Richard the Stork: European animated film for the whole family in which Richard, a little sparrow, thinks he’s a big stork and wants to fly to Africa.
Plot and background
The teenage bird Richard doesn’t want to be told that he is supposed to be a sparrow. As an orphan, he was raised by a stork family and feels wholly part of them. When the time comes for him to fly south, his adoptive parents must convince him of the truth that he is not, in fact, a stork. Sparrows are not migratory birds and Richard (voiced by Tilman Döbler) would not survive the exhausting flight to Africa.
However, the offended Richard doesn’t just let that sit: When his family flies off and leaves him behind, he undertakes the dangerous journey on his own. With the help of the eccentric owl Olga (Nicolette Krebitz) and the narcissistic canary Kiki (Christian Gaul), who never leaves his cage and is afraid of heights, he wants to reach his goal. Richard wants to prove to the bird community that he is very much a stork! Olga’s imaginary friend Oleg is also along for the ride and together they have a great adventure that could teach Richard to accept himself.
“High flyers: small birds – big chatter” – backgrounds
This co-production from Luxembourg, Belgium, Germany, Norway and the USA is animated fun for the whole family and tries to teach children the difference between cockiness and self-confidence in a playful way. Filmmaker Reza Memari, who has already worked as an editor on the animated adventure (“Ooops! The Ark is Gone!”), is responsible for the script, direction and editing of the animated film. The viewer accompanies Richard and his likeable, crazy friends around the world, through storms, on the high seas and between people. Everywhere, people declare their plan impossible – but the cohesion of the clique and Richard’s motivation to stay with his family is stronger.
The public world premiere of “Richard the Stork” took place at the Berlinale 2017 in the children’s film program “Berlinale Generation K-plus”. The film already received a nomination for “Best German Animation Screenplay” at the International Animation Film Festival Stuttgart. The music for the film was recorded in Brussels by the Philharmonic Orchestra.
The big white long-legged birds have not only been at home on the big screen since “Überflieger: Kleine Vögel – großes Geklapper”. In 2016, the likeable animation fun “Störche – Abenteuer im Anflug” was already released.
