Once Upon a Time

(aka MARIA D'ORO AND BELLO BLUE)
(1975, Italy/West Germany) color animated 83 minutes
Music: Peter Thomas
Produced by Rolf Kauka
Directed by Rolf Kauka

English-Language Version:
(1976) G.G. Communications 83 minutes
"N.W. Russo presents"

Plot Outline (from the pressbook): This film represents the first successful attempt at making Germany's heritage of beautiful fairy-tales accessible to cinema audiences around the world.

Rolf Kauka, the internationally renowned cartoonist and writer designed these ancient German tales into a cartoon musical; the magic wand of his pen made their main elements come to life as humorous cartoon characters. He wrote the script and directed the animation. He and his team of artists worked for three years completing the picture.

Maria d'Oro, the title character, is a poor but beautiful girl who has a lot to suffer from her wicked stepmother and stepsister. Her father, Mr. Bottle, is no help to her, being completely dominated by his wife.

Bello, a little dog, is Maria's only friend in the whole world.

Walking in the woods, Maria meets a handsome Prince who has disguised himself as a common woodsman. 0n parting, the Prince gives her a garnet stone as a memento of an enchanting encounter. This jewel and the memory of the slight flirtation in the deep woods enables Maria to bear more easily the whims and harassments of her wicked stepmother and stepsister.

The Prince, too, cannot get his mind off the beautiful girl from the woods whose name he doesn't even know. At last, he thinks of a way to find her. Heralds are sent out announcing that the Prince wishes to marry: but only the girl with the garnet stone.

Marriage-minded daughters from all the land present themselves at the castle with false garnet stones and are turned away. The hunt for the real stone begins. Maria's wicked stepsister Marie-Lu is the first to remember the jewel her sister cherishes. A battle ensues, plunging the two girls, the evil and the good, into the colorful world of fantasy. At the end of a long journey through the wonderland of fairy tales, the good girl Maria finally prevails.

In this fantastic sequence of the wonderland of color, Rolf Kauka uses all the tricks in the bag of the cartoon animator. Deeply impressive memorable scenes were created here.

At the end, the little dog Bello is the one given the task of spreading the good news. And, of course - they all lived happily ever after.

***

Although one would never know it from the vague pressbook synopsis, ONCE UPON A TIME is actually the only animated feature we know of to tell the tale of Frau Holle, Queen of the Wonderworld. Ms. Holle is a German fairy tale staple, of course, and has been brought to life in several live-action films, but this is the first animation of the tale we have run across.

Alas, for all the ballyhoo about famed director Rolf Kauka, the animation here is fairly stiff and standard, an angular Germanic expressionism mixing uneasily with attempts at a streamlined "Disney look".

The results are wildly uneven. The scenes on Earth are pretty tame, and many of the characters are crudely drawn. Once we get to Holle's Wonderworld, however, the film takes on a near-psychedelic flavor, and the influence of drug-culture animation such as YELLOW SUBMARINE is clearly evident.

Frau Holle's child laborers are cute little girls, and in at least one brief shot, they show off their bare bottoms!

ONCE UPON A TIME is a most unusual cartoon feature, hard to find now, and quite popular when it was released in the U.S. in 1976 by G.G. Comunications, the folks who brought Pippi Longstocking to the big screen. It even received critical recognition: