''Puff the Magic Dragon in the Land of the Living Lies'' is a 24-minute

animated Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most ani ...

television special A television special (often TV special, or rarely television spectacular) is a standalone television show which may also temporarily interrupt episodic programming normally scheduled for a given time slot. Some specials provide a full range of ent ...

that first aired November 17, 1979 on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

. A sequel to the 1978 TV special ''Puff the Magic Dragon'', with

Burgess Meredith Oliver Burgess Meredith (November 16, 1907 – September 9, 1997) was an American actor and filmmaker whose career encompassed theater, film, and television. Active for more than six decades, Meredith has been called "a virtuosic actor" and "on ...

returning as the voice of the title character, the special was produced by

Fred Wolf Films Fred Wolf Films is an American animation studio founded in 1967 by Fred Wolf and Jimmy T. Murakami. It was founded as MW (Murakami-Wolf). It later became known as Murakami-Wolf-Swenson (MWS) when Charles Swenson became a full partner in 1978. ...

. The sequel ''

Puff and the Incredible Mr. Nobody ''Puff and the Incredible Mr. Nobody'' is a 24-minute animation, animated television special that first aired May 17, 1982 on CBS. The third in a series, it serves as a sequel to ''Puff the Magic Dragon (TV special), Puff the Magic Dragon'' (1978) ...

'' aired in 1982.

Plot

The film begins with Puff acting out the lies of a girl named Sandy, who has developed a persistent habit of making up absurd lies on most occasions, and shows how this has alienated most of her friends and leaving only her dog as a companion. Puff moves to intervene when she causes a household accident and falsely blames her innocent dog who is sent away as punishment. The dragon meets Sandy and forcibly takes her to the Land of Living Lies, leaving her claiming that she preferred to be there anyway because her house is "broken." Once there, she encounters famous liars like

The Boy who Cried Wolf The Boy Who Cried Wolf is one of Aesop's Fables, numbered 210 in the Perry Index. From it is derived the English idiom "to cry wolf", defined as "to give a false alarm" in e''Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable'' and glossed by the ''Oxford ...

, and

Baron Munchausen Baron Munchausen (; ) is a fictional German nobleman created by the German writer Rudolf Erich Raspe in his 1785 book ''Baron Munchausen's Narrative of his Marvellous Travels and Campaigns in Russia''. The character is loosely based on a real ...

and various representations of metaphors of imagination. Along the way, Puff explains to Sandy the difference between purposefully deceptive lies and the harmless description of figments of imagination. Unfortunately, the impossibility of living in such a world where nothing expressed can be believed is reinforced when Sandy is presented with strange laws about no eating the flowers or picking the apples; which are not around. She is then maneuvered by two talking rocks that each claim to be a flower and an apple, only for them to accuse her for breaking the laws, leading her to being arrested by

Pinocchio Pinocchio ( , ) is a fictional character and the protagonist of the children's novel '' The Adventures of Pinocchio'' (1883) by Italian writer Carlo Collodi of Florence, Tuscany. Pinocchio was carved by a woodcarver named Geppetto in a Tuscan ...

. She is then subjected to a bizarre trial in the Caverns in the Living Lies by the denizens of the land, where she panics and falsely blames Puff for her crime. Afterward, she visits him as he sits chained, pleading for him to use his magic to send them back to the real world. Puff tells her that would be impossible unless she tells the truth, which causes the natives to growl in pain. Regardless of the situation, Sandy confesses that she cannot truly go home, but cannot bring herself to explain how her home is truly "broken." At Puff's urging, she confesses that she makes up her lies because she does not want to live with her perceived truth that she considers herself responsible for her parents' divorce. At that statement, the natives chortle with delight at what Puff explains is a self-deceptive lie and makes her realize that she had nothing to do with her parents' break-up and they still love her. At this liberating truth, Puff and Sandy are freed, bring the walls of the cavern down with their celebratory song and return to the real world. At that, Puff prepares to leave, but not before suggesting to Sandy that she can see him again in spirit by using her vibrant imagination in more constructive ways like writing fiction. Sandy immediately takes that advice after reconciling with her parents while exonerating her dog and begins her first story, which Puff confidently notes is sure to be a classic.

Voice cast

as Puff *Mischa Bond as Sandy *

Peter Yarrow Peter Yarrow (born May 31, 1938) is an American singer and songwriter who found fame for being in the 1960s folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary. Yarrow co-wrote (with Leonard Lipton) one of the group's best known hits, " Puff, the Magic Dragon". H ...

as Father *

Joan Gerber Joan Gerber (July 29, 1935 – August 22, 2011) was an American voice actress who provided voices for a variety of cartoons. Her most challenging voice role was "all the children in a Japanese train wreck" for a ''Godzilla'' television episode ...

as Mother/

/Rock #2/Little Girl *Alan Barzman as Rock #1 *

Robert Ridgely Robert Ridgely (December 24, 1931 – February 8, 1997) was an American actor, known for both on-camera roles and extensive voice-over work. Biography Born in Teaneck, New Jersey, Ridgely worked as a cabaret entertainer.Staff"Robert Ridgely, 65 ...

/Snake/Cowboy/Attorney *

Ike Eisenmann Ike Eisenmann (born July 21, 1962) is a former American actor, producer, and sound effects specialist who has been active in the entertainment industry since childhood. Early life and education Eisenmann was born in Houston, Texas, the son of Rut ...

The Boy Who Cried Wolf The Boy Who Cried Wolf is one of Aesop's Fables, numbered 210 in the Perry Index. From it is derived the English idiom "to cry wolf", defined as "to give a false alarm" in e''Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable'' and glossed by the ''Oxford ...

/Umpire *Gene Moss as Old Fisherman/Judge/Bailiff

References

External links

* {{Children's programming on CBS in the 1980s CBS original programming American animated short films 1979 films 1979 television specials 1970s American television specials 1970s American animated films 1979 animated films 1979 short films Animated television specials CBS television specials Animated films about dragons Television shows written by Romeo Muller 1970s animated television specials 1970s English-language films