Heidi is one of my favorite characters from cartoon movies(the other being “Tom & Jerry”).  I first watched the animation series ” Heidi, Girl fo the Alps” sometime in the year 2000(when it was played in the Cartoon Network in India). The series tells the story of a 5 year old Swiss girl who lives with her grandfather in the Alps after she loses her parents. The storyline, the mountain backdrop and some great work by the director made the series a very endearing one.  One of the things that I came to know after watching Heidi is that the cows in Switzerland have big bells tied around their necks and when they graze, they produce a sound similar to wind chimes. And during one of my recent trips, I experienced this myself.

Two days back,as my friends and I were planning  a weekend trip to Davos( where the annual World Economic Forum meets), I stumbled upon several interesting information related to Heidi.  According to the story, Heidi lived in a village called Maienfeld close to Davos and this is not a fictional place. In fact, the village of Maienfeld is a big tourist destination for families with kids, especially for Japanese tourists. The reason is not difficult to understand. The animation series ” Heidi, Girl of the Alps”  was created in Japan and became a big hit there. Subsequently it’s popularity spread all over the world.(For some reason, it did not become popular in the US).  The story of Heidi proves that there is no language or cultural barrier for a story well told. I am enclosing a video clip fromYoutube which shows the opening of the movie “Heidi” in several languages.

If you have seen Heidi before, this clip would have taken you on a trip down memory lane and if haven’t seen it, I highly recommend watching it.