''Krabat – The Sorcerer's Apprentice'' () is a 1978 Czechoslovak cutout animated

dark fantasy Dark fantasy, also called fantasy horror, is a subgenre of fantasy literary, artistic, and cinematic works that incorporates disturbing and frightening themes. The term is ambiguously used to describe stories that combine horror fiction, horror ...

film directed by

Karel Zeman Karel Zeman (3 November 1910 – 5 April 1989) was a Czech film director, artist, production designer and animator. He is best known for directing fantasy films combining live-action footage with animation, including '' Journey to the Beginning ...

, based on the 1971 book '' Krabat'' by

Otfried Preußler Otfried Preußler (; sometimes spelled Preussler; born Otfried Syrowatka; 20 October 1923 – 18 February 2013) was a German children's books author. More than 50 million copies of his books have been sold worldwide and they have been translate ...

, and the Sorbian folk tale upon which the book is based. The name Krabat is derived from the word

Croat The Croats (; , ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and other neighboring countries in Central Europe, Central and Southeastern Europe who share a common Croatian Cultural heritage, ancest ...

.Entry on Česko-Slovenská filmová databáze
(in Czech)

Plot

Krabat, a beggar boy in early 18th century

Lusatia Lusatia (; ; ; ; ; ), otherwise known as Sorbia, is a region in Central Europe, formerly entirely in Germany and today territorially split between Germany and modern-day Poland. Lusatia stretches from the Bóbr and Kwisa rivers in the eas ...

, is lured to become an apprentice to an evil, one-eyed sorcerer. Together with a number of other boys, he works at the sorcerer's mill under slave-like conditions while learning

black magic Black magic (Middle English: ''nigromancy''), sometimes dark magic, traditionally refers to the use of Magic (paranormal), magic or supernatural powers for evil and selfish purposes. The links and interaction between black magic and religi ...

, such as guising himself as a

raven A raven is any of several large-bodied passerine bird species in the genus '' Corvus''. These species do not form a single taxonomic group within the genus. There is no consistent distinction between crows and ravens; the two names are assigne ...

and other animals. Every Christmas one of the boys has to face the master in a magical duel of life and death, where the boy never stands a chance because the master is the only person who is allowed to use his secret

grimoire A grimoire () (also known as a book of spells, magic book, or a spellbook) is a textbook of magic, typically including instructions on how to create magical objects like talismans and amulets, how to perform magical spells, charms, and divin ...

: ''The Koraktor'', or the ''Force of Hell''. One Easter while performing an annual ritual near a small village, Krabat meets a girl and falls in love, but has to keep the romance secret in order to protect her. After witnessing his friends one after one being helplessly slaughtered by the master every Christmas, Krabat starts to sneak up at night to study the forbidden book. On the last page of the book, Krabat finds a phrase saying: "Love is stronger than any spell." This is used when he ultimately has to defeat his master for the sake of love.

Voice cast

References

External links

* 1970s Czech-language films 1970s dark fantasy films 1970s stop-motion animated films 1978 films Animated films based on German novels Animated films based on Slavic mythology Cutout animation films Czech animated fantasy films Czech animated horror films Czech dark fantasy films Czech horror films Czechoslovak animated films Films based on fairy tales Films based on fantasy novels Films based on works by Otfried Preußler Films directed by Karel Zeman Films set in Europe Films with screenplays by Karel Zeman {{1970s-animation-film-stub

Plot

Voice cast

See also

References

External links