Baron Münchhausen (2012)

In a small inn, the impoverished Baron von Münchhausen tries to keep himself afloat with his stories. He tells how he defended Saint Petersburg for Empress Catherine against the attacking Turks. During that battle, he met the strongest man in the world (Vladimor) and the fastest man in the world (Hermet). To defeat the Sultan, he flew on a cannonball into the Turkish camp. Back at the Empress’s palace, she presented him with a medal of honor. At this point, the storytelling Baron is interrupted by Constanze, who accuses him of being a liar. When Baron Hironymus tries to prove that the story is true, he notices that the medal has been stolen. As it turns out, the runaway circus girl Frieda is the thief, and she also claims that Hironymus is her father. After some back and forth, the Baron, Constanze, and Frieda set off for Saint Petersburg, since Münchhausen wants to get rid of her there by leaving her with her mother. Frieda already knows, however, that her mother is dead. Along the way, they have to face several adventures, some of which correspond to other well-known Münchhausen tales. For instance, Münchhausen has to pull himself out of quicksand by his own hair. At the end of the first part, the three are captured by pirates while trying to board a ship to Saint Petersburg, but they manage to escape from them on a cannonball. Through an unfortunate turn of events, Frieda and Münchhausen are separated from Constanze and end up on the Moon. From there, after an encounter with the Man in the Moon, they lower themselves down in Münchhausen fashion by untying the rope “at the top” and attaching it again “at the bottom.” Next comes a visit to the Empress’s secret wine cellar, where they meet Vladimor. Eventually, they arrive at the Empress’s court, where Frieda is abducted and taken to the Orient. Since Münchhausen has by now met up with Constanze again, the two set out to rescue her. After some back and forth, they succeed in freeing her, and Vladimor, Hermet, Frieda, the Baron, and Constanze travel home in a hot-air balloon.