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The Fearless Four (film)
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Wikipedia article
{{Infobox film
| name = The Fearless Four
| native_name = Die furchtlosen Vier
| image = The_Fearless_Four_(film).jpg
| alt =
| caption = UK VHS cover
| director =
| writer =
| based_on =
| producer = Eberhard Junkersdorf
| starring =
| narrator = Klausjrgen Wussow
| editing = Uli Schn
| music = Pter Wolf
| studio =
| distributor = Warner Bros. Germany
| released =
| runtime = 87 minutes
| country = Germany
| language = German
| budget = $15 million
}}
'The Fearless Four' (German: 'Die furchtlosen Vier') is a 1997 German animated musical film loosely based on the folk tale of the "Town Musicians of Bremen" by the Brothers Grimm, about four funny animals that all have one thing in common: they want to sing, but can't for assorted reasons. Combining traditional animation with computer animation, the film was produced by Munich Animation and released by the German unit of Warner Bros. under the Warner Bros. Family Entertainment label. Producer Eberhard Junkersdorf won a Bavarian Film Award in 1998 for "Best Production".
Plot
In the near future, four animals face misfortune and each choose to run away to become singers. Buster the bloodhound gets in trouble for refusing to hunt, Fred the donkey gets replaced with a robot centaur, Gwendolyn the Siamese cat is accused of hiding her deceased owner's jewels and nearly killed, and Tortellini the rooster gets thrown out. They plan on going to Paris, but end up in Bremen due to a broken road sign and meet each other along the way.
Upon their arrival however, the four find Bremen has been taken over by Dr. Greed, head of the Mix Max corporation. Even in spite various "no singing" signs posted around town, the four do so anyway. Mix Max official Platini overhears them and intends to punish them, but upon hearing how talented they are, offers them a contract to sing radio jingles for Mix Max. Taking charge, Tortellini immediately signs on everyone's behalf, much to their annoyance, and the animals become known as the Fearless Four. They quickly become famous as Mix Max's sales skyrocket, but the four soon become tired of singing the same song repeatedly. They approach Platini to sing their own songs, but he insists they follow the contract, which he reveals is perpetual. Angered, the four incorporate their own lyrics the next time they sing the jingle, mocking the company, though they are all thrown into a dungeon afterward.
A mouse named Mozart helps them escape, after which they learn Mix Max is luring in animals to turn into sausages. Horrified, the four resolve to stop the corporation. They return to Platini and ask for their jobs back, which he agrees to since Mix Max's sales have dropped and Dr. Greed is running for president, and he believes singing animals will help his campaign. The four are to put on a live concert supporting Dr. Greed with a snake bodyguard to ensure they do not sabotage it. However, Mozart saves them once more, allowing the four to expose Mix Max's activities. The Mix Max officials retreat to their factory in panic, but the four follow, attack, and defeat them before releasing their prisoners. Tortellini destroys the factory and the four return to the countryside, where they have a party to celebrate their freedom and Gwendolyn finds her owner's jewels, which she uses to purchase her old home and convert it into a refuge for the animals they freed.
Cast
Production
Production began in March 1995 (when Munich Animation was founded), and ended production in December 1996. 150 people globally worked on the film, which included animators from the computer animation field working on the backgrounds, the robot centaur (Powertool) and the vehicles. The 2D animation was colored digitally. The film was produced and recorded for an English audience, and was later dubbed into German for its original release.
Release
In North America, the English version was released on Warner Home Video on May 7, 1998, however, the VHS went quickly out of print and remains extremely hard to find. Germany received a DVD release twice; a regular release, and one from Warner Kids (a label for Warner Bros. films that were family-friendly) using the original name, 'Die Bremer Stadtmusikanten'; neither DVD has any English audio and subtitle options. A much easier to find PAL VHS was released in the United Kingdom on July 19, 1999. Despite the film being pretty much unknown in the United States and in most of the world, the English dub is currently available on sources such as Vudu, iTunes, Amazon Prime Video and the Microsoft Store. In 2018, South Korea released the film on DVD with an English dub in it. It is unknown if Warner Bros. will bring out a Region 1 DVD release in the United States.
The original Germany version of the film (with NTSC format) was uploaded by its YouTube channel, Movies [SnoopyPBG 2nd Channel], on November 15, 2021.
Various scenes were deleted from the original version, or shortened, when the film was distributed outside Germany (making the international cut 81 minutes), as follows:
* Scenes in which Dr. Greed attempts to hire an assassin to kill the owner of a rival company are removed entirely.
* The scene in which Fred is tortured by the "tickle torture" machine was greatly shortened in some versions outside Germany, and completely removed in others.
* There is a very awkward scene in the original in which Gwendolyn openly seduces Platini during a song. The scene was cut from international releases, most likely due to the suggestion of bestiality.
* A brief shot in which a bee lands on a magazine photo of a woman's breast was eliminated.
* The German version's ending shows the animals, including Mozart the mouse, drinking wine to celebrate their victory and their future as travelling musicians. This was removed in some international releases.
Merchandise
Stuffed animals, a soundtrack, Bullyland figures, books and other items were produced for the film's release in Germany.Television
The film was broadcast on HBO in 1999, and on Encore in North America. It was also seen on channels such as AB3 (France), Cartoon Network (United Kingdom), Teletoon (Canada), YTV and Treehouse TV. It additionally aired on KidScene: HDNet Movies in March 2018, alongside 'Cats Don't Dance' and 'Inside Out'.References
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