Felix und der Wolf (1988)

The old Mrs. Goldberg gives little Felix Grosser a chest full of tin toys. She had once saved the toys for her future grandchildren, but her children were so busy working that they never started families. Now Felix receives the old toys, and Mrs. Goldberg warns him not to let them fall into the wrong hands. Along with various other items from the chest, Felix takes a white dancing “magic pony” to his bedroom. His parents, who are busy remodeling the bathroom despite a shortage of materials, only learn some time later that the pony was a gift from Mrs. Goldberg, who no longer lives in the building. They have no idea about the chest full of toys in the attic. As part of the bathroom renovation, the plumber, Wolf, comes to the Grossers’ apartment. He spots the tin horse in Felix’s room and immediately realizes that the old toy is very valuable. He tries to question Felix about whether he has any more toys like it and offers to trade toys for money, which would let Felix afford a bicycle. Felix has told his school friends Sina and Thomas about his treasure, and they are both fascinated by the unusual toy. Felix turns down Wolf’s offer. But the installation work gives Wolf free access to the Grossers’ apartment, and he steals the pony, which he sells to an antiques dealer. Sina sees the sale and hurries to tell Felix. When the dealer puts the pony in his shop window, it turns black. Felix is sad that he lost his pony through his own carelessness. He also feels helpless because his parents do not share his worries. When he hears that all the attics are to be demolished as part of the building renovation, he alerts his friends, since he cannot move the heavy chest by himself. All the children sneak into the attic at night and carry the toys to their apartment. They manage to shake off Mr. Wolf, who has secretly followed them. In the meantime, the antiques dealer discovers that the pony has turned black and is horrified. He throws it away; Felix’s parents take it home because it reminds them of their son’s white pony. A short while later, when the antiques dealer confronts Mr. Wolf and also wants to know what happened to the rest of the promised toys, Mr. Wolf admits that the children outsmarted him. They walk past him with all the toys. They spread their treasures out on a table. Felix’s parents place the magic pony among them, and as all the children touch it, it suddenly turns white again. The antiques dealer and Mr. Wolf are astonished by the magic and flee. Mr. Wolf ends up in a wheelbarrow full of cement powder, and the children laugh at him.