The ''Town Musicians of Bremen'' (German ''Die Bremer Stadtmusikanten'') is a folktale recorded by the Brothers Grimm. Despite the title of the fairy tale, the characters never actually arrive in Bremen. In Aarne-Thompson classification it is a folk tale of type 130: "outcast animals find a new home".

Plot

On the way to Bremen, they see a lighted cottage; they look inside and see four robbers enjoying their ill-gotten gains. Standing on each other's backs, they decide to perform for the men in hope of gaining food. Their 'music' has an unanticipated effect; the men run for their lives, not knowing what the strange sound is. The animals take possession of the house, eat a good meal, and settle in for the evening.

Later that night, the robbers return and send one of their members in to investigate. He sees the Cat's eyes shining in the darkness and thinks he is seeing the coals of the fire. He reaches over to light his candle. Things happen in quick succession; the Cat scratches his face with her claws, the Dog bites him on the leg, the Donkey kicks him and the Rooster crows and chases him out the door, screaming. He tells his companions that he was beset by a horrible witch who scratched him with her long fingers (the Cat), an ogre with a knife (the Dog), a giant who had hit him with his club (the Donkey), and worst of all, the judge who screamed in his voice from the rooftop (the Rooster). The robbers abandon the cottage to the strange creatures who have taken it, where the animals live happily for the rest of their days.

In popular culture

Carl Zuckmayer cites the tale in his 1931 play ''Der Hauptmann von Köpenick'', particularly the line "We can find something better than death anywhere", which becomes a key line for the last part of the plot.

In the mid-1960s, Tupper Saussy wrote a composition titled ''The Beast with Five Heads'' on a commission from the Nashville Symphony to teach schoolchildren about orchestration, intended as a substitute for ''Peter and the Wolf''.

In 1976, in Italy, Sergio Bardotti and Luis Enríquez Bacalov adapted the story into a musical play called ''I Musicanti'', which two years later was translated into Portuguese by the Brazilian composer Chico Buarque. The musical play was called ''Os Saltimbancos'', was later released as an album, and became one of the greatest classics for children in Brazil. This version was also made into a movie. In Spain, the story was made into an animated feature film in 1989, directed by Cruz Delgado. In Germany, the story was adapted into an animated feature in 1997 under the title ''The Fearless Four'' (Die Furchtlosen Vier), though it varied considerably from the source material.

A persiflage of this tale can be found on the wall in the Fort Napoleon, Oostende, Belgium. Heinrich-Otto Pieper, a German soldier during World War I, painted the German and the Austro-Hungarian eagles throned on a rock, under the light of a Turkish crescent. They look with contempt on the futile efforts of the Town Musicians of Bremen to chase them away. These animals are symbols for the Allied Forces: on top the French cock, standing on the Japanese jackal, standing on the English bulldog, standing on the Russian bear. Italy is depicted as a twisting snake and Belgium a triciolored chafer.

In the early 20th century, the American folk/swing/children's musician Frank Luther popularized the same musical tale as the "Raggletaggletown Singers", presented in children's school music books and performed in children's plays.

Richard Scarry wrote an adaptation of the story in his book ''Richard Scarry's Animal Nursery Tales'' in 1975. In it, the donkey, dog, cat and rooster are all fully anthropomorphic (as is the case of all Richard Scarry characters), and set out since they are bored with farming.

On Cartoon Network in between cartoon breaks during the ''Out of Tune Toons'' marathon and on Cartoonetwork Video, there are cartoon shorts (called "Wedgies") of an animal band based on the tale called "The Bremen Avenue Experience" featuring a cat (Jessica), dog (Simon), donkey (Barret) and rooster (Tanner). They are either a modern adaptation of ''Town Musicians of Bremen'' or descendants of the old musicians of Bremen.

Hello Project's Mini Moni starred in a drama based on the fairy tale called Mini Moni.de Bremen no Ongakutai (Mini Moni's ''Bremen Town Musicians''). The drama goes backwards in time through three periods of Japanese history unveiling the story. The drama does not have much in common with the fairy tale.

In the anime Otogi-Jūshi Akazukin one of the main villains is named Randagio, who is based on the cat of the story as well as on Puss in Boots. He has three underlings that are based on the other three animals from the fairy tale and have a band named Breman.

Nippon Animation Co., Ltd. adapted the tale in the first episode of the anime TV series ''Grimm Meisaku Gekijou'', released in English as ''Grimm's Fairy Tale Classics''. The four main characters are seen in the opening of the anime.

In the video game ''The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask'', the Bremen Mask is a reference to the Town Musicians of Bremen.

In the video game ''Kyuiin'', the Town Musicians of Bremen are a boss fight with each animal having its own attack.

''Bremen'' is also the title of a manga series by Haruto Umezawa about a four-member punk rock band, each member of which bears a physical resemblance to one of the four animals in the fairy tale.

During their Germany-themed event, Farmville offered a replica of the statue for purchase to decorate players' farms.

The 1991 Sierra adventure game Mixed-Up Fairy Tales includes Bremen Town Musicians as one of the stories the player must correct.

Statues modeled after the Town Musicians of Bremen statue now reside in front of each of the five German veterinary schools. These statues were a gift.

See also

References

External links

Some of the best known adaptations are: Disney 1922 animated version Russian animated version Brazilian musical free adaptation of the tale 1989 Spanish animated movie version 1997 German edition, also released in English under the title "The Fearless Four" The Muppet Musicians of Bremen

Category:Brothers Grimm Category:Fairy tales Category:Bremen culture Category:Bremen (city) Category:German folklore