Totentanz (English: Dance of Death) is a 2004 horror brickfilm directed by Steffen Troeger and animated by Troeger and Andreas Mooslechner.[1] It is based on the 1813 poem of the same name by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.[2] It placed first in the NWBrickCon 2004 Mystery Contest[3] and won the audience choice for Best Film at Steinerei 2005.[4]
In 2008, Troeger created a parody remake of Totentanz, set to a recital of the poem he had recorded at age 12. To match the recording, this remake was intentionally produced in a manner akin to a child making a brickfilm.[5]
Plot[]
As the clock strikes midnight, a warder looks down from a church tower over the graveyard, when the graves begin to open and the dead rise. They congregate in the courtyard, shed their shrouds and begin to dance, with some using sticks and rocks to create a beat. As the warder observes this scene, a villainous tempter whispers in his ear to seize one of the shrouds on the ground.
The warder runs across the courtyard, hiding behind bushes, until he acquires a shroud. He returns to the church as the dancing begins to conclude and the dead shroud themselves and return to their graves. One skeleton cannot find his shroud and spots it with the warder in the tower. Unable to rest without it, the skeleton bangs on the church door before climbing the gothic decorations. It reaches the scared warder and is about to reclaim the shroud when the church bell rings loudly, and the skeleton falls from the tower and smashes into pieces.[2]
Crew[]
- Steffen Troeger - Director, Animator, Set designer, Sound, Editor
- Andreas Mooslechner - Animator, Set designer, Sound
- Jochen Stoeckle - Narrator
- Thorsten Puttenat - Composer