LAUSANNE, Switzerland - A Japanese television animation series about a Swiss girl living in the Alps has become an unlikely part of Switzerland's own cultural memory, with a retrospective exhibition on director Isao Takahata drawing visitors eager to revisit his carefully crafted vision of the country.
The exhibition at Lausanne's Mudac museum, which showcases Takahata's career, features a wide range of sketches, animation cels, photographs and other production materials. But at its center is "Heidi, Girl of the Alps," the 1974 anime series based on Swiss author Johanna Spyri's 19th-century children's novel.
The series, directed by Takahata, became known for its detailed depiction of Alpine landscapes and rural life. Although produced in Japan, it has resonated deeply with audiences in the country that inspired it.
During a visit in June, the exhibition hall was crowded with visitors, including groups of children on school trips.
Takahata and his production team travelled to Switzerland, including Maienfeld, the setting of the original story, to study local landscapes and ways of life before creating the series.
Such research was unusual at the time, and the team documented details of rural life that were incorporated into the animation.
"It is very interesting for us to understand how someone outside Europe, outside Switzerland, represents our country," said Marco Costantini, director of the Museum of Contemporary Design and Applied Arts, called Mudac.
"Usually a museum says, 'Let's see what they made in Japan or the U.S.' But here it is the opposite -- how a Japanese artist sees Switzerland."
The series was not broadcast by Swiss television stations, according to Mudac. However, many Swiss viewers encountered Heidi through broadcasts from neighboring countries such as France and Germany. Some viewers were unaware that the beloved animation had been produced in Japan.
"It was really cool to see how they recreated Swiss landscapes," said Marc Lukyantsev, a graphic designer in his mid-20s from Montreux who visited the exhibition. "It really looked like Switzerland from a Swiss point of view. It feels genuinely Swiss."
Although Takahata did not draw the images himself, he played a central role in shaping the creative direction of his films. Swiss newspaper Le Temps described him as a "total artist" who was able to convey a clear vision to his production teams.
For Costantini, Takahata's attention to reality was central to the series' appeal.
"The specificity of Takahata is his connection to reality, not just total invention," he said. "He documented a lot to create his films. It was not just invention -- there was a lot of work in reconstruction and documentation."
"He was like an ethnologist or an anthropologist," Costantini added.
Costantini said Takahata's depiction of Switzerland resonated because it reflected an image of the country that many Swiss people already recognized -- a vision shaped by mountains, valleys and traditional rural life.
"It is a representation of the idea of Switzerland," he said.
The exhibition, which runs from April 24 to Sept. 27, also explores Takahata's broader contribution to animation, including his efforts to expand the medium beyond children's entertainment.
"Animation used to be considered something only for children," Costantini said. "But Takahata changed people's minds. His works were made for children, but also for adults."
Takahata's films often explored themes such as peace, the environment and human relationships, helping broaden perceptions of what animation could express.
Takahata, who cofounded the acclaimed animation production company Studio Ghibli in 1985, along with others including anime filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki, died in 2018 at the age of 82.
Nearly five decades after Heidi first aired, the series remains a Japanese interpretation of Switzerland that many Swiss viewers recognize as their own.
