Tales from the Magic Garden
Pohádky po babičce
Tales from the Magic Garden
Pohádky po babičce
Your feedback improves this guide
Your feedback highlights guides that need a second look and keeps the rating trustworthy.
Does this age rating seem accurate to you?
Sign in to vote
Watch-outs
What this film brings
Content barometer
Violence
0/5
None
Fear
1/5
Mild
Sexuality
0/5
None
Language
0/5
None
Narrative complexity
2/5
Moderate
Adult themes
0/5
None
Expert review
Tales from the Magic Garden is a 2025 Czech-Slovak stop-motion puppet animation film, premiered at the Berlinale and selected at the Annecy festival, weaving a frame narrative of nested fairy tales around three children spending a weekend at their grandparents' home, in a gentle, melancholic and dreamlike atmosphere. The emotional core of the film revolves around the grandmother's absence, which is not explicitly explained to younger viewers but hovers over the entire story as a quiet, underlying grief. This theme of loss and bereavement, conveyed through the grandfather's silence and little Tom's innocent questions, is handled with poetry and tenderness rather than bluntness, but it may resonate deeply with sensitive children or those who have experienced a similar situation. Parents are encouraged to watch the film alongside their children to welcome the questions about death and absence that may naturally arise, and to enjoy together the rich imaginative world of the three tales told by young Suzanne.
Synopsis
Tom (4 years old), Suzanne (8) and Derek (10) spend the weekend with their grandparents. But nothing is as usual: Grandpa seems to be elsewhere; Tom wonders where Grandma has gone, she who always tells him incredible stories; Derek is hard at work renovating the old apple tree hut. So following in the footsteps of her ancestor, Suzanne improvises herself as a storyteller to illuminate the house with imaginary and wonderful stories and try to fill the absence of Grandmother. The movie is an adaptation of three tales written by Arnost Goldflam.
Difficult scenes
The grandmother's absence pervades the film from its opening scenes: little Tom (age 4) innocently asks where she is, and the grandfather remains silent, appearing lost in his sorrow. This situation, never explained bluntly but clearly tinged with grief, may cause worry or confusion in very young children, who might not understand why no one gives Tom a direct answer. Some of the tales imagined by Suzanne feature threatening authority figures, strange creatures, or situations where characters find themselves alone facing the unknown. These dreamlike sequences, typical of Central European folk tale tradition, may generate mild tension in younger children, even though they remain within the benevolent and symbolic frame of traditional storytelling. The film's overall melancholy, with its autumnal atmosphere and the grandfather's quiet grief, creates an emotionally dense tone that may surprise or move sensitive children. The film does not offer a clear and bright resolution to the adults' sadness, which may leave younger viewers with a lingering feeling of incomprehension or diffuse sadness after watching.
Where to watch
No verified platform for the US market yet. We keep this section updated as availability changes.
About this title
- Format
- Feature film
- Year
- 2025
- Runtime
- 1h 10m
- Countries
- Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, France
- Original language
- CS
- Directed by
- Jean-Claude Rozec, Patrik Pašš, Leon Vidmar, David Súkup
- Main cast
- Zuzana Kronerová, Arnošt Goldflam, Mikuláš Čížek, Zofie Hanova, Alex Mojzis, Miroslav Krobot, Eliška Křenková, Ivan Trojan, Pavla Beretová, Dana Černá
- Studios
- MAUR film, Artichoke, ZVVIKS, Vivement lundi !, Česká televize, RTVS, RTV Slovenija, Pictanovo
Content barometer
Violence
0/5
None
Fear
1/5
Mild
Sexuality
0/5
None
Language
0/5
None
Narrative complexity
2/5
Moderate
Adult themes
0/5
None
Expert review
Tales from the Magic Garden is a 2025 Czech-Slovak stop-motion puppet animation film, premiered at the Berlinale and selected at the Annecy festival, weaving a frame narrative of nested fairy tales around three children spending a weekend at their grandparents' home, in a gentle, melancholic and dreamlike atmosphere. The emotional core of the film revolves around the grandmother's absence, which is not explicitly explained to younger viewers but hovers over the entire story as a quiet, underlying grief. This theme of loss and bereavement, conveyed through the grandfather's silence and little Tom's innocent questions, is handled with poetry and tenderness rather than bluntness, but it may resonate deeply with sensitive children or those who have experienced a similar situation. Parents are encouraged to watch the film alongside their children to welcome the questions about death and absence that may naturally arise, and to enjoy together the rich imaginative world of the three tales told by young Suzanne.
Synopsis
Tom (4 years old), Suzanne (8) and Derek (10) spend the weekend with their grandparents. But nothing is as usual: Grandpa seems to be elsewhere; Tom wonders where Grandma has gone, she who always tells him incredible stories; Derek is hard at work renovating the old apple tree hut. So following in the footsteps of her ancestor, Suzanne improvises herself as a storyteller to illuminate the house with imaginary and wonderful stories and try to fill the absence of Grandmother. The movie is an adaptation of three tales written by Arnost Goldflam.
Difficult scenes
The grandmother's absence pervades the film from its opening scenes: little Tom (age 4) innocently asks where she is, and the grandfather remains silent, appearing lost in his sorrow. This situation, never explained bluntly but clearly tinged with grief, may cause worry or confusion in very young children, who might not understand why no one gives Tom a direct answer. Some of the tales imagined by Suzanne feature threatening authority figures, strange creatures, or situations where characters find themselves alone facing the unknown. These dreamlike sequences, typical of Central European folk tale tradition, may generate mild tension in younger children, even though they remain within the benevolent and symbolic frame of traditional storytelling. The film's overall melancholy, with its autumnal atmosphere and the grandfather's quiet grief, creates an emotionally dense tone that may surprise or move sensitive children. The film does not offer a clear and bright resolution to the adults' sadness, which may leave younger viewers with a lingering feeling of incomprehension or diffuse sadness after watching.