Yet more World Masterpiece Theatre! This time from 1976, and based on a small part of Edmondo De Amicis' novel Heart.
3000 Leagues in Search of Mother – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:
During a depression in the year 1881 in Genoa, Italy, Marco's mother goes to Argentina to work as domestic. However, his mother's letters stop coming after an indication that she is sick. 3000 Leagues in Search of Mother details Marco's journey to find his mother.
The show is notable for being directed by Isao Takahata (Grave of The Fireflies, Only Yesterday). Good news is some of it has been fansubbed by Live-eviL. Bad news is there aren't any seeds for it at the moment. Maybe with Yawara licensed, they'll return to the show.