Unsere Märchenfilme

Twelve-year-old boy Jacob helped his mother sell vegetables on the market. Once he made fun of the appearance of an old woman who was buying greens. For this, the old witch turned Jacob into an ugly dwarf.

When the Fairy of Industry is not invited to the birth of the princess, she sees that the child pricks her finger on a spindle and falls in a cursed sleep. For 100 years she has to wait for a prince to awaken her again.

Life changes dramatically for a Czech housemaid when the family coachman gives her three magical hazelnuts.

The ancient war between humans and a race of giants is reignited when Jack, a young farmhand fighting for a kingdom and the love of a princess, opens a gateway between the two worlds.

Peter Munk, a poor charcoal burner, lives with his mother in The Black Forest. Poverty prevents him from marrying Lisbeth, the girl he loves. When he comes across the Little Glass Man, the good spirit of the forest, the young man asks him for assistance. His wish is granted and he becomes rich. But the fool soon loses all his money after gambling at the inn. In desperation, he asks Dutch Michael, the evil spirit of the forest, to help him to become rich again. The mean giant agrees and gives Peter all the riches in the world, but on one condition: the young man will exchange his heart for a cold stone. He can now marry Lisbeth but can a heart of ice make you and the others happy...?

Tale of the capricious princess. Adapting the Tales of the Brothers Grimm "King Thrushbeard".

An adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale "The Snow Queen".

Hated by her jealous and bloodthirsty stepmother, Snow White flees a murder attempt and seeks shelter in the woods with seven kindly dwarfs. Feeling she is safe from harm, Snow White welcomes the disguised queen into her home...with fatal consequences.

A beautiful young woman takes her father's place as the prisoner of a mysterious beast, who wishes to marry her.

In a twist to the fairy tale, the Huntsman ordered to take Snow White into the woods to be killed winds up becoming her protector and mentor in a quest to vanquish the Evil Queen.

An evil queen steals control of a kingdom and an exiled princess enlists the help of seven resourceful rebels to win back her birthright.

Screen version of the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm "The Brave Little Tailor"

An old soldier helps a young boy find his mother, who's been kidnapped to the magical underwater kingdom in a remote Russian lake.

The caliph of Baghdad must go into hiding with a group of traveling performers when his brother usurps the throne. Both brothers desire a beautiful dancing girl, who is torn between power and true love.

An old man living in an oriental city tells the story of his life to a group of kids: He too was once a young boy by the name of Little Muck - much like them, but with better manners and a heap of problems. Having lost his father at early age, little Muck is expelled from home by his greedy relatives. He wanders off into the desert hoping to find the merchant who sells good fortune. Amidst the dunes of sand he comes across a small house owned by a wicked woman and her many cats. She wants to make Little Muck her servant, but he manages to escape by stealing a pair of magic shoes which enable him to run faster than any man in the country. From there he heads right into the next set of challenges... Based on a fairy tale by Wilhelm Hauff.

Once upon a time, there lived a lazy miller who spent all his time drinking wine and telling stories. When the king's treasurer comes to him with a demand to pay the tax, the miller lies that his daughter Marie can spin gold from straw.

There lived a soldier. He served the king and is now returning home. Once he met an old witch on the way, who promised him mountains of money in exchange for the fact that he would get her an old tinderbox.

Hans Röckle, a cheerful, skillful puppeteer and inventor, returns to his native village after a long wandering. One day, the Devil comes to his house to get the soul and talent of the master.

Brother/sister duo Hansel and Gretel are professional witch-hunters who help innocent villagers. One day they stumble upon a case that could hold the key to their past.

Once upon a time there was a widow who had two daughters: one was her own, the other was a stepdaughter. The eldest relative was ugly and lazy, and the youngest was beautiful and hardworking.

A poor girl was given an impossible task by her stepmother: to gather snowdrops in a winter forest. Suddenly she stumbled across twelve brothers who happened to be the twelve months.

Once upon a time there was a little girl named Rotkaeppchen. She lived with her father and mother at the edge of a village, and often visited her grandmother on the other side of the woods. Her rabbit friend, Haeschen, lives with Grandmother and was sent one day to fetch medicine and milk from Rotaeppchen and her mother. Although her mother was reluctant to allow her to visit Grandmother alone, Rotkaeppchen convinces her that she will be safe with Haeschen. Together they set out through the woods. Unfortunately, there were many distractions in the woods: mushrooms to pick and Rotkaeppchen's other playmate, the bear. There are also the dangerous fox and wolf, who plotted to capture Rotkaeppchen and eat her. Haeschen did his best to keep them safe, but he could not prevent the wolf from eating Grandmother . . . and also Rotkaeppchen! Who will save them? The DEFA version of Rotkaeppchen differs from the Grimms' version in some minor areas: the mother plays a greater role in the film; DEFA has the father save the day, rather than the huntsman; the wolf does not die at the end, though he is carried away by the family; the second encounter with the wolf at the end of the original tale is left out; and a few animal characters are added (Haeschen, Baer, and das Eichhoernchen). All the animals (other than the Eichhoernchen) are played by people in animal costumes, and Jochen Bley as Haeschen was the big hit with critics and viewers alike. Both warmly and critically received by the press upon its release, Rotkaeppchen followed closely on the heels of the very successful Schneewittchen; hence, in some cases, the disappointment. Many reviews cited Goetz Friedrich's background in theater (both in positive and negative interpretations) to explain the spare, two-dimensional feel of the set. Yet nearly all commented positively on the color and interesting characters, and the Progress press materials summed up the morals for the viewers to learn: "Do what you are told, but act independently when it is necessary; never leave the path, especially the path that your friends have marked with love and experience; be brave, fight against evil, help your friends." Since its release, Rotkaeppchen has become one of the most popular DEFA fairy tale films.