“Eerie, creepy…fantastic, mystical, and oddly beautiful. A lost treasure of early animation, nearly unknown to the English speaking world.” – R-Massive

Directed by Karel Zeman, the wildly imaginative “Czech Méliès” behind classics like The Fabulous Baron Munchausen and Invention for Destruction, KRABAT: THE SORCERER’S APPRENTICE is a hauntingly beautiful tale of black magic perfect for the Christmas season. Animated with papercraft models, KRABAT is like the darkest children’s storybook ever written come to life. Based on the novel by Otfried Preußler, itself adapted from a Sorbian folktale, Zeman’s film tells the story of a young boy initiated into the mysterious world of magic by an evil sorcerer who runs a kind of evil Hogwarts out of a creepy old mill. Filled with dark humor, bestial transmogrification, and a chilly winter atmosphere, this little-known folk-horror masterpiece feels as if it emerged fully formed from the mysterious forests of Central Europe.

Each month, DRAWN VISIONS presents an outré gem from the wild, wonderful world of animation. Focusing on the strange, the underseen, and the unclassifiable, this series proves cartoons aren’t just for kids, they’re for total freaks too!