# Hungarian Folktales (1977)

> A nine-season Hungarian animated anthology that retells traditional folk tales in short, self-contained episodes.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/37885

## Facts

- Seasons: 9
- Episodes: 100
- Episode runtime: 9 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: animation, family
- Created by: Marcell Jankovics
- Network: Magyar Televízió
- Cast: Kóka Rozália, Hrotkó Károly, György Bánffy, Irma Patkós, László Bánhidi, Gyula Szabó, Margit Zsolnay, Klári Tolnay
- TMDB rating: 8.9/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0861751/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: measured
- Intensity: mild
- Complexity: simple
- Violence: none
- Tone: whimsical, gentle, comforting, wistful, warm

## Synopsis

Hungarian Folktales (1977-2011) is a Hungarian animated anthology series created by Marcell Jankovics for Magyar Televízió. Across nine seasons and one hundred roughly nine-minute episodes, each installment adapts a traditional Hungarian folk tale, with the storytelling framed by a narrator figure known as the Mesemondó, voiced by a rotating group of performers including Gyula Szabó, who carries most of the narration. The engine of the series is simple and enchanting: a clever hero, a hungry wolf, a wish, a trickster or a wondrous creature faces a problem, and the tale unfolds through its traditional logic of trials, helpers and rewards. Each episode is self-contained, so viewers can dip in at any point without losing the thread. The shape is that of a long-running, case-by-case anthology rather than a continuing plot. The tone is gentle, warm and whimsical, with a comforting storybook quality that carries the rhythms of oral tradition into the animated frame. Its strong attachment to Hungarian folk motifs gives it a distinctly national identity, and fans of Fairy Tales, The Tale of the Princess Kaguya and Avatar: The Last Airbender will find a similar appeal in folklore-driven animation for young viewers.

## Shows like Hungarian Folktales

- [Grimm's Fairy Tale Classics (1987)](https://ember.film/tv/9182)
- [Reksio (1967)](https://ember.film/tv/14475)
- [The Moomins (1978)](https://ember.film/tv/12857)
- [Our Little Village (2017)](https://ember.film/tv/61216)
- [Bolek and Lolek (1962)](https://ember.film/tv/14152)
- [The Mézga Family is on Holiday (1980)](https://ember.film/tv/60765)
- [Kérem a következőt! (1975)](https://ember.film/tv/70808)
- [The Amazing Water Spider (1978)](https://ember.film/tv/45910)
- [Theatre of Darkness: Yamishibai (2013)](https://ember.film/tv/50684)
- [Kikoriki (2004)](https://ember.film/tv/6152)

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