The Storyteller

I remember watching this show as a kid. It made quite an impression on me, to be honest I was absolutely spellbound.

Quite recently I obtained a DVD-release and was somewhat amazed: It was just as good as I remembered it! This is not simply a bad case of nostalgia, this show is definitely something above the ordinary. We might have struck gold here..

The show is in nine stand alone episodes based on nine old folktales. (Mostly Russian or German) Not so "kidified" as most recent versions, just a little bit cruel, but always with a happy ending (with 2 exceptions)

The special effects (especially the creature effects ) still look really good even in this time of photo-realistic computer animation. If you take into account that this is a TV-production from 1987 the effects are absolutely outstanding! They give a much more living impression than many computer generated creatures I have seen of late.

The actor performances are maybe not always of academy award winning standard.. but I can live with that, and most probably so can you. Not all nine episodes are masterpieces either, but some come very close to being just that. "The Soldier and Death" is in my opinion one of the best and appears to be the first choice of most other reviewers. "Sapsorrow" (their version of Cinderella) is also worth mentioning. Maybe not for it's greatness but for the most enjoyable Disney reference. Very amusing.

When this was aired it had the added title: "Stories for grown up children" and that is a good description of what this is. Maybe not for the very youngest but perfect for anyone else. Especially anyone interested in folktales or anything fantasy-like.

Highly recommended.

its been years since i have seen these shows. i have been searching years for anyone else that has seen these or know anything about them. i thought i made them up. the one i remember most is the soldier and death. i'd ask movie fanatics if they had seen these, mentioning its a Jim Henson and people still didn't know. these are great fables. i was very young when i was these, not even 10 and it left a lasting impression on my life and beliefs. i would recommend anyone to watch these, just remember they are from the 80's so they don't look like the movies today. just give them a shot. Jim Henson was way ahead of his time and died to early.

The Storyteller is excellent on so many levels. It tells fables or fairy tales from a variety of cultural sources and "universalizes" them somewhat for people who don't understand the particular cultural context. It's filmatic techniques are fantastic, such as the many clever segues from scene to scene. And, the creature effects are still better than anything anyone else has tried to do. The entire series is a testament to the creative genius of Jim Henson that has, unfortunately, been lost with him.

This series is wonderful. It was bought for me when I was little, and I still love watching it. I know all the stories by heart, but I still get carried away in the magic and beauty of it all. It's hard to pick a favourite episode, but I'd have to say Sapsorrow is way up there. I guess I've always loved the pretty dresses and the mysterious way the beautiful princess transforms into a hideous creature. And the two bad sisters!- you can't help but love to hate them, and Jennifer Saunders is brilliant!

And whoever said that this series is 'insane' must be insane themselves, and have absolutely no idea about culture or about the magical world of stories.

Beautiful art direction, excellent editing and wonderful stories make this some of the best television ever produced. The fact that it was relatively short lived is sadly reflective on the state of television. I highly recommend snatching these up as they're released, you'll love them.