From a very early age, namely from reading Hans Christian Andersen and the Grimm Brothers (adapted well to brilliantly frequently),fantasy and fairy-tales have been dear to my heart and it is highly doubtful that that will ever stop. Along with 1950's 'Heart of Stone', 1957's 'The Singing Ringing Tree' was my introduction to German fantasy, taking a break from my re-visiting Russian period.

Both come over to me, personally, as wonderful films for the same reasons as each other. With a small personal preference for DEFA's most famous production, one of many fantasy/fairy tale adaptations made in East Germany, 'The Singing Ringing Tree'. Not only their most famous film but Really do wish there are more German fantasy/fairy-tale films and those that do exist were generally better known.

'The Singing Ringing Tree' holds up well visually. Like as was said for 'Heart of Stone', it may not be flashy or big in spectacle, the budget and technology being not as advanced at the time, but the story didn't call for that and appreciated that it wasn't overblown and didn't rely too much on effects at the expense of everything else. The production design is suitably rustic and colourful and didn't look simplistic, while it is beautifully shot in colour that never looked too drab or garishly gaudy. The effects have a real charm to them, as well as being well designed and imaginative. Appreciated too that they weren't overused and abused or that the film was over reliant on them.

Music score is not the most memorable or imaginative ones in the world, but it is at least pleasant to listen to, is not too over-bearing or low-key, is used well and fits, not necessarily enhancing but never at odds. The writing doesn't become too cheesy or camp, while being fun enough to stop the treatment of the story from being taken too seriously.

Story is immensely charming, always engaging and sometimes haunting, never too simple or complex so the traps of being dumbed down or being convoluted aren't fallen into, same goes with avoiding the traps of being too childish or too scary even with the surrealism. Nor are the over-stretched or padding traps too apparent either.

Characters are as engaging and entertaining as the storytelling, they are archetypal but not in a bland or annoying way. Will agree that the dwarf, who is still creepy by today's standards, is the one that sticks in the mind the most. The actors suit their characters well, the most fun (and sinister) performance coming from Richard Kruger.

Overall, still wonderful. 10/10

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.