''Momo'' is a 2003

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

animated television series based on the novel of the same name by

Michael Ende Michael Andreas Helmuth Ende (12 November 1929 – 28 August 1995) was a German writer of fantasy and children's fiction. He is known for his epic fantasy ''The Neverending Story'' (with its 1980s film adaptation and a 1995 animated television ...

Plot

The little

orphan An orphan (from the el, ορφανός, orphanós) is a child whose parents have died. In common usage, only a child who has lost both parents due to death is called an orphan. When referring to animals, only the mother's condition is usuall ...

girl Momo hides in a train and jumps off when she sees the conductor. She meets the little turtle Cassiopeia, who accompanies her from then on, and they settle to live in the ruins of an

amphitheater An amphitheatre (British English) or amphitheater (American English; both ) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek ('), from ('), meaning "on both sides" or "around" and ...

on the outskirts of the city. Together they get to know the children of the city as well as the street sweeper Beppo, who sees in Momo the gift of enchanting people and bringing out the best in them. However, the mysterious

cigar A cigar is a rolled bundle of dried and fermented tobacco leaves made to be smoked. Cigars are produced in a variety of sizes and shapes. Since the 20th century, almost all cigars are made of three distinct components: the filler, the binder l ...

s-smoking grey men arrive in the city in order to steal the time of their inhabitants. They lie and persuade them to deposit their lifetime into a time savings bank, so that everyone starts working obsessively to save time. They specifically aim at the adults, as they find it more difficult to convince the children. However, Momo tries to defend herself against the machinations of the grey men and to win back and free her friends. When the world has already turned very grey, the wise turtle Cassiopeia leads Momo into the realm of Professor Hora, the keeper of

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...

, who explains the situation to Momo. In order to prevent the worse, she has to infiltrate herself to the headquarters of the time thieves and try to thwart their plans.

Differences with the books

In addition to the turtle Cassiopeia, Professor Hora is shown to have two more pets: the rooster and the owl, respectively the guardian of the day and of the night. Furthermore, the children have different names than in the novel and Gigi himself is portrayed as one of the children or young teenagers, and not as a young man as in the novel.

Production and distribution

The 55-minute special "''A girl named Momo - The beginning of a journey into the realm of time"'' was first broadcast on October 31, 2003, on the television channel

KiKA KiKA (contraction of ''Der KinderKAnal von ARD und ZDF'' ARD and ZDF">ARD_(broadcaster).html" ;"title="he Children's Channel of ARD (broadcaster)">ARD and ZDF]) is a German free-to-air television channel based in Erfurt, Germany. It is man ...

. The series consists of 26 episodes and started on November 3, 2003 and is a spin-off of the 2001 Italian animated film ''

Momo alla conquista del tempo ''Momo'' ( it, Momo alla conquista del tempo, also known as ''Momo, the Conquest of Time'') is a 2001 Italian-German animation film directed by Enzo D'Alò. It is an adaptation of the 1973 fantasy novel ''Momo'' by Michael Ende. It spawned an anim ...

''. Further broadcasts of the series on German-language television also took place on the channels

Junior Junior or Juniors may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * ''Junior'' (Junior Mance album), 1959 * ''Junior'' (Röyksopp album), 2009 * ''Junior'' (Kaki King album), 2010 * ''Junior'' (LaFontaines album), 2019 Films * ''Junior'' (1994 ...

and . The series was included on the video-on-demand service and has also been released on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

and VHS.

Cast

Momo and her friends: * as Momo * as Gigi, the tourist guide *

Wolfgang Völz Wolfgang Otto Völz (16 August 1930 – 2 May 2018) was a German actor. He is known for his roles in theatre plays, TV shows, feature films (especially German films based on Edgar Wallace works) and taped radio shows. He was also a very prolif ...

as Beppo, the street sweeper * Friedrich Schönfelder Professor Hora, the keeper of Time *

Roland Hemmo Roland Hemmo (born 25 February 1946 in Weißwasser, Soviet Occupation Zone of Germany) is a German actor who specializes in television and dubbing. Roland Hemmo is one of the most successful voice actors in the history of German cinema. He has ...

as Nino, the owner of a café * as Liliana, Nino's wife * as Nicola, the carpenter * as Fusi, the barber * as Fusi' Parrot * as Mrs. Pappardelle, the school teacher The grey men: * as Director of the time saving bank * as Accountant * as Special Agent * as Agent * as Agent 100 *

Reiner Schöne Reiner Schöne (born 19 January 1942) is a German actor, known for such roles as Dukhat in the ''Babylon 5'' series, Shinnok in '' Mortal Kombat: Annihilation'', Esoqq in the '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' episode "Allegiance", Kolitar in ...

as Agent 1313 * as Agent 384

Episodes list

References