Ali Baba's Cinema

Zwei Bayern im Harem

September 1957 •German

Jonathan, a well-fed ship's cook, and his friend Michael go ashore in an oriental port city after a long sea voyage. They cannot resist the lure of an enticing drug den, where they are mercilessly plied with drink and robbed. They find refuge with the wealthy passenger Hieronymus Walden, who is staying at a luxury hotel. However, the two Bavarians must agree to rescue his granddaughter Kathi, who has disappeared into an oriental harem.

Absurdistan

January 2008 •German

An allegorical comedy centered on two childhood sweethearts who seem destined for one another until the women of their isolated village, angered by male indifference toward the water shortage, go on a sex strike that threatens the young couple's first night of love.

Happiness Comes at Nine o'Clock

July 1961 •

One day, Happiness and Sorrow come to town. Happiness leaves her magical cloak in the local inn, saying that it fulfills every wish to those who wear it. However, Sorrow knows that Happiness doesn't come alone, but brings worries with herself, too. The magical cloak changes its owner and fulfills the most unusual wishes of timid professor of violin, old night guard, naive student and blonde girl. When all their wishes are fulfilled, they find out that they did not achieve happiness.

Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium

November 2007 •English

Molly Mahoney is the awkward and insecure manager of Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium—the strangest, most fantastic and most wonderful toy store in the world. After Mr. Magorium bequeaths the store to her, a dark and ominous change begins to take over the once-remarkable Emporium.

Monólogos de un hombre incierto

April 2010 •Spanish

Life Is Beautiful

December 1997 •Italian

A touching story of an Italian book seller of Jewish ancestry who lives in his own little fairy tale. His creative and happy life would come to an abrupt halt when his entire family is deported to a concentration camp during World War II. While locked up he tries to convince his son that the whole thing is just a game.

Heavenly Creatures

September 1994 •English

Precocious teenager Juliet moves to New Zealand with her family and soon befriends the quiet, brooding Pauline through their shared love of fantasy and literature. This friendship gradually develops into an intense and obsessive bond.

Willow

May 1988 •English

The evil Queen Bavmorda hunts the newborn princess Elora Danan, a child prophesied to bring about her downfall. When the royal infant is found by Willow, a timid farmer and aspiring sorcerer, he's entrusted with delivering her from evil.

Finding Neverland

October 2004 •English

During a writing slump, playwright J.M. Barrie meets a widow and her four children, all young boys—who soon become an important part of Barrie’s life and the inspiration that lead him to create his masterpiece. Peter Pan.

Downtown

August 1999 •English

Downtown is an animated series on MTV on urban life, based on interviews with real people. The show follows a diverse and multiracial cast who live in New York City, and presents their everyday lives through quirky, humorous, and imaginative perspectives from the characters. It was created by Chris Prynoski, a former animator on Beavis and Butt-Head and produced by David McGrath. In 2000, Downtown was nominated for an Emmy in the category of outstanding animated program. Downtown faced a similar fate to many of MTV's other cartoons - it only lasted one season. The use of an original score rather than licensed music makes a sanctioned DVD release unlikely. Some of the show's staff have gone on to work on the action animated series Megas XLR, which uses the same quirky humor found in Downtown as well as the character Goat, reprised by Scott Rienecker.

The Snow Queen

November 1967 •Russian

The film tells a story about the extraordinary journey of the modest little girl Gerda. She is looking for her friend Kai, who was kidnapped and taken to her kingdom by the powerful evil Snow Queen. In search of her beloved friend, Gerda ends up in the castle to the cunning, insidious and at the same time funny king, meets forest robbers. On the way, the girl will have many obstacles before the decisive battle with the Snow Queen. But Gerda’s faithful heart will overcome all adversity...

MirrorMask

January 2005 •English

In a fantasy world of opposing kingdoms, a 15-year old girl must find the fabled MirrorMask in order to save the kingdom and get home.

Island of Lost Souls

February 2007 •Danish

14-year-old Lulu moves to a small provincial town with her mother and younger brother. One night, her brother is struck by a beam of white light - actually the spirit of Herman Hartmann from the 19th-century. To her despair, Lulu realizes that Herman has possessed her brother, and the two of them are whirled into a fevered adventure.

Avalon

September 1989 •English

The adventure begins when Owen, a travelling swordsman, rescues a woman from some Druids. He offers to help track down her lover who has been enslaved by the evil Morgana. They set off on their quest, accompanied by Keiran, a cowardly thief.

Alice in Wonderland

March 2010 •English

Alice, now 19 years old, returns to the whimsical world she first entered as a child and embarks on a journey to discover her true destiny.

Try Seventeen

September 2002 •English

Teenager Jones has opted not to go to college and is instead renting a room in a boarding house to work on his writing skills. Soon, Jones finds himself dividing his time between two women: a young actress named Lisa and a photographer named Jane. After Jane's ex-boyfriend arrives to help her recover from a car accident, Jones begins to understand just how much he cares for her.

Holy Smoke

September 1999 •English

While on a journey of discovery in exotic India, beautiful young Ruth Barron falls under the influence of a charismatic religious guru. Her desperate parents then hire PJ Waters, a macho cult de-programmer who confronts Ruth in a remote desert hideaway. But PJ quickly learns that he's met his match in the sexy, intelligent and iron-willed Ruth.

Love Thing

May 2012 •English

Love Thing captures the emerging multicultural spirit and personal freedom of the late 1970s with an outrageous attitude and experimental style. A work in progress now finally completed it's the last American musical comedy from that era which can be viewed today as a prophetic satire. Through its provocative, entertaining storyline highlighted by song and dance, the movie answers the burning question of our time, "What happens after the marriage?

Back to Gaya

March 2004 •German

The beautiful world of Gaya is home to two similar humanoid species: Zeldons who are the furry majority residents, and Snurks, who are goblin-like outcasts. But suddenly all Gayans are facing imminent danger when a magic stone which protects their world, "the Dalamite", is beamed away by a mysterious force. Three Snurks immediately go after it, hoping to be the heroes for once. They are shortly followed by some standout Zeldons: Zino the trouble-prone popular guy & his sidekick, clever but somewhat cowardly inventor Boo, as well as rebel princess Alanta. Their journey ends up leading them all on a dangerous interdimensional quest to find the stone, while they must also figure out a way to get back to Gaya.

Dahufa

July 2017 •Chinese

A warrior named Dahufa goes to save his prince from a dystopian village. He finds the dystopian village ruled by a fake god and his guards. In order to save the prince, Dahufa has to defeat the god and his men, and disclose the whole conspiracy.