Since human beings have proved themselves apparently incapable of living in peace, a number of animals who have been rescued from a circus decide it is time to take a stand. They call an animal conference, where children are the guests of honor and treated with utmost care. But when the conference's call for peace falls on deaf ears, the animals decide to act. Overnight, all the children in the world disappear – hidden by the animals until the governments come to their senses. Erich Kästner wrote his fable in 1949 after his experience in World War II. Curt Linda's film adaptation was West Germany's first feature-length animated film in color.

A circus catches fire and whilst the adults think only about their own survival, it is the children that free the animals from their cages in order to save their lives. But the incident passes largely ignored by the newspapers, whose focus is rather on the 365th World Peace Conference which has just failed again. Although people really do long for peace, wars are raging all over the world, often being fought with the cynical justification that governments are trying to make the world a better place for children. One day, the animals simply cannot take it any longer, and decide to help the children of the world, as they themselves were once helped by them. The children are invited as the guests of honor to the Conference of the Animals. But when the world's military powers hear about this extraordinary assembly, they find themselves for the first time sharing the same aim: They will not allow themselves be forced to make peace by animals, and so issue them an ultimatum to end the conference. But the owl comes up with a cunning plan. She mobilizes the moths of the world who, in a flash, destroy the human race's uniforms. Still, that doesn't change people's stupidity. At the height of the conflict, the children align themselves with the animals against the adults and something strange happens: Overnight, all the children in the world disappear. Now the grownups are scared. And here is the moral of this story, written by children's author Erich Kästner in 1949, after experiencing World War II: It is not until the moment of extreme threat and high concern for their children, that people really begin to campaign for peace and turn on the war-mongering military and power-hungry state leaders. The book, just like the film, ends with the signing of a peace treaty.

The treaty which the international leaders have to sign is just as poignant, and utopian, today as when Kästner penned it, and as its visual rendition in the film. Its text reads: "We, the responsible representatives of all the nations on earth, commit ourselves with life and assets to carrying out the following:
All border posts and border patrols will be abolished.
There will be no more borders.
The military and all guns and explosives will be abolished.
There will be no more wars.
The police necessary for maintaining order will be equipped with bow and arrow.
Their main task will be to ensure that science and technology is used to achieve peaceful aims only.
There will be no more science of murder.
The number of offices, officials and filing cabinets will be reduced to an absolute minimum.
Offices are there for the people, not the other way around.
Teachers will be the best-paid officials in the future.
The task of bringing children up to be real people is the greatest and most difficult task of them all."

Right from the beginning, Curt Linda developed his own style: "I was worried that my animals wouldn't spark such enthusiastic popularity, because I didn't distort them or make them cute like animal caricatures often are in popular cartoons." At the time of its creation (1969), animated films had a reputation for being aimed largely at a child audience. Curt Linda said at the time: "If adults find it hard to relate to cartoon films, then it's due to poor films on offer. Adults will happily go to the movies and see any of the few good animated films. In the early years for example, Lotte Reiniger's silhouette films were greatly acclaimed and Disney's 'Jungle Book' too ... It was purely a children's film but adults enjoyed it hugely. And why? Because it wasn't one of these mindless, action films."

"The film deserves respect and recognition for two reasons especially: On one hand, it's the first West German feature-length animated film in color. On the other hand, its creators have successfully managed to avoid a Disney-fied style and find their own independent form of expression." (Evangelischer Filmbeobachter, 1970)

"An animated feature film in color, bursting with ideas and a match for any rival Disney production. Its style opts less for the usual cutesy animal sentimentality in cartoons and instead tends towards demonstrating their cleverness through the abstract, grotesque and absurd. It superbly combines aesthetics, malice and morality in what could be a world success. It's the dream of ridding the world of warring military powers." (Ponkie, Abendzeitung, 12/1969)

And here are a few comments from children about the film: "The children are the clever ones, the adults are the stupid ones." "It would be nice if there were no more war." "The soldiers all look the same and that's just how it is in the (West German) armed forces. Or you can refuse to go to join up." "The animals stand for a certain group of humans who speak out against war." (from the Kinderkino München e.V. archives)

Production Country

Germany (DE)

Production Period

1969

Production Year

1969

color

color

Duration

Feature-Length Film (61+ Min.)

Type

Animated Film

Genre

Fantasy / Fairy Tale, Literary Adaptation, Anti-war / War Film

Topic

Literature, Film History, Democracy / Human Rights

Target Group

Youth film (12-17), Junior film (7-11)

Available Media

DVD

Original Version

German (de)

DVD

Subtitles

German (de), English (en), Spanish (es), French (fr), Portuguese (Brazil) (pt), Turkish (tr)