One of the most surprising turn of events in the 20th century has to be the quick adoption by my generation of Japanese pop culture. With memories of WWII still fresh in the American mind, there was no doubting the impact of Japan - the former enemy that turned into an awesome friend.

And friendship is the theme of a Japanese film I saw once as part of, "The CBS Children's Film Festival", in 1968. The movie was dubbed, "Skinny and Fatty", and broadcast with English voice-overs. 

As a 10 year old, I had never seen anything quite like this. How does that old saying go?: "a friend is somebody who sees through you, and still enjoys the show". Believe me, I am not alone as this film short (43 minutes), may have influenced an entire generation and set the stage for "Japan Inc" as a pop cultural dynamo in the last half of the 20th century.