Voices of Eva-Maria Werth, Arnold Marquis, Ursula Heyer, and Tilly Lauenstein
Directed by Rolf Kauka
Music by Peter Thomas; Lyrics by Roberto deLeonardis
I had to do a little research on this one. Apparently, Rolf Kauka was a fairly well-known cartoonist in Germany during the mid-20th century. His Fix & Foxi comic strip was so popular, by the 1950's, he had his own publishing house. This would be his only venture into feature films. Is this combination of one of the best-known Grimm's Fairy Tales in the world and one that's less popular outside of Germany as much fun as those comics characters, or should they be dropped down a well? Let's begin with the narrator introducing sweet Maria (Werth), her rich drunkard father Mr. Bottle (Marquis), and Maria's little dog Bello, and find out...
The Story: Their lives are changed when a gypsy posing as a fortune teller (Lauenstein) manages to con Bottle into marrying her. She and her spoiled and haughty daughter Mary Lou (Heyer) take over his home, buying themselves rich clothes and jewlery and forcing Maria to do all the work. Mary Lou's so obnoxious, she even steals the horse from what she thinks is a hunter (Uwe Paulson) and throws the garnet necklace he gave Maria into the well.
Mary Lou is shocked when it turns out the horse and the necklace actually belong to a prince. She and her mother promise a shoe maker who has his eye on her (Wolfgang Spier) Mary Lou will marry him if he makes her a garnet necklace. It doesn't pass muster with the Prince, which forces her to go after the real one. Maria and Bello come along, too. They learn that Mother Holle (Tina Eliers), who makes the snow fall with the help of her children, has the necklace. Mother Holle says she'll give the necklace to whichever girl is worthy...and when Maria easily agrees to help Holle and the beings in her world with their work, while Mary Lou complains and demands the necklace, it becomes very obvious which one deserves the Prince's heart.
The Animation: I can definitely see this coming from a comic book artist. The first half in the regular world isn't really anything special. It looks rather like a Hanna Barbara TV show or movie from this era, with its wide-eyed, slender young women and Prince, grotesque stepmother and Mr. Bottle, and warm Mother Holle. Once the movie drops down that well, we swap out Hanna Barbara for Yellow Submarine. Everything is eye-popping bright, with its psychedelic train, talking trees laden with apples, and adorable soft curly-haired cows. There's some nice shots when Bello is tied up in the woods and as the snow/feathers fly.
The Song and Dance: I give them credit for trying something a little different. Cinderella's been done many times, but this is the only animated adaptation I've seen of the German fairy tale Mother Holle. When it focuses on the story and the fantasy, it's actually rather charming. The second half in particular is fairly unique and just a lot of fun to watch, due to the trippier animation and strange characters, like that talking tree. (I also like that the king thorougly approves of his son marrying a commoner. He wants new blood and to get out of his job and focus on bee keeping quick as possible.)
Favorite Number: "Hallelujah!" is barely a number, just the words repeated over and over as the Stepmother swings Mr. Bottle around after she's conned him into marriage. Mr. Bottle laments all the money he's spending on the screechy Mary Lou and her mother in the shopping montage "Marvelous I Say." The very mid-70's pop ballad "Maria" turns up three times, when the Prince sings it after he and Maria meet, as a duet for Maria and the Prince in her imagination at the well, and later back at the well after she's lost the necklace.
Two jolly little Asian gentlemen "Go Round and Round In Circles" after the sisters arrive in Mother Holle's world. Maria thinks they're adorable. Mary Lou finds them to be an annoying nuisance. ("Round and Round" is also performed by the chorus in the end credits.) Mother Holle's hungry toddlers sing "The Porridge Song" as Maria feeds them, with them singing her praises in the end. The children also sing of "Mother Holle" as they and the girls shake the pillows and make it snow.
Trivia: Originally released in black and white in 1973; the color version debuted in 1975. The English-dubbed version was released in 1976. It's not known whose voices were used in the dub.
What I Don't Like: This is one strange movie. Characters are either bland (Maria and her Prince) or so abrasive, it's hard to watch them (Mary Lou, Mr. Bottle and his wife, the cobbler, Mother Holle's screaming kids). Too much time is spent in the first half with the cobbler and the notary (Harry Wustenhagen) and their antics while trying to make the necklace and get Mary Lou to marry him, and with the boar the hunters chase. It's obvious padding and has little to do with the rest of the film.
The Big Finale: Worth checking out at least once on a rainy day if you love fairy tales like I do or want to try a different take on Cinderella.
Home Media: The DVD is long out of print. Your best bet for this is streaming. Tubi currently has it for free.
No comments:
Post a Comment