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The Storyteller

  • TV Series
  • 1987–19891987–1989
  • TV-Y7TV-Y7
  • 3h 45min
IMDb RATING
8.9/10
4.3K
YOUR RATING
Episode guide
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • IMDbPro
The Storyteller (1987)
Home Video Trailer from Unknown
Play trailer0:36
2 Videos
23 Photos
AdventureDramaFamily

An old storyteller tells European folk tales to his sarcastic dog.An old storyteller tells European folk tales to his sarcastic dog.An old storyteller tells European folk tales to his sarcastic dog.

IMDb RATING
8.9/10
4.3K
YOUR RATING
  • Creator
    • Jim Henson
  • Stars
    • John Hurt
    • Brian Henson
    • Frederick Warder
Top credits
  • Creator
    • Jim Henson
  • Stars
    • John Hurt
    • Brian Henson
    • Frederick Warder
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 31User reviews
    • 7Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Won 1 Primetime Emmy
      • 4 wins & 3 nominations total

    Episodes9

    Browse episodes
    TopTop-rated
    1 Season
    1988

    Videos2

    Jim Henson's The StoryTeller
    Trailer 0:36
    Jim Henson's The StoryTeller
    Jim Henson's The Storyteller
    Trailer 0:36
    Jim Henson's The Storyteller

    Photos23

    Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders in The Storyteller (1987)
    Jane Horrocks in The Storyteller (1987)
    The Storyteller (1987)
    Elliott Spiers in The Storyteller (1987)
    The Storyteller (1987)
    Maggie Wilkinson in The Storyteller (1987)
    The Storyteller (1987)
    Walter Sparrow in The Storyteller (1987)
    Miranda Richardson in The Storyteller (1987)
    The Storyteller (1987)
    John Hurt in The Storyteller (1987)
    John Hurt in The Storyteller (1987)

    Top cast

    Edit
    John Hurt
    John Hurt
    • The Storytelleras The Storyteller
    9 episodes9 eps • 1987–1988
    Brian Henson
    Brian Henson
    • Storyteller's Dogas Storyteller's Dog…
    9 episodes9 eps • 1987–1988
    Frederick Warder
    Frederick Warder
    • Giantas Giant…
    3 episodes3 eps • 1987–1988
    David Greenaway
    • Badgeras Badger…
    3 episodes3 eps • 1988
    Robert Tygner
    • Badgeras Badger…
    3 episodes3 eps • 1988
    Alistair Fullarton
    • Deathas Death…
    3 episodes3 eps • 1988
    Mak Wilson
    Mak Wilson
    • Badgeras Badger…
    3 episodes3 eps • 1988
    Diana Payan
    • Miller's Wifeas Miller's Wife…
    2 episodes2 eps • 1988
    Robin Summers
    • Jaileras Jailer…
    2 episodes2 eps • 1987–1988
    Michael Kilgarriff
    Michael Kilgarriff
    • Lionas Lion…
    2 episodes2 eps • 1987–1988
    Peter Marinker
    Peter Marinker
    • Devilas Devil…
    2 episodes2 eps • 1988
    Reece Dinsdale
    Reece Dinsdale
    • Fearnotas Fearnot
    1 episode1 ep • 1987
    Eric Richard
    Eric Richard
    • Farmeras Farmer
    1 episode1 ep • 1987
    Alison Doody
    Alison Doody
    • Sapsorrowas Sapsorrow
    1 episode1 ep • 1988
    Jane Horrocks
    Jane Horrocks
    • Anjaas Anja
    1 episode1 ep • 1988
    Steven Mackintosh
    Steven Mackintosh
    • Luckyas Lucky
    1 episode1 ep • 1988
    Bob Peck
    Bob Peck
    • Soldieras Soldier
    1 episode1 ep • 1988
    Bryan Pringle
    Bryan Pringle
    • Cookas Cook
    1 episode1 ep • 1988
    • Creator
      • Jim Henson
    • All cast & crew
    • See more cast details at IMDbPro

    Storyline

    Edit
    A variety of European folk tales are retold in nine new stories. A soldier captures Death in a magic sack. A fearless young man sets out to learn to shudder. A boy with a destiny that frightens a tyrant is sent on an impossible task that will see him wed the Princess, or dead. A storyteller must spin tales to stay alive. A woman bears a hedgehog-child who grows up to live alone in a castle until he does a King a favor and gets the Princess' hand in return. A Princess must keep silent while she works to free her brothers from an evil spell. A Princess runs away from wedding her father and disguises herself as an ugly forest creature. A young boy must overcome a heartless giant. A Princess searches the Earth for her stolen bridegroom. —Kathy Li
    storytellerdogdark fantasystorytellingtalking animal4 more
    • Plot summary
    • Add synopsis
    • Genres
      • Adventure
      • Drama
      • Family
      • Fantasy
      • Horror
    • Certificate
      • TV-Y7
    • Parents guide
      • Add content advisory

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Sir John Hurt loved working on this series, and wished it could've lasted for more than one season. Jim Henson also planned to use more detailed folktales and the Creature Shop to make hour-long episodes. Some completed scripts included ones based on Petrosinella; The Witch Baby, which was used in the 2011 StoryTeller graphic novel anthology; and Vasilissa the Beautiful, which was adapted into "The Storyteller: Witches" graphic novel series in 2014. Three more graphic novel series were made, "The StoryTeller: Dragons" in 2016 and "The Storyteller: Giants" and "The Storyteller: Fairies" in 2017. A video game was also planned to be made but never released.
    • Quotes

      The Storyteller: [opening lines] When people told themselves their past with stories, explained their present with stories, foretold the future with stories, the best place by the fire was kept for... The Storyteller.

    • Connections
      Featured in Troldspejlet: Episode #3.1 (1990)

    User reviews31

    Review
    Top review
    Stories for grown up children..
    I remember watching this show as a kid. It made quite an impression on me, to be honest I was absolutely spellbound.

    Quite recently I obtained a DVD-release and was somewhat amazed: It was just as good as I remembered it! This is not simply a bad case of nostalgia, this show is definitely something above the ordinary. We might have struck gold here..

    The show is in nine stand alone episodes based on nine old folktales. (Mostly Russian or German) Not so "kidified" as most recent versions, just a little bit cruel, but always with a happy ending (with 2 exceptions)

    The special effects (especially the creature effects ) still look really good even in this time of photo-realistic computer animation. If you take into account that this is a TV-production from 1987 the effects are absolutely outstanding! They give a much more living impression than many computer generated creatures I have seen of late.

    The actor performances are maybe not always of academy award winning standard.. but I can live with that, and most probably so can you. Not all nine episodes are masterpieces either, but some come very close to being just that. "The Soldier and Death" is in my opinion one of the best and appears to be the first choice of most other reviewers. "Sapsorrow" (their version of Cinderella) is also worth mentioning. Maybe not for it's greatness but for the most enjoyable Disney reference. Very amusing.

    When this was aired it had the added title: "Stories for grown up children" and that is a good description of what this is. Maybe not for the very youngest but perfect for anyone else. Especially anyone interested in folktales or anything fantasy-like.

    Highly recommended.
    helpful•25
    0
    • Merlin242
    • Jan 1, 2006

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • May 15, 1988 (United Kingdom)
    • Country of origin
      • United Kingdom
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Jim Henson's The Storyteller
    • Filming locations
      • Elstree Studios, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, England, UK
    • Production companies
      • Henson Associates (HA)
      • TVS Television
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 3h 45min
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.33 : 1

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