A vain emperor is constantly preoccupied with his appearance. Three swindlers promise to make him extraordinary clothes that can only be seen by people who are honest and clever. The emperor provides the three fashion designers with expensive material and expects to make a grand entrance in his new costumes.
The Mapuche tribe asks their Gods for help in difficult situations, including illness and drought. When the Spanish conquerers on their horses invade their country, the indigenous people think that they are aliens. The Spaniards capture and enslave many of the Mapuche tribe. Lautaro, a young captured native, realizes that these aliens are human beings without any divine power. He learns to use their weapons and organizes a resistance movement against the intruders.
After a long wait, a king and queen have a daughter. As there are not enough golden plates, only twelve wise women can be invited to the christening. The thirteenth is so offended by this that she appears uninvited and wishes the child dead. Fortunately, the twelfth fairy has not yet made her wish and is able to alleviate the curse: Sleeping Beauty then stabs herself with a spindle on her fifteenth birthday and falls into a hundred-year sleep, from which a king's son releases her with a kiss.
The journeyman tailor Kasper has a hard time. His mistress is constantly keeping him busy with chores. When the brownies show up in town and take over all the craftsmen's work, Kasper can no longer get any sewing done. That's fine with the master. He now often meets up with his colleagues to sing a quartet, but Kasper finally becomes the master's pet. When this nosy and bossy person ambushes the brownies with peas, the good Kasper tries to protect the little gnomes from harm. He is unsuccessful, and the brownies leave the town for good, badly demolished. Now they have to do the work themselves again. The masters are very sad, but the choir singing helps them get over the worst. Kasper is happy, he can pick up the needle again and become a capable journeyman tailor.
Two sisters enter the fairy tale realm of Frau Holle and must prove their diligence and helpfulness. The good and hardworking girl receives a golden dress. The lazy sister is given a dress made of pitch for her bad services. The pitch will only come off her when she has overcome her laziness.
A man waits at the side of the motorway with a tow rope, waiting for a car to tow him. Many, many cars go by without stopping until the driver of a small dilapidated car takes pity on him. The rope is attached. The other end of the rope leads to a pot-hole in the road. Lurking insides the pot-hole is a surprise.
Olli, the main character in the movie, got a very bad grade and is terribly annoyed. She runs away from home and, together with a dog and a horse, finds a (mad? nutty?) scientist in a windmill. They experience the strangest adventures in this windmill and find other interesting characters, a lot of excitement and peril. While you may well interpret something as the "socialist value system" into this movie, it is more meant to be a children's movie, showing the kids that there are more exciting things out there than the ones that your parents and teachers show you, and that you will only find out most of those things on your own, if you show enough curiosity.
The very first images in the film set unprecedented standards in East German animated film: a Buñuelean eye that fills the entire screen, real-life sequences of fleeing animals and a sound collage running contrary to what is seen on the screen. This also extends to the protagonist of the film, a head on a foot without a body or arms who pads wearily through the depressing surroundings. Upon seeing various figures in the sky, he begins to copy their movements. To his surprise, he himself manages to grow wings and takes to the skies. But his attempt at flight ends in a sobering manner however, as it is revealed that flying creatures are just restricted in their range.
East German animation movie about an overweight pasha.
Kafka watches a waitress nibbling from a little pot that she has to serve to somebody. Kafka is outraged and complains about it. The girl gets sentenced to stoning and he complains again and regrets what he has done befoe. When he is not able to stop people throwing stones at her, he committs suicide. However, people help the girl to get up and she continues her usual work.
The wire men Kurz (Short) and Lang (Long) want to race each other. They choose a tree on the horizon as their destination. While Kurz prepares for the race, Lang measures the course. Unnoticed, he draws a moat across the track. The start takes place. Initially, Kurz and Lang are tied, but Lang jumps over at the ditch and Kurz remains sadly on the sidelines. The beaming winner is Lang. Kurz calls on the unfair Lang to run a second race.
The little witch is not interested in the basics of magic. She does not want to study at all! But everything changes when she meets the handsome Prince and falls in love with him. She helps the Prince with her magical powers, protecting him from dangerous obstacles and marriage to a woman he does not love.
Beppo Bastelmann and his dog Bolli Spürnase track down Wattfraß. He is hiding in a kitchen where numerous electrical appliances are switched on. When Beppo and Bolli find him here, the electricity devil flees on the streetcar and escapes into the room of a thoughtless employee who has surrounded himself with numerous heaters and lamps. Wattfraß feels at home here and sings his little song of joy. But Beppo and Bolli track him down and don't let him escape again.
A grandfather builds a giant kite with his grandson, but first time they try to fly it, they are pulled up into the sky! Grandma is worried that the pair will catch a cold during their flight and insists on sending warm winter clothes up to them. Chimney sweeps, crane operators, police officers and fire fighters come to help her, and by the time Grandpa and his grandson land at the airport, they are greeted with enthusiasm by a crowd.
Faustus wants to invent a fire that is stronger than all previous flames. Then death approaches him. In order to prolong his life, he makes a pact with Mephistopheles. When he has found the fire, he burns the contract and is ready to die. Death shows him life in the form of Margaret, with whom Faust falls in love. In order to regain his youth, he sells the flame to Mephisto. Faust enjoys the idyll of love while the Black Knight, Mephisto's servant, subdues the land with fire. When Faust refuses to enter the service of evil, his wife, child and home are destroyed by the flame. Faust makes another pact with Mephisto and invents a fire that blows up knights and devils. This time, Death orders him to discover the fire of life.
During a football match, three mice kick a few stones that hit a sleeping lion on the head. Then the ball lands in front of him and a mouse rolls after it. The little mouse, trembling, asks the lion for his ball and gets away scot-free. A little later, the mice hear a loud roar from the nearby forest. They run after the noise and discover the lion in a trap. Together they free him with a trick and ride off on his back.
When Luitpold Leuwenhaupt sees a faboulous goose in the local pet shop, he can't resist buying it for christmas. But the three kids become friends with the goose, calling her 'Auguste'. So, is there any way left for Luitpold to make a fine christmas feast out of Auguste?
Puppet animated film based on a fairytale by the Brothers Grimm.
The film shows a humorous take on moments from the life of Karl Marx over the course of a quarter century.
Animated short film based on the Andersen tale. A king envies his son for the carefree way he spends his days and wants to find him a wife. She must not only be beautiful, but also particularly sensitive, which she must prove with the pea test in bed. The first, a hard-working peasant girl, is sent home immediately, the second leaves of her own accord because she finds the prince too boring, the third passes the test and marries the prince. Now he becomes king, and the old man retires to feed swans from now on.
