Fantastic!

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

This is ultimately a movie about the very bad things that can happen when we don't address our unease, when we just try to brush it off, whether that's to fit in or to preserve our self-image.

It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

THE SINGING RINGING TREE is a delightfully obscure East German fairytale with an overtly moralistic storyline and plenty of bizarre content to engage all of the kids who first saw it televised in Britain back in the 1960s. In fact, it's one of those rare productions that might well be more popular abroad than it is in its own country; something about this garish production captured the minds of kids across the nation and gave some of them sleepless nights to boot.The tale is about a prince whose attempts to court a beautiful but ice-cold princess end in disaster when he's turned into a bear by an evil dwarf. That's just the beginning of a tale which is straightforward but contains all manner of outlandish content, from a giant floating goldfish to a horned horse and a woman who is cursed with ugliness. The cackling, scheming dwarf is pure entertainment value alone. I love productions such as these with colourful, far-reaching set design and THE SINGING RINGING TREE is a visual masterpiece that out-visuals Disney at its own game. The English version features a British narrator speaking over the German dialogue which sounds weird but turns out to work very well.

"Das singende, klingende Bäumchen" or "The Singing Ringing Tree" is an East German live action film from 1957, so this one will have its 60th anniversary next year. The director is Francesco Stefani and he also co-wrote this film together with Anne Geelhaar. Of course, the original is by the Brothers Grimm. And there we also have the fairy tale connection already. If you know a bit about East German (GDR) filmmaking, then you will know that most of the country's films that are still known today are either political movies (usually about World War II) or fairy tales and this is one of the latter. The film only runs for approximately 70 minutes, which is relatively short for a full feature film, but actually some of the other GDR's fairy tale films have an equally low duration. It is in color like the other fairy tale films too and I really like it. The other genre I mentioned produced many black-and-white films in years way after 1957 and this is what hurts them a lot. It is no coincidence that the only Oscar-nominated GDR film is a film about politics, but an exception because it is also in color.But back to this one here. I don't think the short runtime hurts it at all, but helps it staying focused. Yes there were moments when the film becomes a bit too absurd, especially in the second half, but it's all bearable as fairy tale films frequently go over the top and they get away with it most of the time because of all the fantasy surrounding the action. The title of my review is a reference to the fairly simple recipe. We have a hero, who is good from start to finish (even a bit dumb early on), a female protagonist who has to grow in character throughout the film, a main antagonist (a dwarf this time) who is evil from start to finish and gets defeated at the very end and finally some minor characters like the King, who add very little as it is really not about them. Yes it is a bit generic in terms of the (missing) shades of the characters, but I still felt that this film was a success. It certainly looks a lot newer than 1957. The acting is as good as the direction and script, but what really stands out is the visual side in terms of set decorations, art directions and most of all costumes. The effects may look a bit goofy by today's standards, but they are pretty charming given the year of production. If there is one thing the GDR was really better than the FRG (not only in terms of filmmaking), then it is fairy tale films. This one here is a success and I recommend the watch.

People of my age all remember the same thing. If you mention The Singing Ringing Tree, they all say "not the dwarf". My brother was petrified by this movie as a child so to make him feel better I bought the DVD as a Christmas present for him in 2004. He still hasn't watched it as at today, 31 August 2006!!! I however borrowed it and watched it and remembered all the things I enjoyed about it as a child. The transformations of the Prince and Princess were as good, for the time it was made, as I remembered. The animals were the same, apart maybe from the fish! The fact it was dubbed into English didn't detract from it at all.

The essence of childhood. All moral codes, conduct and courtesy as standard. Language no barrier the visual story is timeless. A must for all children. The German version of 'Beauty & the Beast' (a French tale).As a small child I saw the broken up dubbed version in the late 1970's over a 5 day period on BBC tv. It cast a spell, which I never ever forgot and spent my life searching for. Now in my early 30's I tracked down a subtitled copy of the 1957 71ms film. Not what I remembered, but far more beautiful and artistically adventurous than I could have appreciated as a child.As an adult the hard hitting message is obvious, as are the lack of special effects, so this film's use of theatrical staging (scale models) is slightly overt in modern context. This film is perfect for young children who are not yet desensitized by modern graphics, yet can still be touched by moral lessons. Nostalgic adults will love this film, but anyone who has never experienced 50's, 60's European Fantasy cinema will find this film too primitive.This film is a story book come to life. Be it Hans Christian Anderson or the Brothers Grimm, it is pure 50's Technicolor magic. Very moral and sound, yet beautiful to look at time and time again forever. Moving Art.It may not live up to my childhood memory of it, but I am so glad to have found the tape, purely because it is such a superior piece of film making that I know I will enjoy watching it over and over again. So much art in it to appreciate. In my extensive movie collection I have no other film that is Directed, Produced & shot quite like it. It is a valuable asset to the film collector. I fully intend to acquire other films in the 'Tales From Europe' series, as I detect that they are highly collectible. This is a big tip! Enjoy! :)