
1999
The order comes in the summer of 1941 from propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels himself: The best animators are summoned to Berlin. Their task: Producing feature-length cartoons in ‘Disney-Quality’ with the newly founded ‘Deutsche Zeichenfilm GmbH’. To get trained, the Disney movie “Snow White” is re-traced frame by frame. After the final victory, one new feature-length production of quality shall be released every year from 1947 onwards. – that is the plan. Only in 1943, the first production is completed: “Armer Hansi” a 17-minute-long colour movie, realized with the effortful Multiplane-technology. The second film by the ‘Deutsche Zeichenfilm’ is only completed in 1946 – by DEFA. In the territories occupied by Germany, cartoons are produced as well, sometimes harmless ones, sometimes propagandistic ones. With excerpts from animated movies, life-action film documents, and witness reports by contemporaries, this documentary draws a picture of the cartoon production in the third Reich.

Matthias Ponnier
Narrator

Bernd Kuschmann
Narrator

Rainer Pause
Narrator

Gerhard Fieber
himself

Heinz Kaskeline
himself

Peter Schauer
himself

Hans Fischerkösen jr.
himself

Oskar Sala
himself

Night and Fog

Score: A Film Music Documentary

Germany: A Summer's Fairytale

To Tell the Truth: A History of Documentary Film (1928-1946)

Das Boot Revisited: An Underwater Success Story

Jean-Pierre Léaud: The Child of Cinema

Fullmetal Alchemist the Movie: Conqueror of Shamballa

The Méliès Mystery

Bernard Blier, façon puzzle

Schuss in der Nacht - Die Ermordung Walter Lübckes

Into the Forest: Reptiles & Amphibians

JO de Berlin 36, la grande illusion

Not Quite Hollywood

Dracula, l'éternel

Hansen's Soldiers!

The RAF: The Red Army Fraction

Ich. Immendorff

His Name Was Jason: 30 Years of Friday the 13th

Breath of Freedom

Blood & Flesh: The Reel Life & Ghastly Death of Al Adamson