DEFA-Studio für Trickfilme

A joint production by animators of the USSR and the GDR based on children's drawings from the time of the Revolution and drawings by children of the 1970s.

One morning, a tailor was sitting at the window sewing. A shopkeeper came by and loudly offered plum jam for sale. The little tailor spent his last penny to treat himself. But the sweet smell of plum jam attracted a lot of flies, and when the tailor struck, seven fell by the wayside. This deed seemed so remarkable to the little tailor that he made himself a belt on which it was written that he had killed seven in one go.

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.

In ancient times, an old sorceress lived in a mysterious castle who turned any girl who approached a man into a bird. One day, Jorine falls under the spell, is turned into a nightingale and locked in a cage. Her friend Joringel dreams that he can free her with the help of a miracle flower. After much trouble and danger, he finds the flower and frees Jorine and the other enchanted girls.

A tailor drives his three sons out of the house because he believes they have maliciously starved his beloved goat. The sons prove themselves abroad and return home with special gifts. Two of the brothers are cheated out of their wages on the way. The youngest brother exposes and punishes the thief, and everyone can enjoy the miraculous gifts.

The devil's grandmother sends her grandson to visit the Punch and Judy family. The devil hypocritically promises to behave in an exemplary manner, but does the opposite. He secretly eats the pudding, smashes the bowl, lies through his teeth and flees when he is caught by the policeman. Punch and the policeman pursue him and catch him with great difficulty. The adventure ends with a clear defeat for the devil and the devil's grandmother's anger at her clumsy grandson, who has once again been caught out.

A poor woodcutter lived in the forest with his daughters Katrin and Else. Else was quarrelsome and lazy, Katrin was hard-working and good to people and animals. That is why the bear, the hare, the squirrel and the raven wanted to lead her to the forest house so that she could rescue the prince, who had been enchanted into an ancient man. Unfortunately, through unfortunate circumstances, the quarrelsome Else ended up in the forest house. Because she was lazy and unkind to the man and his animals, she was unable to redeem him and was punished. Only when the animals managed to escort Katrin into the forest house could everything be brought to a good end.

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.

This short, animated piece of agitprop fiercely expresses the hopes of the Chilean people.

Puppet animated film based on a fairytale by the Brothers Grimm.

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 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.

A long time ago, there lived a tailor in Selva who was highly regarded for his good work. However, he was a crook who often cheated his customers. This is what happened to Hans, a carver, whose wedding suit turned out to be too small because the mayor's son was dressed in the fabric he had taken. Then Rübezahl intervened. The magic power of the mountain spirit caused all the cloth, which the tailor had wrongly acquired, to dissolve into nothing. Some people, including dignitaries, stood there in their underwear and the tailor felt the wrath of those who had been cheated. Hans received a new suit and shoes from Rübezahl and was now able to marry his Marie.

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.

The film tells the well-known fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm, in which the little girl Little Red Riding Hood is led astray by the wolf, devoured along with her grandmother and saved by the huntsman.

When the old miller dies, he leaves the mill to the eldest son, the donkey to the second eldest and a tomcat to the youngest. The tomcat wants to repay his master's friendship and help him. He has his boots made, gains access to the royal castle and catches the partridges the king wants. He impersonates the miller's boy Hans as "Count of the Mill", tricks him into wearing elegant clothes and brings him together with the king and the princess. He succeeds in overcoming the evil sorcerer and winning a magnificent castle for Hans. Hans finally becomes king and his cat first minister.

The count, an evil robber baron, appropriates the last of his peasants' cows. Till Eulenspiegel hires himself out as a tower blower to the wild journeyman and causes the count and his cronies to blindly leave the castle by raising a false alarm.

A fisherman once caught a talking golden fish. He gave him his freedom and was allowed to make a wish in return. He asked for a boat, but this was not enough for his wife, who demanded a house. Driven by his wife's greed, the fisherman demanded more and more until he had lost all the wealth he had gained.

Animated short film based on Andersen's tale.

The invention of the chariot seems too daring for the Neanderthal experts. In collective consultation, they decide to reinvent the dugout canoe that has been known for ages. For this reason, the Neanderthals had to hump their way through life for quite a while.