Chirphymium It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

Murphy Howard I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

Derrick Gibbons An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

Dana An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

Magdalena This movie was such a bit part of my childhood. I saw it for the first time when I was 4 or 5, when I didn't quite understand English. Fortunatley there were Swedish subtitles! Watched it on a recorded VHS at least once a day for several years and was devastated when our VHS-player broke down. LUCKILY I recently found it to have been released on DVD so I bought two copies via Amazon. One for me and one for my sis, cause I know she loves this movie as much as I do.It's kind of a Cinderella tale. A girl, Maria, lives with her widowed father. He re-marries and get's a nasty bonus daughter. Maria receives a present from the prince and he wants to marry her. the nasty step daughter does everything in her power to stop that from happening and to marry the prince herself.

scottrainey Like many a poster to these boards, I also remember seeing this film sometime in the late '70s-early '80s on a lazy Sunday afternoon on KTLA's Family Film Festival, hosted by the legendary Tom Hatten. The movie can be had at deepdiscountdvd.com for about 12 bucks.Certain images and elements of the film have always stuck in my head (possible spoilers here, but really more remembrances than anything else): the evil stepsister Mary Lou demanding the garnet stone from Maria by clapping her hands twice and holding out an outstretched hand, the totally surreal scene with all the babies being fed by Maria and Mary Lou, when they break out into song in praise of Maria (something like, "MARIA, MARIA, YEAH YEAH YEAH YEAH YEAH!!!!), the equally bizarre loaves of bread begging to be taken out of the oven before they burn (still gives me chills), and Maria's drunk dad, always looking for his bottle. There were also some apple trees, as I recall, that needed Maria and Mary Lou to pick their apples, and then there was something or other about dancing milk jugs going to someone called Mrs. Holly or something like that. I'm going to order it for my daughters.

lysbexic For anyone who didn't get the chance to see this movie growing up.. you really missed out. For the past 15 years I've had sceens from this movie running threw my head... and I'd been committed to finding a copy for the last year. What's unfortunate about this movie is that if you haven't seen it.. you probably never will. I have came across only two other people who have an English copy. Getting the German version, Der Zauberstein, is not as easy as it sounds. At Amazon.de you can find the German version but it is in PAL format. If you live in the US or another country that doesn't use PAL format (in most of the America's we use NTSC), your going to have to pay to have it duplicated to your format. After buying the movie, the cost of shipping and handling, and the cost of getting a copy converted it starts to add up. But if you really want a copy, stick with it. I'm waiting on my German version to come back from being converted.Some additional names to look for when searching besides "Once Upon a Time" and "Der Zauberstein" are "Maria d'oro Und Bello Blue" and "Cinderella's Wonderworld". I think the difference in "Cinderella's Wonderworld" and "Once Upon a Time" is the year inwhich they were released and maybe the voices?! I'm not sure because I've not found much info on "Cinderella's Wonderworld". I just know it's the same Rolf Kauka cartoon.Also, there is no sites out really about this movie. If I ever get a chance I want to make one with all my posters I've bought and pictures and maybe type up the words from the movie and devote it to Kauka. Just to give everyone a little peak back into this wonderful fairy tale. If anyone is interested in seeing my site after I get it up let me know and I'll get you the address.For anyone who wants to see this movie, I hope you get a chance soon! :) Maria should be right along side Cinderella, Belle, and all the other princesses!Other Movies I recommend: The Last Unicorn (1982) directed by Arthur Rankin Jr. and Jules Bass; Return to OZ (1985) directed by Walter Murch *THIS IS NOT A SEQUEL*; The Goonies (1985) directed by Richard Donner

Inga-5 I last saw this movie on video when I was no older than 6. That was 13 years ago, but I still remember much of it very clearly. I hope I can see it again soon, it will bring back a lot of memories. I'm sure it was not the most well-made movie-at 6 I was pretty easy to please-but at least it was fun.