Zwerg Nase (2021)

On market days, 12-year-old Jakob helps his mother at her vegetable stall. One day, the evil fairy Kräuterweis appears and insults his mother's produce. Jakob, in turn, insults the fairy and makes fun of her nose in particular. Nevertheless, the old woman buys some vegetables and has Jakob carry them to her house. There, she takes him prisoner. For seven years, Jakob is trained as a cook by Kräuterweis and prepares meals for her banquet guests. He learns all the dishes in a singing magic cookbook that the fairy once stole from the wizard Wetterbock. But Kräuterweis has torn one page out of the book. When the banquet is over, Jakob's apprenticeship ends too. Before releasing him, the fairy uses an herb mixed into a soup to transform him into a dwarf with a long nose. When he returns to the market, his mother no longer recognizes him, and the merchants drive Jakob out of town. In desperation, he draws on his cooking skills. He applies for a job with Duke Kunz, who is known for his gluttony. The soup prepared by the dwarf convinces the duke of his culinary talent. He gives the dwarf the name Nase, first appoints him assistant kitchen master, and later promotes him to head kitchen master. His former boss is demoted to assistant kitchen master. At the market, Nase buys a talking goose. It is the daughter of the wizard Wetterbock, whom Kräuterweis had turned into a goose. The humiliated former head kitchen master watches Nase talking to the goose. He hatches a plot and promises the duke that he will serve him roast goose the next day. When the former head kitchen master tries to slaughter the goose, Nase threatens to kill his canary. This makes him realize how painful it can be to lose a beloved animal, and he leaves Mimi alone. The duke, too, feels humiliated—by his rival, Prince Humbert, who outdoes him at everything, especially hunting. The duke gets the idea of beating the prince by showing off the cooking skills of his new head kitchen master. He invites the prince to a feast. The prince refuses to believe that the duke's little cook can cook better than his own staff. The duke already thinks he has the upper hand this time when the prince orders a Souzeraine pie, which Jakob does not know how to make. Mimi, however, can tell him almost all the ingredients. But when the prince tastes the pie, it is missing the little herb Niesmitlust, which Jakob has never heard of. The furious duke threatens to have Jakob executed if he cannot prepare the correct pie by the next day. But once again, Mimi knows what to do. Jakob cannot leave the strictly guarded castle, but there is a greenhouse where the two of them find the herb. Its smell reminds the dwarf of the soup he ate at Kräuterweis's before his transformation, and he finally realizes that the pie recipe was on the missing page of the cookbook. Instead of using the herb for the pie, he eats Niesmitlust himself. Dwarf Nase becomes Jakob again, now a strapping young man. As he flees the castle, the guards do not recognize Jakob, but they grow suspicious when he tries to carry the goose out with him. The former head kitchen master comes to Jakob's aid and knocks down a guard. He has realized that for many years he served the wrong master and put up with his whims. Mimi causes further chaos, and Jakob escapes with her. The duke and the prince get into a fierce argument. Duke Kunz accuses Prince Humbert of kidnapping Dwarf Nase to win their contest over who has the best kitchen. Finally, the two declare war on each other. The wizard Wetterbock turns the goose back into his daughter. The wizard now intends to strip the fairy of her power once and for all. After a brief fight, he locks her in her own dungeon. Jakob returns to his mother and gives her a necklace she had entrusted to him on the day he was kidnapped. This makes her recognize her son. Jakob and Mimi become a couple, open an inn, and enjoy their freedom. The Herb War is brought to an end by the Pie Peace.