''Peter in Magicland: A Fantastic Journey'' () is a 1990 German

animated Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby image, still images are manipulated to create Motion picture, moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on cel, transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and e ...

children's A child () is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The term may also refer to an unborn human being. In English-speaking countries, the legal definition of ''child ...

fantasy film Fantasy films are films that belong to the fantasy genre with fantastic themes, usually Magic (paranormal), magic, supernatural events, mythology, folklore, or exotic fantasy worlds. The Film genre, genre is considered a form of speculative fic ...

, based on Gerdt von Bassewitz's 1915 book '' Little Peter's Journey to the Moon''. The film was released on 29 November 1990 in Germany.

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 Beetles are insects that form the Taxonomic rank, order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Holometabola. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 40 ...

playing on his violin. The beetle introduces himself as Mr. Buzzworthy, the 5th descendant from the dynasty of Buzzworthy, who then tells them his tragic story: hundreds of years ago, on a Sunday morning, his great-great-great-grandfather was resting on a

birch A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech- oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 3 ...

, when an evil woodcutter chopped the tree down and took it away, also taking the beetle's sixth leg (lower left arm) with him; as a consequence, all following generations were born only with five legs. Shortly after, the beetle is visited by a Night Fairy, who tells him that she punished the woodcutter by banishing him to the Moon along with the tree, thus becoming Moon Man. When the beetle realizes that his leg is missing, the Fairy advises him to search for two kind children who have 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 being granted flying licenses from three flight commission beetles, they set off towards the sky. After evading some of the mischievous Weather Makers, they reach

Sandman The Sandman is a mythical character originating in Germanic and Scandinavian folklore who puts people to sleep and encourages and inspires beautiful dreams by sprinkling magical sand onto their eyes. Representation in traditional folklore The San ...

, a wizard whose job is to make children fall asleep. Explaining the situation to him, he agrees to take them to the Night Fairy's castle in a coach pulled by butterflies. After evading the Makers again and getting their coach unstuck while on

Milky Way The Milky Way or Milky Way Galaxy is the galaxy that includes the Solar System, with the name describing the #Appearance, galaxy's appearance from Earth: a hazy band of light seen in the night sky formed from stars in other arms of the galax ...

, they finally reach the castle, where a party among the Makers is taking place. Reminding the Fairy of her promise, she gives them the Great Bear to help them get to the Moon, telling them that the Makers will help them in their journey only when they show true courage against any danger. Reaching the Moon, they go through the

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...

Kingdom and

Easter Easter, also called Pascha ( Aramaic: פַּסְחָא , ''paskha''; Greek: πάσχα, ''páskha'') or Resurrection Sunday, is a Christian festival and cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, described in t ...

Nest to find some food for the Bear, before continuing on their journey. After fending off some hostile wolves, they arrive at a cannon which 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 Makers come to the children's aid, eventually defeating him by freezing him. Peter removes the leg from the tree and attaches it back to Mr. Buzzworthy, 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 (who looks similar to the Night Fairy) 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

Release

An 80-minute cut of the film was initially widely released as a full-length feature and a five-part miniseries. The uncut version first aired in December 1992 on ZDF.

References

External links

Plot

Cast

Release

See also

References

External links