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One of the most amazing, timeless puppet shows ever produced.
If you grew up in (then-West) Germany during the late 70's / early 80's, there was no way you could get missed seeing the puppet show Märchen der Welt", (Fairy Tales from around the world), on television. Many viewers have later claimed that the spooky puppets and often dark story lines left them traumatized and susceptible to reoccurring nightmares – others say, it left them with very fond childhood memories and a live-long love for obscure fairy tales. I'm among the latter. The show had some very distinct qualities and a style that I've rarely seen employed on other (TV)-puppet shows.
The show opens with a simple yet haunting guitar-melody and a picture of hand painted stones, resembling faces that lie in a riverbed. Again, if you ask people who had seen the show in their childhood, many will tell you that the image, reminding them of drowned children, gave them steady nightmares.
While the first few episodes dealt with more commonly known tales by the Brothers Grimm, Andersen or Hauff, most of the later episode became more 'exotic', featuring indigenous tales and legends from around the world, including Native American-, Japanese-, Bohemian-, Russian- or South Pacific fairy tales. Although most European versions of "Cinderella" and "Snow White" had always been grimmer than the Disney production in the States, many of the stories here are darker, spookier, and even more violent than contemporary versions of classic fairy tales.
The show was produced by Sofianos family, a clan of Greek puppeteers who approach the concept with a passion, love and seriousness that can be felt throughout the 114 episodes. This isn't your typical flat, two-dimensional puppet stage; the camera moves among the hand painted puppets and sets as if it was filming people, giving the individual stories something plastic, almost three-dimensional. To my knowledge, no other puppet show has ever been produced in the same way with the same quality, although I doubt that most children stations these days would dare to bring re-runs of "Märchen der Welt".
The puppets design, especially the features are rather rough, never cute or endearing, and again it's understandable that many kids were frightened by them. Perhaps I can best describe the appearance by comparing it to the creepy clown from "Poltergeist", which likewise left many kid-viewers peeking under their beds before going to sleep. Rounding off the experience is the music (performed by Phaidon Sofianos), relying only on a few simple but haunting guitar chords that fit the pace and scene perfectly and tends creep up in the viewers mind, even years after having last heard it.
A treat and perhaps a revelation for viewers who're interested in both the art of puppetry and rare fairy-tales and if you were watching the show as a kid, well, there's a good chance you'll enjoy it as much today, as you did back then.
The show opens with a simple yet haunting guitar-melody and a picture of hand painted stones, resembling faces that lie in a riverbed. Again, if you ask people who had seen the show in their childhood, many will tell you that the image, reminding them of drowned children, gave them steady nightmares.
While the first few episodes dealt with more commonly known tales by the Brothers Grimm, Andersen or Hauff, most of the later episode became more 'exotic', featuring indigenous tales and legends from around the world, including Native American-, Japanese-, Bohemian-, Russian- or South Pacific fairy tales. Although most European versions of "Cinderella" and "Snow White" had always been grimmer than the Disney production in the States, many of the stories here are darker, spookier, and even more violent than contemporary versions of classic fairy tales.
The show was produced by Sofianos family, a clan of Greek puppeteers who approach the concept with a passion, love and seriousness that can be felt throughout the 114 episodes. This isn't your typical flat, two-dimensional puppet stage; the camera moves among the hand painted puppets and sets as if it was filming people, giving the individual stories something plastic, almost three-dimensional. To my knowledge, no other puppet show has ever been produced in the same way with the same quality, although I doubt that most children stations these days would dare to bring re-runs of "Märchen der Welt".
The puppets design, especially the features are rather rough, never cute or endearing, and again it's understandable that many kids were frightened by them. Perhaps I can best describe the appearance by comparing it to the creepy clown from "Poltergeist", which likewise left many kid-viewers peeking under their beds before going to sleep. Rounding off the experience is the music (performed by Phaidon Sofianos), relying only on a few simple but haunting guitar chords that fit the pace and scene perfectly and tends creep up in the viewers mind, even years after having last heard it.
A treat and perhaps a revelation for viewers who're interested in both the art of puppetry and rare fairy-tales and if you were watching the show as a kid, well, there's a good chance you'll enjoy it as much today, as you did back then.
helpful•30
- t_atzmueller
- Oct 4, 2011
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- Runtime30 minutes
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What is the English language plot outline for Märchen der Welt - Puppenspiel der kleinen Bühne (1981)?
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