipal school. The series describes the experiences of Marco Rossi, a boy growing up in Genoa during the depression. The drive towards industrialization has put many people out of work and they are heading across the Atlantic in ever increasing numbers to find work in Argentina.

Marco's father, Pietro Rossi, runs a clinic for the poor of Genoa, and this, together with the already deep depression, place the family's financial situation on an unstable footing. Marco's mother, Anna Rossi, decides to travel to Argentina to work as a nurse so she can send back money to help the family. This is a very traumatic experience for Marco, who can't be more than about eight or nine years old.

During Anna's absence Marco begins suffering from a series of nightmares in which she has had a terrible accident or is dying. His anxieties only increase when strange rumours of a war in Argentina are heard, and the letters from his mother abruptly cease. The family financial situation deteriorates even further, and the Rossis vacate their squalid apartment for an even more squalid one across the street. Marco decides to journey to Argentina to find his mother and bring her back.

The series explores Marco's misfortunes in Argentina as he strives to find his mother. No less important are his struggles to actually get to Argentina, with fully 15 episodes devoted to this difficult task. Sometimes brutal, often intensly somber (it has been called one of the most depressing anime series ever made), the series probes the intricacies of the life of a poor boy struggling to survive and complete his quest. While many of those around him try to help him as much as they can, the poor financial climate makes it all but impossible.

A side plot, no less important, is Marco's relationship with the mysterious Fiurina, one of three girls in the travelling Pepino puppet circus. Fiurina is constantly belittled and dragged from place to place by her father who fantasizes about striking it rich in the next town. The Pepinos are first introduced in Italy, but their father's incessant quest draws them to Argentina where their characters are somewhat expanded upon.

The series is unique in it's use of long scenes of Marco at work. He cannot survive (let alone go anywhere) without money, which people he meets are none too happy to give him. The series is said to draw inspiration from Vittorio De Sica's film The Bicycle Thief (1948), which features long scenes of a character at work.

Much of this information from Ben Ettinger's superb website at http://www.tky.hut.fi/~otakut/anime/1976.html

Trivia:

- Information on the web (accuracy unknown) is that there is a famous novel in Japan called Haha o Tazunete San-zen Ri about a boy who travels 3000 leagues in search of his mother.

- Israel is the only country in the world that still screens Marco (called Halev - The Heart, in Israel), dubbed in Hebrew. The series is phenomenally popular in this country, exceeding any other anime including Pokemon.

- Israeli TV has been screening Marco for more than 15 years - every single year.

- Marco is so popular in Israel that the anthem of the submarine fleet is it's beginning song. Just about every Israeli under 30 years of age has heard of Marco and knows the beginning song by heart - try asking one. Despite this startling fact there are virtually no Israelis who know what the series is about aside from that Marco is searching for his mother - the series is so depressing that it inflicts a terrible emotional strain on the viewer and only the most stalwart can stay until the very end.

- A 2001 commercial for using the phone more by Bezeq (the Israel national phone company) uses Marco, who dials his mother from a payphone with a Bezeq calling card - and they are reunited. There are almost no examples of Miyazaki anime being used this way outside of Japan.

- UPDATE 16/March/2002 - I've just found a remix of the Marco beginning song in Hebrew! Not only is this absolutely unheard of for such old anime outside of Japan, but it once again attests to this anime's deep-seated connection with the Israeli psyche. The first minute of the remix is extremely boring bass beats, after which two more minutes are devoted to a slightly "modernized" version of the beginning. The name given for this remix is "The Heart of Marco" - a pun on the Hebrew name for the series, Halev.

- The theme song in Japanese is sung by Oosugi Kumiko, and in Hebrew by Ilanit.

- Marco was banned in Argentina (the country where most of the action takes place) after being deemed too extreme.

- Marco was released on LD by Bandai Visual in 1997 on a one year limited release.

- Marco was made into a film, Gekijou hen Haha wo Tazunete Sanzenri, which is a shortened rearrangement of the episodes. This film was released by Pony Canyon.

- Marco was released on DVD by Pony Canyon in 1999. All releases were pure Japanese, and up to this point cover all episodes up until 16 - four episodes to a DVD.

- Marco bears great similarities to Porco Rosso. Not only do both characters come from Genoa in Italy, but Fiurina is the name of Porco's plane engine!

- Marco first screened on Israeli television on the Hatelevizia Hahinuhit Hayisreelit, then the only channel. Later on it moved over to Arutz Shesh, also known as Arutz Hayeladim (Children's Television). In 2001 it returned to Televizia Hinuhit, and is being screened as part of the Hannuka broadcasts.

- Marco's brother Emilio Rossi lends Marco his white monkey to take with him on his travels. In the Hebrew dub the monkey is called Kofifo - a play on the Hebrew word for monkey, kof. The monkey is the only character whose name changes according to what language dub you are watching.

- The Hebrew beginning songs lyrics are:

Kmo hayam, kmo lev hayam, libo shel Marco soer bo.
Hu yored lachof, yored lachof, mabit lamerchak.
Ki imo shelo sham bamerchakim, vehalev - hu rotze el ima.

Gam balev, kmo bayam, searot yesh vegam sodot.
Mi yagid lo? Mi yeda...hasod shebalev?

Hal'a - el hamerchak! Ima - sham bemerkchak!
Od metzapa lo derech aruka, el hamakom bo ima mechaka.
Me'ever har vayam, halev moshech lesham. Rotze lauf el ima! Lamerchak!

Translated this is:

Like the sea, as in the heart of the sea, Marco's heart is stormy within him.
He goes down to the beach, goes down to the beach - looks out into the distance.
Because his mother is out there in the distance, and his heart - he yearns for his mother.

As in the heart, so in the sea, there are storms and secrets too.
Who will tell him? Who will know...the secret that is in his heart?

Onwards - into the distance! Mother - is there in the distance!
He still has a long way to go, (to get) to the place where mother is waiting.
Beyond mountain and sea, his heart is drawing him there. He wants to fly to mother! To the distance!

The ending in Hebrew has music and no words. From transliterating the Japanese subtitling that accompanies the ending I've managed to work out that the ending's name is something like "Flying on a Cloud" and, appropriately, talks about Marco flying across the sea to his mother on a cloud.