Black Tulip (1988)

When a 100,000-guilder contest is announced in 1800s Holland, Cornelius sets about to grow one to win the prize. However, at the same time, the local alchemist, Bochstel, is trying to cast ... See full summary »

Writers:

Alex Nicholas (synopsis), Paul Leadon (screenplay),

Stars:

Brian Anderson, Phillip Hinton, Paul Johnstone

Cast

Credited cast:
Brian Anderson	...	(voice)
Phillip Hinton	...	(voice)
Paul Johnstone	...	(voice)
Juliet Jordan	...	(voice) (as Juliete Jordan)
Keith Scott	...	(voice)
Shane Withington	...	(voice)

Storyline

When a 100,000-guilder contest is announced in 1800s Holland, Cornelius sets about to grow one to win the prize. However, at the same time, the local alchemist, Bochstel, is trying to cast a spell that will give him unlimited power - and 2 of his ingredients must be a fair maiden (Cornelius's girlfriend, Rosa) and a black flower! Cornelius succeeds in producing a black tulip, but is then arrested for treason for possessing something sent him in the mail - and Bochstel steals his tulip. Cornelius must escape from jail, retrieve his precious flower, and stop Bochstel from completing his spell.

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Plot Keywords:

foreign language adaptation | based on novel | independent film

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Genres:

Adventure | Animation

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Details

Country:

Australia

Language:

English

Also Known As:

La tulipe noire

Company Credits

Production Co:

Burbank Films Australia

Technical Specs

Runtime:

49 min 50 min (VHS)

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Connections

Version of Das Fest der schwarzen Tulpe (1920)

User Reviews

Fell short for me, but not bad either

Translating any book as a short animated adaptation is always going to be difficult. Black Tulip does do an admirable job. It is not perfect, I did think that it was rather rushed, understandable considering the scant running time but it didn't work with a story like this, that some of the character designs were on the crude side(more in the secondary roles than the lead ones though), some of the action was clumsy in choreography and in editing and that some of the dialogue was cheesy in alternative to witty. On the other hand, it is colourful to look with some detailed backgrounds, and the music is rousing. The story is condensed and has to make do with a short length but maintains the story's excitement, thrills, fun, intelligence and sometimes even poignancy on the whole, and while the characters are not quite as interesting as they were in the story they are not bland or stereotypical either. The voice acting is decent. Overall, not bad but fell short for somewhat understandable but altogether unfortunate reasons. 6/10 Bethany Cox