Peter in Magicland
Peter in Magicland: A Fantastic Journey (German: 'Peterchens Mondfahrt') is a 1990 German animated children's fantasy film, based on Gerdt von Bassewitz's book Little Peter's Journey to the Moon. The film was released on 29 November 1990 in Germany.
Peter in Magicland | |
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Directed by | Wolfgang Urchs |
Written by |
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Starring |
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Narrated by |
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Music by | Klaus Doldinger |
Edited by | Gisela Haller |
Production company |
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Release date |
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Running time | 112 minutes |
Country | West Germany |
Language | German |
Plot
One night, siblings Peter and Annabelle are woken up by a noise in their bedroom that sounds like music. Upon investigating, they find the source: a beetle playing on his violin. After assuring him that they won't hurt him, the beetle introduces himself as Mr. Buzzworthy, the 50th descendant from the generations of Buzzworthys. He then explains them the tragic story of the Buzzworthys: two hundred years ago, his great-great-great-great grandfather was resting on a birch, when an evil giant (Moon Man) chopped the tree down and took it away, also taking the beetle's sixth leg (lower left arm) with him. As a consequence, all of the generations were born only with five legs. Shortly after, the beetle is visited by a Night Fairy, who tells him that she banished the giant to the moon as a punishment. When the beetle realizes that his leg is missing, the Fairy advises him to search for two kind children who never hurt anyone and are brave enough for a dangerous journey to the moon.
Upon hearing the story, the children agree to help him retrieve his leg. After teaching the children how to fly and receiving an approval from three official beetles, they set off towards the sky. After evading some of the mischievous Weather Gods, they reach Sandman, a wizard who's job is to make children fall asleep. Explaining the situation to him, he agrees to take them to the Night Fairy's castle by a sleigh pulled by butterflies. After evading the Gods again and getting their sleigh unstuck while on Milky Way, they finally reach the castle, where a banquet among the Gods is taking place. Reminding the Fairy of her promise, she gives them a Giant Polar Bear to help them get to the moon, telling them that if anything, the Gods will help them in their journey. When they reach the moon, they go through the Christmas and Easter worlds to find some snack for the Bear. When they set off, after fending off some hostile wolves, they reach a cannon that shoots Peter, Annabelle and Mr. Buzzworthy to the top of the mountain, where the tree with the beetle's leg stands. They encounter the Moon Man himself, and the Gods come to the children's aid, eventually defeating him by freezing him. Peter removes the leg from the branch and attaches it back to the beetle, who is now overjoyed at having his long-lost leg back. When the sun rises, the ice from the Moon Man melts and he tries to attack them, but they escape him by flying into a chimney that wakes them up, revealing it all to be a dream. After their mother checks on them, they find a beetle resting on their windowsill, who has all of his six legs. The beetle then flies away, while Peter and Annabelle wonder if they will ever fly with him again.
Cast
Character[1] | ||
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Peter | André Schmidtsdorf | Christopher Milnes |
Annabelle | Nathalie del Castillo | Becky Smith |
Mr. Buzzworthy | Manfred Lichtenfeld | Peter Whitman |
Sandman | Friedrich W. Bauschulte | Peter Hawkins |
Night Fairy | Dagmar Heller | Liza Ross |
Mother Cloud | Doris Jensen | Eve Karpf |
Gingerbread Man | Willi Roebke | Stephen Tate |
Storm Giant | Fritz von Hardenberg | William Roberts |
Moon Man | Wolfgang Hess | Douglas Blackwell |
Father Christmas | Walter Reichelt | John Bull |
Sun Goddess | Nathalie del Castillo | Unknown |
Rain God | Udo Wachtveitl | Unknown |
Milky Way Man | Michael Habeck | Unknown |
Lightning Goddess | Monika John | Unknown |
Thunder God | Manfred Erdmann | Unknown |
Wind Goddess | Martina Duncker | Unknown |
Water God | Arne Elsholtz | Unknown |
Ice God | Manfred Erdmann | Unknown |
Release
An 80-minute cut of the film was initially widely released as a full-length feature and a five-part miniseries.[2] The uncut version first aired on December 1992 on ZDF.[3]
References
- English credits on YouTube
- English promo on YouTube
- "Peterchens Mondfahrt". Wunschliste.de. Retrieved 2019-05-30.