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The "Town Musicians of Bremen" (german: link=no, Die Bremer Stadtmusikanten) is a German fairy tale collected by the
Brothers Grimm The Brothers Grimm ( or ), Jacob (1785–1863) and Wilhelm (1786–1859), were a brother duo of German academics, philologists, cultural researchers, lexicographers, and authors who together collected and published folklore. They are among the ...
and published in ''
Grimms' Fairy Tales ''Grimms' Fairy Tales'', originally known as the ''Children's and Household Tales'' (german: Kinder- und Hausmärchen, lead=yes, ), is a German collection of fairy tales by the Brothers Grimm, Grimm brothers or "Brothers Grimm", Jacob Grimm, Ja ...
'' in 1819 (KHM 27). It tells the story of four aging domestic animals, who after a lifetime of hard work are neglected and mistreated by their former masters. Eventually, they decide to run away and become town musicians in the city of
Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state consis ...
. Contrary to the story's title the characters never arrive in Bremen, as they succeed in tricking and scaring off a band of robbers, capturing their spoils, and moving into their house. It is a story of Aarne–Thompson Type 130 ("Outcast animals find a new home").


Origin

The
Brothers Grimm The Brothers Grimm ( or ), Jacob (1785–1863) and Wilhelm (1786–1859), were a brother duo of German academics, philologists, cultural researchers, lexicographers, and authors who together collected and published folklore. They are among the ...
first published this tale in the second edition of ''
Kinder- und Hausmärchen ''Grimms' Fairy Tales'', originally known as the ''Children's and Household Tales'' (german: Kinder- und Hausmärchen, lead=yes, ), is a German collection of fairy tales by the Grimm brothers or "Brothers Grimm", Jacob and Wilhelm, first publis ...
'' in 1819, based on the account of the German storyteller
Dorothea Viehmann Dorothea Viehmann (November 8, 1755 – November 17, 1816) was a German storyteller. Her stories were an important source for the fairy tales collected by the Brothers Grimm. Most of Dorothea Viehmann's tales were published in the second vol ...
(1755–1815).


Synopsis

In the story, a donkey, a dog, a cat, and a rooster, all past their prime years in life and usefulness on their respective farms, were soon to be discarded or mistreated by their masters. One by one, they leave their homes and set out together. They decide to go to
Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state consis ...
, known for its freedom, to live without owners and become musicians there ("Something better than death we can find anywhere"). On the way to Bremen, they see a lighted cottage; they look inside and see three robbers enjoying their ill-gotten gains. Standing on each other's backs, they decide to scare the robbers away by making a din; the men run for their lives, not knowing what the strange sound is. The animals take possession of the house, eat a good meal, and settle in for the evening. Later that night, the robbers return and send one of their members in to investigate. He sees the cat's eyes shining in the darkness and thinks he is seeing the coals of the fire. The robber reaches over to light his candle. Things happen in quick succession; the cat scratches his face with her claws, the dog bites him on the leg, the donkey kicks him with his hooves, and the rooster crows and chases him out the door. The terrified robber tells his companions that he was beset by a horrible witch who had scratched him with her long fingernails (the cat), a dwarf who has a knife (the dog), a black monster who had hit him with a club (the donkey), and worst of all, a judge calling out from the rooftop (the rooster). The robbers abandon the cottage to the strange creatures who have taken it, where the animals live happily for the rest of their days. In the original version of this story, which dates from the twelfth century, the robbers are a bear, a lion, and a wolf, all animals featured in heraldic devices. When the donkey and his friends arrive in Bremen, the townsfolk applaud them for having rid the district of the terrible beasts. An alternate version involves the animals' master(s) being deprived of his livelihood (because the thieves stole his money and/or destroyed his farm or mill) and having to send his or their animals away, unable to take care of them any further. After the animals dispatch the thieves, they take the ill-gotten gains back to their master so he can rebuild. Other versions involve at least one wild, non-livestock animal, such as a lizard, helping the domestic animals out in dispatching the thieves.


Analysis


Tale type

The tale is classified in the international Aarne-Thompson-Uther Index as type ATU 130, "The Animals in Night Quarters (Bremen Town Musicians)". Folklorists
Stith Thompson Stith Thompson (March 7, 1885 – January 10, 1976) was an American folklorist: he has been described as "America's most important folklorist". He is the "Thompson" of the Aarne–Thompson–Uther Index, which indexes folktales by type, and the ...
and
Barre Toelken John Barre Toelken (June 15, 1935 – November 9, 2018) was an award-winning American folklorist, noted for his study of Native American material and oral traditions. Early life and education Barre Toelken was born in Enfield, Massachusetts, to ...
see a deep relation between this type and type ATU 210, "Cock (Rooster), Hen, Duck, Pin, and Needle on a Journey". Folklorist
Antti Aarne Antti Amatus Aarne (December 5, 1867 in Pori – February 2, 1925 in Helsinki) was a Finnish folklorist. Background Antti was a student of Kaarle Krohn, the son of the folklorist Julius Krohn. He further developed their historic-geographic m ...
proposed an Asian origin for the tale type ATU 130, "Die Tiere auf der Wanderschaft" ("Wandering Animals and Objects"). French folklorist
Paul Delarue Paul Alfred Delarue, born 20 April 1889 in Saint-Didier, Nièvre, died 25 July 1956 in Autun, Saône-et-Loire, was a French folklorist. A world-renowned specialist in the field of folklore, his crowning achievement was his , a catalog of folkt ...
identified two forms of the tale type: a Western one, wherein the animals in exile are always domestic animals (represented by Grimm's tale), and an Eastern one, wherein the characters are "inferior animals". This second form is popular in Japan, China, Korea, Melanesia and Indonesia.


Variants

The story is similar to other AT-130 tales like the German/Swiss "The Robber and the Farm Animals", the Norwegian "The Sheep and the Pig Who Set Up House", the Finnish "The Animals and the Devil", the Flemish "The Choristers of St. Gudule", the Scottish "The Story of the White Pet", the English "The Bull, the Tup, the Cock, and the Steg", the Irish "
Jack and His Comrades Jack and his Comrades is a short Irish fairy tale describing the title character's story of success with the help of his animal helpers, collected by folklorist Patrick Kennedy from a resident of County Wexford, Ireland, and published in ''Legen ...
", the Spanish "Benibaire", the American "How Jack Went to Seek His Fortune" and "The Dog, the Cat, the Ass, and the Cock", and the South African "The World's Reward".
Joseph Jacobs Joseph Jacobs (29 August 1854 – 30 January 1916) was an Australian folklorist, translator, literary critic, social scientist, historian and writer of English literature who became a notable collector and publisher of English folklore. Jacob ...
also cited this as a parallel version of the Irish "Jack and His Comrades", and the English "How Jack went to seek his fortune". Variants also appears in American folktale collections, and in
Scottish Traveller Scottish Travellers, or the people in Scotland loosely termed Romani persons or travellers, consist of a number of diverse, unrelated communities that speak a variety of different languages and dialects that pertain to distinct customs, historie ...
repertoires. Variants also appear in tale compilations from Indian, Malay and Japanese sources.


Cultural legacy

The tale has been retold through animated pictures,
motion pictures A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...
(often
musicals Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movement ...
), theatre plays and operas.


Screen and stage adaptations

* In 1935, Ub Iwerks created ''The Brementown Musicians'' which was an adaptation made for Iwerk’s series of
ComiColor Cartoons The ComiColor Cartoon series is a series of 25 animated short subjects produced by Ub Iwerks from 1933 to 1936. The series was the last produced by Iwerks Studio; after losing distributor Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1934, the Iwerks studio's senior com ...
. * German-U.S. composer
Richard Mohaupt Richard Mohaupt (14 September 1904 – 3 July 1957) was a German composer and Kapellmeister. Life Richard Mohaupt was born in Breslau, where he studied music. After his studies he worked as a répétiteur and music director in Breslau, Aach ...
created the opera ''Die Bremer Stadtmusikanten'', which premiered in Bremen 1949. * The tale was adapted in humorous fashion for the British children's series ''
Wolves, Witches and Giants ''Wolves, Witches and Giants'', narrated by Spike Milligan, is a children's cartoon series of humorous adaptations of classic fairy tales, featuring a collection of villains including the wily wolf, a wicked witch and an enormous giant. It was ...
'' narrated by
Spike Milligan Terence Alan "Spike" Milligan (16 April 1918 – 27 February 2002) was an Irish actor, comedian, writer, musician, poet, and playwright. The son of an English mother and Irish father, he was born in British Raj, British Colonial India, where h ...
, but with the action taking place in 'Brum' (short for
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
) rather than Bremen. * In the Soviet Union, the story was loosely adapted into an animated musical in 1969 by
Yuri Entin Yuri Sergeyevich Entin (russian: Ю́рий Серге́евич Э́нтин; born 21 August 1935) is a Russian and Soviet poet, playwright, and lyricist who wrote screenplays and songs for various children's films including ''The Bremen Town Mu ...
and
Vasily Livanov Vasily Borisovich Livanov (russian: link=no, Василий Борисович Ливанов; born 19 July 1935), MBE, is a Soviet and Russian film actor, animation and film director, screenwriter and writer most famous for portraying Sherlock H ...
at the studio
Soyuzmultfilm Soyuzmultfilm ( rus, Союзмультфи́льм, p=səˌjʉsmʊlʲtˈfʲilʲm , ''Union Cartoon'') (also known as SMF Animation Studio in English, Formerly known as Soyuzdetmultfilm) is a Russian animation studio based in Moscow. Launched in ...
, ''
The Bremen Town Musicians The "Town Musicians of Bremen" (german: link=no, Die Bremer Stadtmusikanten) is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm and published in ''Grimms' Fairy Tales'' in 1819 (KHM 27). It tells the story of four aging domestic animals, w ...
''. It was followed by a sequel called ''
On the Trail of the Bremen Town Musicians ''On the Trail of the Bremen Town Musicians'' (russian: links=no, По следам бременских музыкантов, Po sledam bremenskikh muzykantov) is a 1973 Soviet animated film directed by Vasily Livanov. It was made as a sequel to ' ...
''. In 2000, a second sequel was made, called ''
The New Bremen Town Musicians ''The New Bremen Town Musicians'' (russian: links=no, Новые бременские, Novye Bremenskiye) is a 2000 Russian animated film. Sequel to the films ''The Bremen Town Musicians'' and ''On the Trail of the Bremen Town Musicians''. None of ...
''. * In 1972,
Jim Henson James Maury Henson (September 24, 1936 – May 16, 1990) was an American puppeteer, animator, cartoonist, actor, inventor, and filmmaker who achieved worldwide notice as the creator of The Muppets and '' Fraggle Rock'' (1983–1987) and ...
produced a version with his Muppets called ''
The Muppet Musicians of Bremen ''The Muppet Musicians of Bremen'' (released on home video as ''Tales from MuppetLand: The Muppet Musicians of Bremen'') is a 1972 television special that is an adaptation of ''Town Musicians of Bremen'', featuring The Muppets. It is directed and p ...
'', set in Louisiana instead of Bremen. * In 1976, in Italy,
Sergio Bardotti Sergio Bardotti (14 February 1939 – 11 April 2007) was an Italian lyricist, composer and record producer. Life and career Born in Pavia, Bardotti studied piano for seven years and graduated from conservatory with a degree in Theory and Solfeg ...
and
Luis Enríquez Bacalov Luis Enríquez Bacalov (30 August 1933 – 15 November 2017) was an Argentine-born film composer. He learned music from Enrique Barenboim, father of Daniel Barenboim the conductor of the Berlin, and Chicago orchestras, and also Berta Sujovolsky ...
adapted the story into a musical play called ''I Musicanti'', which two years later was translated into Portuguese by the Brazilian composer
Chico Buarque Francisco Buarque de Hollanda (born 19 June 1944), popularly known simply as Chico Buarque, is a Brazilian singer-songwriter, guitarist, composer, playwright, writer, and poet. He is best known for his music, which often includes social, economic, ...
. The musical play was called ''Os Saltimbancos'', was later released as an album, and became one of the greatest classics for children in Brazil. This version was also made into a movie. *In
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...
, the story inspired the animated feature film titled, ''Los 4 músicos de Bremen'' in 1989, directed by Cruz Delgado, a cartoonist and animation filmmaker, this being his last film. After gaining fame and recognition by winning the
Goya Award for Best Animated Film The Goya Award for Best Animated Film (Spanish: ''Premio Goya a la mejor película animada'') is one of the Goya Awards, Spain's principal national film awards. The category was first presented at the fourth edition of the Goya Awards with the fi ...
, the animated television series " Los Trotamúsicos", was aired with a total of 26 episodes. The synopsis follows the story of four animal friends: ''Koki'' the rooster, ''Lupo'' the dog, ''Burlón'' the cat and ''Tonto'' the donkey; who form a band in the playing respectively guitar, drums, trumpet and saxophone with the aim of winning a contest in the city of
Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state consis ...
. * In Japan,
Tezuka Productions is a Japanese animation studio founded by Osamu Tezuka in 1968. It is known for animating notable works such as '' Marvelous Melmo'', the 1980 and 2003 ''Astro Boy'' series, and '' Black Jack''. It is also the holder of the intellectual propert ...
made a loose science fiction themed animated television film adaptation titled , which premiered in 1981. It revolves around an alien visiting Earth during a military invasion of a fictional Bremen and giving four animals based on the ones from the original tale a device that can transform them into humans. Despite being aimed at children, the film has a substantial amount of gun violence and depictions of war crimes, but its core theme is anti-war. * In Germany and the United States, the story was adapted into an animated feature in 1997 under the title '' The Fearless Four'' ('' Die furchtlosen Vier''), though it varied considerably from the source material; while the general plot is the same, the four arrive in Bremen and help to free it from the grasp of the corrupt corporation Mix Max, along with rescuing animals that the company plans to turn into sausage. It starred R&B singer
James Ingram James Edward Ingram (February 16, 1952 – January 29, 2019) was an American singer, songwriter and record producer. He was a two-time Grammy Award-winner and a two-time Academy Awards, Academy Award nominee for Academy Award for Best Original ...
as Buster the dog, guitarist
B.B. King Riley B. King (September 16, 1925 – May 14, 2015), known professionally as B.B. King, was an American blues singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. He introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending, shi ...
as Fred the donkey, singer and pianist
Oleta Adams Oleta Adams (born May 4, 1953) is an American singer and pianist. She found limited success during the early 1980s, before gaining fame via her contributions to Tears for Fears's international chart-topping album ''The Seeds of Love'' (1989). Her ...
as Gwendolyn the cat and Italian musician
Zucchero Fornaciari Adelmo Fornaciari (; born 25 September 1955), more commonly known by his stage name Zucchero Fornaciari or simply Zucchero (), is an Italian singer, musician and songwriter. His stage name is the Italian word for "sugar", as his elementary teach ...
as Tortellini the Rooster in the English dub. * The obscure 1997 Dingo Pictures film, Die Bremer Stadtmusikanten, is a
mockbuster A mockbuster (also known as knockbuster or a drafting opportunity) is a film created to exploit the publicity of another major motion picture with a similar title or subject. Mockbusters are often made with a low budget and quick production to max ...
of the aforementioned The Fearless Four. * On
Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (often abbreviated as CN) is an American cable television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. It is a part of The Cartoon Network, Inc., a division that also has the broadcasting and production activities of Boomerang, Car ...
in between cartoon breaks during the ''Out of Tune Toons'' marathon and on Cartoonetwork Video, there are cartoon shorts (called " Wedgies") of an animal garage band based on the tale called ''
The Bremen Avenue Experience Cartoon Network (often abbreviated as CN) is an American cable television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. It is a part of The Cartoon Network, Inc., a division that also has the broadcasting and production activities of Boomerang, Ca ...
'' featuring a cat (Jessica), dog (Simon), donkey (Barret) and rooster (Tanner). They are either a modern adaptation of ''Town Musicians of Bremen'' or descendants of the old musicians of Bremen. * The
HBO Family Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...
animated series, '' Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child'', adapted this story in Season 3 and did a country/African-American twist on it featuring
Jenifer Lewis Jenifer Jeanette Lewis (born January 25, 1957) is an American actress. She began her career appearing in Broadway musicals and worked as a back-up singer for Bette Midler before appearing in films ''Beaches'' (1988) and ''Sister Act'' (1992). Le ...
as Hazel (the dog),
Gladys Knight Gladys Maria Knight (born May 28, 1944), known as the "Empress of Soul", is an American singer, actress and businesswoman. A seven-time Grammy Award-winner, Knight recorded hits through the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s with her family group Gladys Kn ...
as Chocolate (the donkey),
Dionne Warwick Marie Dionne Warwick (; born December 12, 1940) is an American singer, actress, and television host. Warwick ranks among the 40 biggest U.S. hit makers between 1955 and 1999, based on her chart history on ''Billboards Hot 100 pop singles cha ...
as Miss Kitty (the cat), and George Clinton as Scratchmo (the rooster). * The 2020 Japanese
tokusatsu is a Japanese term for live action film or television drama that makes heavy use of practical special effects. ''Tokusatsu'' entertainment mainly refers to science fiction, War film, war, fantasy, or Horror film, horror media featuring such te ...
series ''
Kamen Rider Saber is a Japanese tokusatsu drama, the 31st entry of Toei Company's ''Kamen Rider'' franchise, and the second series to debut during the Reiwa period. The series premiered on September 6, 2020, joining ''Mashin Sentai Kiramager'', and later, ''Kika ...
'' adopts the story as a "Wonder Ride Book" called , which is utilized by one of the protagonists, Kamen Rider Slash.


Literature

*
Richard Scarry Richard McClure Scarry (June 5, 1919 – April 30, 1994) was an American children's author and illustrator who published over 300 books with total sales of over 100 million worldwide. He is best known for his ''Best Ever'' book series that take ...
wrote an adaptation of the story in his book ''Richard Scarry's Animal Nursery Tales'' in 1975. In it, the donkey, dog, cat and rooster set out since they are bored with farming. * In the Japanese
adventure game An adventure game is a video game genre in which the player assumes the role of a protagonist in an interactive story driven by exploration and/or Puzzle video game, puzzle-solving. The Video game genres, genre's focus on story allows it to draw ...
''Morenatsu'', the dog character Kōya is part of a rock band with three other performers, who are a cat, a bird, and a horse. The protagonist makes note of the resemblance to the Town Musicians of Bremen, with a brief monologue explaining the fairy tale. * In the comic ''
Blacksad ''Blacksad'' is a noir comic series created by Spanish authors Juan Díaz Canales (writer) and Juanjo Guarnido (artist), and published by French publisher Dargaud in album format. Though both authors are Spanish, their main target audience f ...
s fourth album, "A Silent Hell", a mystery unfolds in New Orleans around the remaining members of a defunct musical group formerly composed of a dog, a cat, a rooster, and a donkey, all of whom had migrated to the city from their home on a Southern island. * In
Black Clover is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yūki Tabata. It has been serialized in Shueisha's ''shōnen'' manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' since February 2015, with its chapters collected in 33 ''tankōbon'' volumes ...
, Nacht Faust is a host to four devils; Gimodelo, Plumede, Slotos and Walgner, a dog, a cat, a horse and rooster respectively.


Music

* In the early 20th century, the American folk/swing/children's musician
Frank Luther Frank Luther (born Francis Luther Crow, August 4, 1899 – November 16, 1980) was an American country music singer, dance band vocalist, playwright, songwriter and pianist. Early life Born on a farm near Lakin, Kansas, 40 miles from the Colorado ...
popularized the musical tale as the ''Raggletaggletown Singers'', presented in children's school music books and performed in children's plays. * ''The Musicians of Bremen'' (1972), based on the
Brothers Grimm The Brothers Grimm ( or ), Jacob (1785–1863) and Wilhelm (1786–1859), were a brother duo of German academics, philologists, cultural researchers, lexicographers, and authors who together collected and published folklore. They are among the ...
fairy tale, the "Town Musicians of Bremen", for male voices: two
countertenor A countertenor (also contra tenor) is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range is equivalent to that of the female contralto or mezzo-soprano voice types, generally extending from around G3 to D5 or E5, although a sopranist (a s ...
s, tenor, two baritones and bass; composed by Malcolm Williamson, and premiered by
The King's Singers The King's Singers are a British a cappella vocal ensemble founded in 1968. They are named after King's College in Cambridge, England, where the group was formed by six choral scholars. In the United Kingdom, their popularity peaked in the 19 ...
in Sydney on 15 May 1972. A recording may be heard here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C57Y7HtiUIE * In 2012, American artists PigPen Theatre Co. released their debut album titled ''Bremen'', with the fifth track "Bremen"'s lyrics telling the story of the Town Musicians of Bremen. * In 2015, Japanese rock musician
Kenshi Yonezu is a Japanese musician, singer-songwriter, record producer and illustrator who began releasing Vocaloid music under the stage name in 2009. In 2012, he debuted under his real name, releasing music with his own voice. He has sold at least 4.2 mi ...
released his third album titled ''Bremen'', with the sixth track "Will-O-Wisp"'s lyrics being centred on the Town Musicians of Bremen.


Art and sculpture

* Statues modeled after the Town Musicians of Bremen statue now reside in front of each of the five German veterinary schools. * Another
replica A 1:1 replica is an exact copy of an object, made out of the same raw materials, whether a molecule, a work of art, or a commercial product. The term is also used for copies that closely resemble the original, without claiming to be identical. Al ...
of the statue can be found in the
Lynden Sculpture Garden Lynden Sculpture Garden (formerly the Bradley Sculpture Garden) is a 40-acre outdoor sculpture park located at 2145 West Brown Deer Road in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in Milwaukee County. Formerly the estate of Harry Lynde Bradley and Margaret (Peg ) Bla ...
, located in
Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...
. * A
persiflage This is a list of idioms that were recognizable to literate people in the late-19th century, and have become unfamiliar since. As the article list of idioms in the English language notes, a list of idioms can be useful, since the meaning of an id ...
of this tale can be found on the wall in the Fort Napoleon,
Ostend Ostend ( nl, Oostende, ; french: link=no, Ostende ; german: link=no, Ostende ; vls, Ostende) is a coastal city and municipality, located in the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerk ...
, Belgium. Heinrich-Otto Pieper, a German soldier during World War I, painted the German and the Austro-Hungarian eagles throned on a rock, under the light of a Turkish crescent. They look with contempt on the futile efforts of the Town Musicians of Bremen to chase them away. These animals are symbols for the Allied Forces: on top the French cock, standing on the Japanese jackal, standing on the English bulldog, standing on the Russian bear. Italy is depicted as a twisting snake and Belgium a tricolored beetle. * A sculpture in
Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...
shows the animals breaking through a wall (symbolising the Iron Curtain). * A junction in
Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million ...
City of India has been named after Bremen as 'Bremen Chowk' and has sculpture of instrument that four musicians had used. * The city of
Fujikawaguchiko is a town located in Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 26,542 in 10618 households, and a population density of 170 persons per km2. The total area of the town is . Geography Fujikawaguchiko is located in so ...
in Japan has its own statue of the Town Musicians of Bremen. * The City of Kawasaki in Japan has a Bremen Street that features a replica statue.


Video games

*In ''
Super Tempo is a 1998 Japanese video game for the Sega Saturn. It followed ''Tempo'' for the Sega 32X and ''Tempo Jr.'' for the Game Gear. The game uses stylized 2D cartoon graphics. Plot In the winter music world, the Prince of Music World is kidnapped an ...
'', the second stage is set in Bremen, and the player's goal is to find and reunite the ghosts of the four deceased Town Musicians—referred to as "The Bremens," akin to a band name—to perform a song. *In '' The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask'', there is a musician playing a hurdy-gurdy who tells his story about how he was in a musical troupe run by animals. For listening to his tale, the player receives an item called the Bremen Mask (which allows the player to play a musical march on their ocarina, thus allowing the player to lead animals), which is a reference to the Town Musicians of Bremen. *In '' Agatha Knife'', there is an in-game quiz where you are asked about the animals that make up the Town Musicians of Bremen, allowing you to go to the zoo for free. *In '' Super Robot Taisen OG Saga: Endless Frontier'', the four members of the Orchestral Army are named Ezel, Katze, Henne, and Kyon—the German words for donkey, cat, and hen and the Greek word for dog, respectively. Their organization being called the Orchestral Army is a further reference to the story. *In '' The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt'', the Town Musicians of Bremen appear as NPCs in the "Blood and Wine" DLC. *In ''
Library of Ruina ''Lobotomy Corporation'' is an indie horror strategy management simulation video game for Microsoft Windows developed and published by South Korean studio Project Moon in April 2018. The sequel, deck-building game ''Library of Ruina'', was releas ...
'', there is a syndicate based on the Musicians of Bremen, with each of its original members representing a different animal from the story's cast. *
Shari Lewis Shari Lewis (born Phyllis Naomi Hurwitz; January 17, 1933 – August 2, 1998) was a Peabody-winning American ventriloquist, puppeteer, children's entertainer, television show host, dancer, singer, actress, author, and symphonic conductor. She wa ...
adapted the story in the computer game "Lamb Chop Loves Music," replacing the donkey with a horse and Lamb Chop taking the place of the rooster. After fleeing the robbers' den, other animals join the group as they try to become musicians in Bremen. *In The Sims 3, the item “An Accumulation of Animals” depicts the musicians of Bremen stacked on one another.


German Fairy Tale Route

The sculpture of the Town Musicians of Bremen in
Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state consis ...
, Germany, is the starting point of a
tourist Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism mo ...
attraction, the German Fairy Tale Route (Deutsche Märchenstraße).


See also

* ''
Jack and His Comrades Jack and his Comrades is a short Irish fairy tale describing the title character's story of success with the help of his animal helpers, collected by folklorist Patrick Kennedy from a resident of County Wexford, Ireland, and published in ''Legen ...
'' (Irish fairy tale collected by
Joseph Jacobs Joseph Jacobs (29 August 1854 – 30 January 1916) was an Australian folklorist, translator, literary critic, social scientist, historian and writer of English literature who became a notable collector and publisher of English folklore. Jacob ...
) *
Ub Iwerks Ubbe Ert Iwwerks (March 24, 1901 – July 7, 1971), known as Ub Iwerks ( ), was an American animator, cartoonist, character designer, inventor, and special effects technician. Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Iwerks grew up with a contentious ...
' ComiColor Cartoon ''The Bremen Town Musicians'' (1935 film) * ''
The Bremen Town Musicians The "Town Musicians of Bremen" (german: link=no, Die Bremer Stadtmusikanten) is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm and published in ''Grimms' Fairy Tales'' in 1819 (KHM 27). It tells the story of four aging domestic animals, w ...
'' 1969 (Soviet musical cartoon) * The '' Four harmonious animals'' is a figure in Jātaka tales and other Buddhist mythology


Citations


General bibliography

* Boggs, Ralph Steele. ''Index of Spanish folktales, classified according to Antti Aarne's "Types of the folktale"''. Chicago: University of Chicago. 1930. p. 33. * Bolte, Johannes; Polívka, Jiri. ''Anmerkungen zu den Kinder- u. hausmärchen der brüder Grimm''. Erster Band (NR. 1-60). Germany, Leipzig: Dieterich'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung. 1913. pp. 237–259. * "Children's Stories in Sculpture: Bremen Town Musicians in Bremen." The Elementary School Journal 64, no. 5 (1964): pp. 246-47. www.jstor.org/stable/999783.


External links

*
Golden Books 1954 version


by
D. L. Ashliman Dee L. Ashliman (born January 1, 1938), who writes professionally as D. L. Ashliman, is an American folklorist and writer. He is Professor Emeritus of German at the University of Pittsburgh and is considered to be a leading expert on folklore an ...
Some of the best known adaptations are: * Disney 1922 animated version * Russian animated version * Brazilian musical free adaptation of the tale * 1989 Spanish animated movie version * 1997 German edition, also released in English under the title "The Fearless Four" * The Muppet Musicians of Bremen * The Disney version o
The Four Musicians of Bremen
a
The Encyclopedia of Disney Animated Shorts


{{DEFAULTSORT:Town Musicians of Bremen 1819 short stories Animal tales Culture in Bremen (city) Fictional cats Fictional chickens Fictional dogs Fictional donkeys German fairy tales German folklore Germany in fiction Grimms' Fairy Tales ATU 100-149