peculiar and splendorous: a collection

Confined in the castle tower by her father, Princess Arete spends her days watching the world outside her window. Sometimes she sneaks out. Prospective suitors are sent on quests to collect magic treasures to win her hand in marriage.

Based on stories from "The Arabian Nights." A wicked sorcerer tricks Prince Achmed into riding a magical flying horse. The heroic prince is able to subdue the magical horse, which he uses to fly off to many adventures. While travelling, he falls in love with the beautiful Princess Pari Banu, and must defeat an army of demons to win her heart. The entire film is animated using the silhouette technique, which employs movable cardboard and metal cutouts posed in front of illuminated sheets of glass.

A young boy whose dreams transcend reality is sucked into his own fantasy, which is everything he has dreamed of until he unleashes a century old secret that may not only destroy this perfect dream world but reality itself.

In a post apocalyptic future that appears as a blend of World War II Europe and J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth, a pint-size wizard named Avatar must save the world from a band of fascist mutants controlled by his evil twin brother, Blackwolf, who likes to confuse enemy armies by projecting films of Adolf Hitler speeches during attacks. Painted live-action footage of advancing Nazi armies contrasts with Saturday-morning-cartoon-style animation of fairies and elves as Avatar travels through various magical and radioactive realms on his quest. Aiding him are the beautiful Fairy princess Elinore, hot-blooded warrior elf Weehawk, and Peace, a misunderstood robot rebelling against his Blackwolf-controlled programming. A bizarre and psychedelic meditation on magic vs. technology, this ultimate futuristic fantastic epic cult film still finds an audience on college campuses and will prove quite rewarding to viewers in the right frame of mind.

A young boy has to make a voyage to a distant lake to save his mother, who has been turned into a dragon.

Raggedy Ann and the rest of the toys in Marcella's playroom are curious about a package that has just arrived. They look inside and discover it contains a beautiful French doll. The haughty girl, named Babette, is horrified by her new home. She wants to go back to Paris. Meanwhile, the Captain, a pirate in a snow globe, sees Babette and falls in love. He tricks Raggedy Ann into freeing him and then immediately kidnaps Babette and sails out the window. Raggedy Ann and Andy leave the playroom to rescue her. Their adventure includes meeting a blue camel with wrinkled knees; the Greedy, a living, self-consuming taffy pit filled with every candy and confection known to the palate; King Coo Coo and the Loonie Knight, who love to laugh, but only at the expense of others; and Gazooks, a tickle monster hired to give King Coo Coo the last laugh. Finally, they find the Captain; but the damsel in distress proves more capable than they had imagined.

The story about a man-sized frog named Prince Frederic who is turned into a frog by his wicked aunt Messina and hired by British Intelligence to solve the mysterious disappearances of some of Britain's greatest monuments. Several hundred years later, Freddie is now living in modern-day Paris, a six-foot-tall amphibian with the moniker Secret Agent F.R.O.7. Messina, too, is still around causing mischief, joining forces with an arch-villain named El Supremo in a scheme to shrink Big Ben. Freddie, alerted to Messina's nefarious plans, gathers his fellow agents Daffers and Scottie together, planning to hide out in Big Ben and surprise the evil doers when they are set to strike at the much-loved British landmark.

As the blackest of magic, summoned by the evil megalomaniac Lord Nekron, gives birth to a towering, ever-growing glacier, the remnants of humankind flee south, seeking shelter in the temperate, volcanic realm of generous King Jarol. With the unstoppable glacial mass devouring everything in its path, war draws nearer, and King Jarol's resilient and resourceful only daughter, Princess Teegra, finds herself in harm's way. More and more, the suffocating stranglehold of Nekron's sorcery tightens around the last of the survivors as his beastly minions emerge from the bowels of the Earth. Now, to save raven-haired Teegra, the young defender, Larn, selflessly embarks on a peril-laden quest in the heart of a hostile, monster-ridden land, risking life and limb to thwart Nekron's sinister plans. If Fire and Ice meet on the blood-soaked field of battle, who can guess the outcome?

Life at the Magic Roundabout is disrupted when a blue cat called Buxton finds his way into town. Everyone loves Buxton except for Dougal, who discovers the cat's mad plan to become the king of blue army and destroy all who are not blue.

Based on elements from the stories of Mark Twain, this feature-length Claymation fantasy follows the adventures of Tom Sawyer, Becky Thatcher and Huck Finn as they stowaway aboard the interplanetary balloon of Mark Twain. Twain, disgusted with the human race, is intent upon finding Halley's Comet and crashing into it, achieving his "destiny." It's up to Tom, Becky, and Huck to convince him that his judgment is wrong and that he still has much to offer humanity that might make a difference. Their efforts aren't just charitable; if they fail, they will share Twain's fate. Along the way, they use a magical time portal to get a detailed overview of the Twain philosophy, observing the "historical" events that inspired his works.

James' happy life at the English seaside is rudely ended when his parents are killed by a rhinoceros and he goes to live with his two horrid aunts. Daringly saving the life of a spider he comes into possession of magic boiled crocodile tongues, after which an enormous peach starts to grow in the garden. Venturing inside, he meets not only the spider but a number of new friends including a ladybug and a centipede who help him with his plan to try to get to New York.

This is the story of a young boy named Richard Tyler, who spouts statistics about the possibility of accidents. So much so, he is scared to do anything that might endanger him, like riding his bike, or climbing into his treehouse. While riding his bike home, Richard finds shelter from a storm inside a nearby library. Richard slips and is knocked unconscious while exploring a rotunda in the library. Upon awakening, he is led on a journey through conflicts and events that resemble fictional stories, keeping him from finding the exit from the library.

Adaptation of Russell Hoban's novel about two mechanical toy mice, and their quest to become "self-winding".

Young Brendan lives in a remote medieval outpost under siege from barbarian raids. But a new life of adventure beckons when a celebrated master illuminator arrives from the isle of Iona carrying an ancient but unfinished book, brimming with secret wisdom and powers. To help complete the magical book, Brendan has to overcome his deepest fears on a dangerous quest that takes him into the enchanted forest where mythical creatures hide. It is here that he meets the fairy Aisling, a mysterious young wolf-girl, who helps him along the way. But with the barbarians closing in, will Brendan's determination and artistic vision illuminate the darkness and show that enlightenment is the best fortification against evil?

A very free adaptation of Marlowe's 'Doctor Faustus', Goethe's 'Faust' and various other treatments of the old legend of the man who sold his soul to the devil. Svankmajer's Faust is a nondescript man who, after being lured by a strange map into a sinister puppet theatre, finds himself immersed in an indescribably weird version of the play, blending live actors, clay model animation and giant puppets.

Bastian is a young boy who lives a dreary life being tormented by school bullies. On one such occasion he escapes into a book shop where the old proprieter reveals an ancient story-book to him, which he is warned can be dangerous. Shortly after, he "borrows" the book and begins to read it in the school attic where he is drawn into the mythical land of Fantasia, which desperately needs a hero to save it from destruction.

This is an animated movie based on the book by Peter Dickinson. In this movie the realm of magic is being threatened by the realm of logic, so Carolinus, the green wizard decides to shield it for all time. Ommedon, the evil red wizard, stands in his way. Carolinus then calls for a quest that is to be led by a man named Peter Dickinson, who is the first man of both the realms of science and magic. It is Peter's job to defeat Ommedon.

In a little village somewhere in Africa, a boy named Kirikou is born. But he's not a normal boy, because he knows what he wants very well. Also he already can speak and walk. His mother tells him how an evil sorceress has dried up their spring and devoured all males of the village except of one. Hence little Kirikou decides, he will accompany the last warrior to the sorceress. Due to his intrepidity he may be the last hope of the village.