3000 Leagues in Search of Mother
3000 Leagues in Search of Mother, Marco, de los Apeninos a los Andes, Marco, 尋母三千里, Marco
3000 Leagues in Search of Mother (母をたずねて三千里 Haha o Tazunete Sanzenri) is an anime series directed by Isao Takahata and aired in 1976. It is loosely based on a small part of the novel Heart (Cuore) by Edmondo De Amicis, i.e. the monthly tale (racconto mensile) From the Apennines to the Andes (Dagli Appennini alle Ande), widely expanded into a 52-episode epic.
The plot of the series focuses on Marco, a young boy who lives with his family in the harbor city of Genoa, Italy during a depression period in 1881. Marco's father, Pietro Rossi, is a doctor that dedicates his time to treating poor patients, and therefore the family has financial difficulties. His beloved mother, Anna Rossi, goes to Argentina to work as a maid to earn money for Marco. When the letters from his mother stop coming after an indication that she is sick, Marco fears the worst for his mother's fate, and since his father is too busy working in his clinic and his older brother Tonio was sent off to train as a locomotive driver in Milano, he is the only one free enough to go search for her.
(Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia, s.v. "3000 Leagues in Search of Mother")
