Virtually every review of The Singing Ringing Tree includes some version of the same testimony: "it's beautiful, but this movie scared the flip out of me as a kid!" Many devotees of the film, now likely in their fifties and sixties are quick to chime in online, citing it as one the scariest children's programme they'd ever seen.
Here at Eternal Family, we love that kind of stuff, so when we posted about The Singing Ringing Tree on our socials, we were glad to see the former traumatized children showed up in the comments with a lot to say. For those who don't know the film, this article gives a little backstory into what it's all about and how it became one of the most-remembered TV specials in British history.
Originally an East German Fairytale, The Singing Ringing Tree became a UK cult classic,"terrifying and obsessing a generation of British children"-BBC.
First released in 1957 to a German audience, the BBC later released it as a part of the "Tales from Europe" television program. Tales From Europe was a collection of children’s stories from mainland Europe, Russia and Mongolia, broken into 25-minute episodes with an English narration added. This is the version of The Singing Ringing Tree that kids grew up on in the 1960's, with many first being introduced to the program in black and white. Tales from Europe aired 1964-1969–perfect after school special hours for the little Brits to tune in and be forever changed.
The story follows a handsome prince who travels day and night to the court of a beautiful princess, where he hopes to win her hand. The princess rejects him harshly, telling him the only way he could win her love is if he goes on a quest to bring her the legendary Singing Ringing Tree. Determined to win her love, he sets out on the journey to retrieve the tree, and so the troubles begin...
After a long search, the prince finally meets a dwarf, the ruler of an enchanted kingdom where the little tree stands. He tells the prince he's willing to let him have the tree, but only if the princess truly loves him. If not, he threatens to transform him into a bear, as seen above. From here circumstances for the prince only get worse, until he decides to return to the castle and kidnaps the princess, hoping to change her mind and win her heart.
When they return to the kingdom of the tree, the dwarf unleashes his evil powers on them both, taunting and tormenting them for his own amusement. This dwarf character seemed to be the scariest part of the film for many children, and with his black magic and maniacal laugh, we can see why.
It's a beautiful, freaky film, but don't just take it from us--we posted about the film last weekend and the people showed up to let us know just how The Singing Ringing Tree made them feel.
Highlights from the comment section:
"Pretty much every Brit of an age just joined the chat"
"I was both mesmerised by its beauty and scared to go outside after each episode!
I spent years telling others about it, most thought I’d imagined it!
So wonderful to see it again, singing ringing tree!⭐️"
"Happy memories. It both enthralled me and terrified me. Perfect combination"
Most terrifying children's programme ever. I'm still traumatised 😍
"Terrified me as a bairn especially that little fella"
"East German Wizard of Oz… super weird film… but worth a watch if you’ve got a free afternoon 😂"
"Technicolour Night Terrors again tonight. Thanks a bunch for posting this, lol. 🇬🇧👍🇬🇧"
The film was so memorable to UK viewers that it was eventually spoofed on sketch comedy series The Fast Show, where it was titled: "Ton Swingingen Ringingen Bingingen Plingingen Tingingen Plinkingen Plonkingen Boingingen Triee"
The Singing Ringing Tree was also immortalized as a sculpture, which now stands and occasionally sings and rings on a hill in Lancashire. Designed by architects Mike Tonkin and Anna Liu of Tonkin Liu, The Singing Ringing Tree is a 10 ft tall construction made from steel pipes which harness the energy of the wind to produce a slightly discordant choral sound covering a range of several octaves. The harmonic qualities of the tree were produced by tuning the pipes according to their length by adding holes to the underside of each.
Charming and traumatic to German and English audiences, its fever-dream quality earned the series 20th place in a 2004 UK poll of the spookiest TV shows ever. It is also considered one of the best fairytale productions in East German film history.
Made for DEFA, East Germany's state-owned film studio, it is one of many children's movies based on folklore and fairytales. The Singing Ringing Tree is considered one of DEFA's best works, and is indelibly carved into the psyches of several generations of British viewers.
Thanks to everyone who showed some love for this legendary film last week! We love reading your comments, so if you see a film you know and love on our channel, don't hesitate to chime in. Keep the charm and horror alive with us at Eternal Family, where you can watch The Singing Ringing Tree and much more.
