DEFA Märchen

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...?

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.

According to a legend from the Harz region, sometime in the Middle Ages the brutal, greedy owner of the windmill farm set fire to a forest mill together with the castle bailiff and the village schoolmaster. Disguised as devils, they had set to work on a stormy night and stolen even the last flour from the forest mill. From then on, the farmers are forced to have the grain ground by the evil millman, especially since he spreads the rumor that the forest mill is bewitched. Anne, who works on his farm, discovers the stolen sacks and thus gets on the trail of the crime.

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

A brave prince wants to win the heart of a stubborn princess by finding the singing, ringing tree for her.

Hassan lives somewhere in Central Asia in a sparse and dry landscape. While most people in this area have hardly enough water to survive, the rich merchant Machmud is the owner of a grand fountain. When one day Hassan's companion, a parrot, sits down upon the brink of the fountain it is attacked by the merchant's watchdog. In order to save the parrot, Hassan sees no other possibility than to kill the dog. As a punishment, Hassan has to replace the watchdog and sit on the estate tied to a leash. A little while later a horse is stolen. From now on, Hassan has to take over the watchdog's responsibilities as well. Only Fatima, a beautiful slave, brings light and hope in his life. Nevertheless, Hassan endures his punishment because he thinks of it as God-given. When he finally realizes that not God but in fact the rich people make the rules, he starts to rebel. He opens the gates to Machmud's gardens and lets all people drink from the large fountain.

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.

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.

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.

Based on a Mongolian folktale, this film features the colorful traditions and magical landscape of that part of the world.

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.

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.

In one fairy-tale kingdom, the princess stopped laughing. No one knows the cause of this sudden illness. The worried king promises half the kingdom and a daughter in marriage to the one who will make the princess at least smile.

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

A lovely, humorous live-action rendition of the classic children's story by Carlo Collodi about the adventures of a wooden boy carved from a magical piece of wood by a puppetmaker.

A peasant daughter solves three tasks of the king and frees her father from prison. The heart of the king of the kingdom was won over by the girl's mind and kindness, and he married her.

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.

The King of Malabunt has won another war, after decorating himself and his three wooden marshals, he dismisses his army with a low wages. One of his soldiers protest this and is thrown into jail, but he swears to someday return and take all the wealth of the king. In prison he meets a Strong man, who is afraid of his own strength because he can't control it. He sneezes and the Soldier is send flying through the wall into a tree. On their way through the world they meet a girl who wants to join them, but the Soldier dismisses her for being to short. They meet a thief, which is always hungry and can outrun a horse, a Feedler who plays wonderful music, a Hunter which can shoot berries out of their hands, but is strict and tidy. While the girl gets into a bag and is picked up to join their adventure. Together they take on the kingdom. In competitions against the Princess, Runner, after lazing around, beats her in a race. As price soldier gets the princesses hand. But she doesn't want to marry him, and tries to kill him multiple times, but doesn't succeed because of his wits and the help of his friends. After surviving their last trap, the king bribes them with gold, as much as Strong can carry. And so Soldier made his promise come true, to take all the riches away from the king.

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

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.

Farmer Has is drawn into war as a soldier. Returning from the front, having been defrauded of his pay by his own king, he makes his way home. On his trip, he encounters a witch who asks him to fetch the light from a spring. He keeps it when the witch tries to deceive him and he discovers her foul magic. When the light is ignited, a little man appears who must serve the owner of the light, but it only has power if the owner has faith in himself. His courage bolstered, Hans goes to the king once more to demand his wages be paid. He is refused again, so he kidnaps the king's daughter, who is now forced to lead Hans' household. The king's bounty hunter captures him and has already erected the gallows when an accidental gunshot delivered by an unsuspecting robber saves Hans' life.

Adaptation of Grimm's fairy tale "Der Teufel mit den drei goldenen Haaren"

Screen version of the fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm about two sisters - Schneeweißchen and Rosenrot, who with their love saved Princes Michael and Andreas from the evil spells of the Mountain Spirit