Best German animation movies

The Wishbone family are far from happy. In an attempt to reconnect as a family, they plan a fun night out. However, the plan backfires when they are cursed and all turned into Monsters.

When marauding Romans capture - and catapult - their pal Getafix into lands unknown, the shrewd and cunning Asterix and his able sidekick Obelix spring into action! But their journey leads them to a strange and dangerous new world, where they must face a tribe of Indians, a stampeding herd of buffalo and a medicine man with designs on their magic potion!

A group of animals waiting for the annual flood they rely on for food and water discover that the humans, who have been destroying their habitats have built a dam for a leisure resort. The animals endeavour to save the delta and send a message to the humans not to interfere with nature.

An alliance of evil-doers, led by Frieda, looks to take over Fairy Tale Land. But when Ella realizes her stepmother is out to ruin her storybook existence, she takes a dramatic turn and blossoms into the leader of the resistance effort.

When Roger (a Robin Hood-esque, stray dog) and Belle (an elegant yet spoilt pet cat) are thrown together amidst the chaos of a robot take-over of their home city, they must push all their preconceptions aside in order to survive, as they embark on a high-stakes, action-packed adventure.

Comic artist Brösel trades a magic pen that helps him come up with funny stories for the promise to fulfill one of Rumpelstiltskin's wishes. The resulting animated films show episodes of the life of Werner, a plumber apprentice and motorbike enthusiast and his friends. They are interspersed with the live-action portions.

An unlikely trio of heroes – a dragon, a boy and a forest brownie – embark on an epic adventure to find the “Rim of Heaven” - the mythological safe haven for all dragons.

A young reindeer named Niko dreams about flying like his father, whom he has never met. Despite constant teasing from others, he sneaks out of his home valley to take flying lessons from Julius, a flying squirrel.

Taken from The Arabian Nights, the film tells the story of a wicked sorcerer who tricks Prince Achmed into mounting a magical flying horse and sends the rider off on a flight to his death. But the prince foils the magician’s plan, and soars headlong into a series of wondrous adventures.

Seven clumsy dwarfs try to undo the spell they unwillingly unleashed and save the fairy tales world with the help of a tired dragon and a butterfly. The evil witch Dellamorta cursed princess Rose when she was a baby. Before she turns 18, Rose will get stung in the finger by a sharp object and she and the whole castle will fall into a hundred year long sleep unless her true love would kiss her. The night before her birthday she sends her bf Jack to the 7 dwarfs, who live behind the 7 mountains to hide until after Rose has turned 18. Unfortunately he gets lost and captured by Dellamorta's dragon Burner. So at the party, Rose gets stung in the finger, and everyone falls into deep sleep. Everyone but the 7 dwarfs of course who will go on a journey to save Jack so he can save Rose.

A domestic house cat named Francis investigates the grisly feline murders taking place in his new neighborhood.

The lives of three strong-willed women and a young musician cross paths in Tehran’s schizophrenic society where sex, adultery, corruption, prostitution and drugs coexist with strict religious law. In this bustling modern metropolis, avoiding prohibition has become an everyday sport and breaking taboos can be a means of personal emancipation.

When a greedy bear steals a magic stone to keep the forest’s water for himself, a brave hedgehog and a timid squirrel must work together to retrieve it.

The plot concerns a yeti who makes a pact with the devil to kidnap the most beautiful girl in the world. This turns out to be the Princess Lissi, who is clearly the Austrian Princess and later Empress Elisabeth of Bavaria, and much of the film is taken up with subplots related to the court and to the romantic relationship between Elisabeth and her husband. The film is thus a comic parody of the Sissi films.

A half hour animated film for all the family based on the much-loved book written by Julia Donaldson and illustrated by Axel Scheffler. The Snail and the Whale is the much loved classic that shows us a restless young snail who has ambitions to travel the world. The other snails think she should stay put, but she puts out a call for a “Lift wanted around the world”. Eventually her call is answered by a great big grey-blue humpback whale! She sets off with him across the seas. On their journey the snail and the whale discover towering icebergs and far-off lands, fiery mountains and golden sands. The snail is delighted by the wonderful world around her, until she realises how small it makes her feel.

Because of a bet, Werner and his friend have to construct the fastest vehicle to win a race, because life depends on it.

The setting is on a floating platform where a group of evenly and carefully placed men live. Each man is aware that the platform is not stable and in order not to fall to their deaths, they maintain a careful balance of weight to prevent the platform from tipping too far and cause them all to fall.

A wicked investor wants Werner's residential area razed to the ground in order to build a shopping center. However, building tycoon Günzelsen has not reckoned with Werner. Together with his master Röhrich he's planning to blow away the plumbings with a gigantic obstruction...

After 500 years, castle ghost Hui Buh finally has some royal residents to haunt, but he soon loses his license to scare and must get recertified.

Werner, Andi and Eckat play dice to determine the next king of the trio. When Werner is crowned king, he decides for all of them to skip work and start for Korsika.

Want to know what a successful day in the life of the little asshole looks like? Yes? Well, after you have successfully disturbed your parents' lovemaking, you concentrate on your own libido. This, slightly disturbed, forces you to strain the weak heart of pensioner Mrs. Koschmidder with unambiguous offers.

Set right before Christmas, young reindeer Niko must deal with his mother's remarriage and his being tasked with looking after his little stepbrother.

When a homeless little ghost knocks on the door to the eccentric residents of a Ghost Train on the lookout for a place to belong, she accidentally attracts the attention from the outside world and must team up with the motley crew of monsters on a crazy quest to save not only the future of the Ghost Train but also her only chance to finally have a family of her own.

Four crazy antiheroes on the run. Their leader is the unworldly innocent, naive Marnie, a house cat who is not allowed to leave the house and only knows about real life from television

Werner and Holgi are friends, but also lifelong rivals. Now Werner finally has enough of being the eternal second and is planning his revenge. With his special motorcycle, the 'Red Porsche Killer', he challenges Holgi and his car.

An over confident teen with a magical weapon and a handful of imperfect gods join forces against an evil queen and her army of giants

"Let's go find some treasure," Tiger and Bear decide when they find a treasure map in an old box. They are joined by Jochen Gummibär the rabbit, who really just wants to make friends. And so begins an exciting adventure. Because it's not just the three of them who want the treasure, but also the resourceful detective Gokatz and the athletic dog "Kurt the Growler," who are always hot on the heels of Tiger, Bear, and Jochen. The hunt leads through ink swamps and ice deserts to an old pirate ship, where the treasure is said to be hidden.

A barbarian woman with a miraculous blue crystal staff gains the help of a group of adventurers as an army of dragons invades the land of Krynn.

A fight for survival in the solar system where no one can be trusted has started.

A pair of rival butterflies form an unlikely friendship.

Rabbit Max, a juvenile shoplifter, gets trapped in an old-fashioned school. With rabbit girl Emmy, he acquires Easter Rabbits' secret skills, battles a sneaky fox family and learns about friendship.

The Oggly family arrive at the municipal rubbish dump of Smelliville and must look for a new home, but they never feel really welcome anywhere. They stink and are for most humans just a tad too oggly. When Firebottom, the family dragon, crash-lands on the run-down rubbish tip of the small town of Smelliville, the Ogglies at once feel at home. And it's here they want to stay.

Violetta (337), a curious and cheeky fairy, gets lost in the human world. To find her way back to the fairy world, she teams up with the human girl Maxie (12) and discovers her true destiny.

The beautiful world of Gaya is home to two similar humanoid species: Zeldons who are the furry majority residents, and Snurks, who are goblin-like outcasts. But suddenly all Gayans are facing imminent danger when a magic stone which protects their world, "the Dalamite", is beamed away by a mysterious force. Three Snurks immediately go after it, hoping to be the heroes for once. They are shortly followed by some standout Zeldons: Zino the trouble-prone popular guy & his sidekick, clever but somewhat cowardly inventor Boo, as well as rebel princess Alanta. Their journey ends up leading them all on a dangerous interdimensional quest to find the stone, while they must also figure out a way to get back to Gaya.

The legendary Elfkins (Heinzelmännchen) of Cologne were gnomes secretly helping craftsmen at night until they were ousted by a tailor's malevolent wife 200 years ago. This is the story of their return.

Hans Richter, noted for his abstract shorts, has everyday objects rebelling against their daily routine.

Richard, a sparrow adopted by a stork family, is wintering at the Great Lake in Northern Africa. When he realises that he won’t be the one to lead his flock back North, Richard decides to travel on his own and crosses paths with Samia and her sparrow flock, who are being held captive by evil marabous under the control of greedy peacock Zamano. The only chance of freedom for the sparrows is to solve a riddle and find the Great Jewel, which will call upon teamwork, trust and most of all- spork (sparrow + stork) skills.

On a magical tropical island, a fun-loving group of misfit animals and people discover a baby dinosaur frozen since prehistoric times. When a king from a faraway country vows to capture the loveable baby dino for his private collection, all the inhabitants must join together to save their new friend.

The stone-people Hew and Kew have seen a lot in their everlasting lives on top of their mountain. Therefore they're only mildly amazed by the ongoings in the valley below, they've got their own little problems to deal with - But all of a sudden, Mankind is discovering and inventing, instead of just woozeling, and this new behavior starts to threaten Hew's and Kew's stoic peacefulness...

1960's Siegheilkirchen, a small town in the Austrian hinterland is steeped in reactionary and ultra-Catholic attitudes. The son of a hard-working innkeeper and his wife, called Snotty Boy by all and sundry, is at odds with the narrow-minded confines of his home town. But his unstoppable talent for drawing gives him an outlet for his discontent.

The story of August who loses his beloved sister Christina, a former porn star known as The Princess. He adopts Christina's five-year-old daughter Mia. Weighed down by grief and guilt, August breaks down and with Mia in tow, he embarks on a mission of vengeance to erase Christina's pornographic legacy.

A pianist plays in a huge theatre on a cylindrical piano, which is rotated by his dwarf assistant. The theatre is part of a huge, spherical city. Upon waking, he turns out to be a street musician, who has a restraining order, but wants to teach his daughter how to play the piano.

The little asshole's grandfather, the old bag, has fallen into the coffin at a funeral and been buried alive. It's no surprise that instead of going to heaven, the old sack goes straight to hell. The little asshole and his dog Peppi, whom he inherited from Mrs. Mövenpick, try everything in their power to snatch the old bag from the clutches of the devil and do not shy away from dubious cloning techniques and black magic.

For over 500 years now, the castle ghost Hui Buh has been stirring things up at Castle Burgeck. His friend and owner of the castle, King Julius is not the only one who finds Hui Buh's poor attempts at scary hauntings terribly annoying. The chaotic atmosphere at the castle reaches an all-time high when the young witch Ophelia appears at the castle gates out of nowhere, claiming to be Hui Buh's long lost niece. Ophelia is in possession of the Necronomicon, an ancient book of spells that is as evil as it is powerful. Hui Buh, realizing the possibilities that the book would open up for him, is dying to get his hands on the book...

Pippi Longstocking is an extraordinary little girl who lives alone in her house, while her father sails the seven seas. Pippi's irrepressibly fun nature makes her easy to befriend, as neighbors Tommy and Annika find, but can also earn ire, especially from social worker Mrs. Prysselius.

A retrospective look at the youth cultures born in the German Democratic Republic. A celebration of the lust for life, a contemporary trip into the world of skate, a tale on three heroes and their boards, from their childhood in the seventies, through their teenage rebellion in the eighties and the summer of 1989, when their life changed forever, to 2011.

This charming animated adventure follows a young polar bear, Lars, as he befriends Robbie, a seal. Together, these two form a friendship that proves different breeds of animals can get along perfectly well.

Momo is a young orphan girl who lives in the ruins of an old Roman amphitheater and becomes friends with everybody in the neighborhood. But when a powerful international corporation starts stealing everybody’s time, nobody has any time left for her, let alone their friends or families. Momo, together with Master Hora, the custodian of time, are the only ones who can go up against the time thieves before all is lost forever.

Pettson and Findus find themselves snowed in their house. The little cat is scared that Christmas is ruined, but Pettson promises that they will celebrate "the best Christmas ever".

Coconut and his friend Oscar are outsiders on Dragon Island. Coconut is supposed to be a flying dragon but he can't fly and Oscar, a carnivore by nature, is a vegetarian bychoice. Together with the porcupine Matilda they go on fabulous adventures and meet dragons in all shapes and sizes.

Three robbers pilfer from the countryside until they are charmed by a young orphan girl.

Rusty lives with his dragon Cole and faithful friend Bo in the kingdom of Scrapland, a magical world completely made of scrap-metal. With dreams of winning the great knights' tournament, Rusty acquires a speedy engine for his horse Chopper that propels them into first place. But when the engine turns out to be stolen from ambitious Prince Novel, brave Rusty must redeem his knightly honor, save the kingdom and prove that true friends always stick together.

Old farmer Pettson gets a kitten from his neighbour Mrs Kosonen and calls the cat Viiru. When Viiru starts to talk, the two become inseparable friends.

Dieters grandma knew it from the start. This guy will be special one. She should be right. Even as a child Dieter shows an enormous power when it is necessary to enforce his will. He quickly learn that you can not only impress the girls, but also make a lot of money as a musician. He understands that the success is mainly a question of the postage costs and a healthy liver. That you may not always tell the truth, but you should always have something lying on the high edge.

Laura sees a shooting star falling to earth and finds it in a park, down on the floor and with a broken point. The star is a living being, and Laura takes her home to reattach its point with a band-aid. The little star has special powers and can make people fly, or bring inanimate objects to life. But the more she stays on Earth, the weaker she becomes and her colors fade away and her powers start to fail. Laura must find a way to send the little star back into outer space.

A 5 minute animation on the nature of addiction.

Bits of found film and different types of animation illustrate a classic chase scene scenario: A woman is abducted and a man comes to her rescue, but during their escape they find themselves in the enemy's secret headquarters.

As the dragons have almost disappeared from the kingdom of Bayala, the magic powers of the fairies are weakening. The fairy princesses Sera and Surah are thrilled when they discover they have the key to save the world in their hands: a dragon egg! Now the sisters must reach the dragon mountains and they embark on an adventurous journey into the unknown...

Against a dark background, several bright, curved or rounded shapes pulse towards the center of the screen, one at a time. They are followed by many other shapes, some irregular, some pointed, others rounded. The abstract shapes move into or across the screen in harmony with the musical score.

A young dragon looking for his own fire must fight against an evil wizard with help of the beautiful ice princess, Lilli.

The no-ear bunny can do everything just as well as the other bunnies. But because he has no ears, nobody wants to play with him. When one day an egg is left on his doorstep, he has no idea that this is the start of a wonderful friendship. He experiences many exciting adventures with the two-eared bunny, right up to the fulfillment of their greatest wishes. Because if you have a real friend, you can do anything. And have a lot of fun doing it.

While villain Grizzle plots against the Care Bears, it is up to Oopsy Bear to come to their rescue.

Niko the reindeer joins his father in Santa's Flying Forces, but when Santa's sleigh is stolen by an acquaintance, Niko must find it in time for Christmas.

After his owners abandon him in the woods, a puppy befriends a family of rabbits.

Wordless story about a man who awakes in his bed wearing his clothes (including a check vest). He rises, washes his face, combs his hair, and heads for work across the street at a copy shop. He inadvertently makes a photocopy of his hand, and then the machine beings turning out copies of photographs of himself, the street outside, and his apartment. He unplugs the copier and heads home. He repeats the scene we saw earlier. Copies of himself emerge from bed; baffled, he watches them go to work. Soon, it seems, he's part of a society in which everyone looks like him and wears check vest. Can he get things back to normal?

Croatia, 7th of January 1992: In the middle of the war, a young journalist's body is discovered dressed in the uniform of an international mercenary group. Twenty years later, his cousin Anja Kofmel investigates his story.