Das singende, klingende Bäumchen

This is as you remember watching it as a child. Lifelike, overtly coloured and full of magical splendor, terrifying nasties and surreal characters. In short, do not shy away from this opportunity to show a "Christmas Special" to your children in favour of the usual fare from Disney and co. Rather, pop a fresh batch of pop corn, get first dibs on the comfy chair and opt for what was arguably one of the highlights of East German children's programming.

The East German DEFA produced quite a number of fairy tale adaptations of high standard, but this one is certainly one of the best and most beautiful. Exceptional and fantastic set design combined with expertly done trick-cinematography make a delicious cinematic treat for every age group, though the original colours have faded. Good cast and precise direction by Francesco Stefani.

In the days of only 3 tv channels (1970s) British kids were treated to an eclectic variety of European television productions. Always dubbed, often in black and white and endlessly repeated. Much of it was excellent and fondly remembered by many.

However The Singing Ringing Tree was essentially a hammer horror movie for children made in East Germany. For those of us who saw it when very young, it become the stuff of nightmares filled with evil dwarf wizards, spoilt princesses made ugly by spells and a kind hero Bear. The production was all studio bound, but with a strange psychedelic atmosphere. I loved it.

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! :)

This film was bought by BBC Children TV, dubbed in English and serialised in the late 60s which is where I originally saw it. You can buy a restored, German language with English subtitles which I did to see if my memory had played tricks on me - was it as good as I remembered?

I'm glad to say that its even better than I remembered, the stylish production, imaginative sets and performances enthralled me and my two you daughters again (the German language bit didn't seem to bother them at all!). I remembered the story but what passed me by on my B&W TV in the 60s was the imaginative and beautifully shot images.

Much recommended!