Raining Cats and Frogs

A Story of the Forest: Mavka

July 1980 •Ukrainian

Mavka, a water nymph, loves Lukash, a country youth. Their brief happiness ends when Lukash is forced to marry the shrewish Kilina. The Spirit of the Forest turns Lukash into a wolf as punishment for his infidelity. The strength of Mavka's love breaks the spell, but Kilina curses the nymph, transforming her into a weeping willow. This beautiful and tragic story is based on a play written in 1912 by Lesya Ukrainka, a Ukrainian poet, writer and political, civil and female activist, and includes mythological characters taken from Ukrainian folklore.

Reineke Fuchs

January 1989 •German

Persepolis

June 2007 •French

In 1970s Iran, Marjane 'Marji' Satrapi watches events through her young eyes and her idealistic family of a long dream being fulfilled of the hated Shah's defeat in the Iranian Revolution of 1979. However as Marji grows up, she witnesses first hand how the new Iran, now ruled by Islamic fundamentalists, has become a repressive tyranny on its own.

Grandpa Planted a Beet

January 1945 •Czech

The first Czech cartoon based on a fairy-tale about grandpa, grandma, their granddaughter, dog and cat who all wanted to pull a big beet out from the ground. The picture shows children that a big task can only be fulfilled by joint effort.

National Treasure

November 2004 •English

Modern treasure hunters, led by archaeologist Ben Gates, search for a chest of riches rumored to have been stashed away by George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin during the Revolutionary War. The chest's whereabouts may lie in secret clues embedded in the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, and Gates is in a race to find the gold before his enemies do.

The Dog and the Cat

February 1938 •Armenian

This is a story about the origin of hostility between a cat and a dog. Based on the ballad of Hovhannes Tumanyan.

Aunt Hilda!

February 2014 •French

Plant loving Hilda, has created a museum where she preserves endangered and rare plants from all over the world. Meanwhile Attilem, a new genetically modified cereal, is launched on the market. Growing with little water and fertilizer while generating high crop field Attilem looks like an ideal solution to eradicate starvation and provide an alternative to diminishing oil reserves. But nothing is at it seems...

Hercules

February 1958 •Italian

In this melange of characters and events from separate mythological stories, Hercules, demigod and superman, arrives in the ancient Greek kingdom of Iolcus to tutor Iphitus, son of king Pelias; immediately on arrival, he falls in love with the king's delectable, briefly clad daughter Iole. Before he can win her, he must succeed in a series of quests, in the course of which he teams up with Jason, true heir of Iolcus, whom he accompanies on the famous voyage of the Argonauts.

U

October 2006 •French

Since her parents passed away, Princess Mona lives by herself in a castle with two hideous, ghastly characters, Goomi and His Lordship. One day her sobs draw the attention of a unicorn, called U, who wants to comfort and protect Mona for as long as she needs. U becomes Mona's companion, her confidant and her inseparable friend. While Mona grows into a beautiful princess, a group of charming, peaceful and fanciful Yeah-Yeah’s settles in the neighboring forest. They have no particular special powers, yet they soon bring about major changes in everyone's lives, especially in Kulka, the dreamy musician.

Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner

February 2002 •Inuktitut

Based on a local legend and set in an unknown era, it deals with universal themes of love, possessiveness, family, jealousy and power. Beautifully shot, and acted by Inuit people, it portrays a time when people fought duels by taking turns to punch each other until one was unconscious, made love on the way to the caribou hunt, ate walrus meat and lit their igloos with seal-oil lamps.

From Darkness

June 2002 •English

A lonely fisherman drifts into haunted waters in search of food and finds much more than he bargained for. Based on an Inuit folktale.

La Saint-festin

May 2007 •French

Hurrah! Tomorrow is the 40th of November. It's Saint Feast Day, the great celebration of ogres, so hurry up now if you have not caught a child yet. And good hunting!

The Rain

February 1978 •Russian

In one of the Russian cities, where local tailors have long sold their fabrics and clothes from it on the market, there were overseas merchants who arrived on an expensive and beautiful boat. Quite quickly, they settled in the shopping aisles and began to attract customers and lure them with their goods.

Asterix and the Big Fight

October 1989 •French

Due to an unfortunate accident involving Obelix throwing a menhir, Getafix the druid not only loses his memory, but goes completely mad. Now deprived of the wisdom of their beloved druid and the protection provided by his magic potion, the Armorican village falls prey to a proclaimed soothsayer who comes with ominous predictions and overweening ambitions. It's up to Asterix to keep his villager friends within reason and hopefully get Getafix to remember the magic potion's recipe before the impending Roman attack.

Asterix in Britain

December 1986 •French

One little ancient British village still holds out against the Roman invaders. Asterix and Obelix are invited to help. They must face fog, rain, warm beer and boiled boar with mint sauce, but they soon have Governor Encyclopaedius Britannicus's Romans declining and falling. Until a wild race for a barrel of magic potion lands them in the drink.

The Twelve Tasks of Asterix

June 1976 •French

Asterix and Obelix depart on an adventure to complete twelve impossible tasks to prove to Caesar that they are as strong as the Gods. You'll roar with laughter as they outwit, outrun, and generally outrage the very people who are trying to prove them "only human".

Asterix the Gaul

December 1967 •French

In the year 50 BC, Gaul is occupied by the Romans - nearly. But the small village of Asterix and his friends still resists the Roman legions with the aid of their druid's magic potion, which gives superhuman strength. Learning of this potion, a Roman centurion kidnaps the druid to get the secret formula out of him.

Faust

September 1994 •Czech

A very free adaptation of Marlowe's "Doctor Faustus", Goethe's "Faust" and various other treatments of the old legend of the man who sold his soul to the devil. A nondescript man is lured by a strange map into a sinister puppet theatre, where he finds himself immersed in an indescribably weird version of the play, blending live actors, clay animation and giant puppets.

Zorro, The Gay Blade

July 1981 •English

In 19th century Mexico, legendary swordsman Zorro has passed on his weapon and his sense of duty to his noble son, Diego, a dashing swashbuckler like his father. But after an injury sidelines Diego, he is forced to hand the mask over to his twin, Ramon.

Azur & Asmar: The Princes' Quest

October 2006 •French

Raised on tales of a Djinn fairy princess, Azur, a young Frenchman goes to North Africa in search of the sprite, only to discover that his close childhood friend, Asmar, an Arab youth whose mother raised both boys also seeks the genie.