Children

The School of Magic Animals

Ida has to move house. Away from her home, her school, and above all – away from her friends. She finds life difficult in her new class. But one day their teacher, Miss Cornfield, announces that every child in the class will get a magic animal to accompany them. And the two outsiders, Ida and Benni, are the first to receive their new companions, who are supposed to be friends for life. Ida is allocated the fox Rabbat, while Benni gets a tortoise called Henrietta. It’s not just that these magic animals can speak; they also have their very own individual characters. Henrietta may be rather slow on her feet, but she’s almost 200 years old and very wise, while Rabbat is both sharp and funny. With Rochester at her side Ida suddenly becomes very popular; everybody wants to be her friend. Benni remains an outsider. But at least he can take Henrietta skateboarding and share his passion for pirates with her. And school becomes exciting in other ways: things keep on vanishing – a school thief must be at large! Wild suspicions begin to circulate, and the thrilling search for the criminal begins.

Data

Category: Children
Financing: Minority coproduction
Format: Digit., 100 Min
Release: 14.10.2021
Distribution: Constantin Film-Holding Gesellschaft m.b.H.
Admissions: 176.946
Funding Film Institute: 350.000 €
Share of Austrian production costs: 26 %
Share of total production costs: 3 %
Co-production: Kordes & Kordes Film GmbH (DE, 86%)
International funding: Filmstiftung NRW, FFF Bayern, FFA, BFF Bankenfonds, DFFF, Medienboard BB
Funding program: ÖFI
first run on ORF1 Austrian Broadcasting Service: 25.12.2023
Viewers: 52.000
Film location: Germany, Austria
Shooting time: September - October 2019
Days of shooting: 44
Completion: Fall 2020
Funding institutions Austria: Filminstitut, Filmfonds Wien, Filmstandort Austria

Credits

Production: Wega-Filmproduktionsgesellschaft m.b.H.
Producer Austria: Veit Heiduschka, Michael Katz
Director: Gregor Schnitzler
Script: John Chambers, Viola M.J. Schmidt nach einer Romanvorlage von Margit Auer
DOP: Wolfgang Aichholzer
Editor: Alexander Kutka
Sound engineer: Christoph Schilling
Costume design: Esther Amuser
Set design: Christoph Kanter
Music: Dominik Giesriegel
Cast: Emilia Maier (Ida Kronenberg), Nadja Uhl (Miss Cornfield), Milan Peschel (Mr. Morrison)
Production manager: Marc Wächter, Andreas Kispert
German Title: Die Schule der magischen Tiere