Popelka

It's Christmas time in the ČR which means that there are lots of Czech fairy tales on TV. One of the favorite stories shown during Christmas is the 1973 film Tří Oříšky pro Popelku, Three Hazelnuts for Cinderella. Popelka is the Czech Cinderella.

I never knew that there were different versions of the Cinderella classic. In this version by Božena Němcová, there is no fairy godmother and there is only one wicked step-sister. Popelka finds some magic hazelnuts and receives three wishes. This Cinderella is a little more independent and does not simply fall in to the the prince's arms. Here, he has to actively pursue her.

The interesting thing about this film is that it was made as a joint venture between Czechoslovakia and East Germany. Czech and German actors spoke in their own language and the content was dubbed into either all Czech or all German for distribution.

The story is cute and I found a copy on DVD for 50 Kč (~$2.50) that has both English and Czech subtitles so I can use it to practice my Czech. Here is a clip of the film that I found on YouTube.

Update:  In East Germany the movie is called Drei Hasselnüsse für Aschenbrödel.  So in the east, Cinderella is "Aschenbrödel" but in the west she is called "Aschenputtel."