Zwerg Nase (Dwarf Nose)

East Germany, 1985, 38 minutes, color
Director: Katja Georgi
Director of Pholtography: Siegfried Jung
Screenplay: Katja Georgi, Eberhard Görner
Music: Horst Elsner
Puppet Mater: Horst Tappert
Animation: Eberhard Klotzsche, Gisela Köhler, Hans-Joachim Witt
Based on the fairy tale by Wilhelm Hauff
VHS-PAL, no subtitles - renting information

Synopsis:

Jakob prides himself on being clever, and he has a hard time keeping his mouth closed when he knows he could be making a joke. One day he is helping his mother sell vegetables at the market. An old witch harasses his mother, and Jakob jumps to her defense—but he goes a little too far. He insults the witch’s nose, hair, and stature, and as punishment, the witch gives him all the same features that he found so funny.

Now Jakob is so ugly that his friends and family do not recognize him. He does not know what to do—until he remembers that the witch has given him one talent; he is now a gifted chef. In fact, he is such an excellent chef that even the Count himself hires Jakob (and renames him “Nase” for his long nose). But as the Count grows increasingly demanding, Jakob turns to his only friend for help: a magical goose named Mimi, who always seems to know where to find the herbs Jakob needs for his recipes. One night they are out looking for herbs again—but the one they find turns out to do much more than just finish the soufflé!

A complex and interesting alternative to better-known fairy tales, like “The Ugly Duckling,” Zwerg Nase is suitable for students at intermediate or advanced levels of German.