Line #20 Animation/Hoffmaniada


1	Hoffmaniada is a 2018 Russian animated StopMotion movie made by Creator/{{Soyuzmultfilm}}. It tells the ([[VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory heavily fictionalized]]) story of German [[{{Romanticism}} romaticist]] author [[Creator/ETAHoffmann Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann]] as he tries to balance his passion for writing with his dual jobs as a music teacher and a desk-bound lawyer as well as his complicated love life. If only he wasn't constantly haunted by his own fictional characters...
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3	The film adapts and references several Hoffmann stories, including Literature/TheSandman1816, ''The Golden Pot'', Literature/TheNutcrackerAndTheMouseKing, ''Little Zaches, Great Zinnober'' and even ''Undine'', Hoffmann's biggest ''[[HeAlsoDid musical]]'' success.
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5	Hoffmaniada was infamous for its ExtremelyLengthyCreation, mostly caused by the studio suffering from severe budget cuts, which completely stopped production repeatedly. The film was in various stages of DevelopmentHell for ''seventeen years'', being originally announced in 2001. Once it ''was'' released, it received critical praise and won several awards, including a Golden Eagle Award for best animated film.
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7	Compare and contrast Theatre/TheTalesOfHoffmann, which has a similar basic premise but mostly adapts different stories by Creator/ETAHoffmann.
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11	!!Tropes:
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13	* AdaptedOut: For simplicity's sake, Veronika from ''The Golden Pot'' is [[TokenHuman the only human love interest to appear.]] This turns her ''and'' Olympia into {{Romantic False Lead}}s for the OfficialCouple Anselm and Serpentina, as the Sandman story no longer has a Clara character.
14	* AgeLift: Marie is clearly much older than her novel counterpart, and the Nutcracker is never stated to be Drosselmeyer's young, transformed nephew either. [[LostInImitation Arguably, both are based more]] on their selves from [[Threatre/TheNutcracker the famous ballet]] than [[Literature/TheNutcrackerAndTheMouseKing on the original story.]]
15	* AllWitchesHaveCats: The Old Witch has the IntelligentAnimal version (and a sharply dressed one, at that.) [[EveryoneHasStandards He does however seem rather frightened by her evil doings.]]
16	* ArtisticLicenseHistory: While not exactly going for realism in the first place, the film still takes some noticeable liberties with Hoffmann's life. Notably, ''Undine'' is presented as his own, personal work, written when he was a young man looking for his big break. In reality, it was a collaboration with Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué who was the one who really wrote the libretto (Hoffmann only composed the musical score.) It was also released at the height of his popularity, at which point he had already gotten ''several'' operas and other stage productions made.
17	* AscendedExtra: Lindhorst's parrot has been given a much expanded role. He is now depicted as a shapeshifter who can transform into a short, bespectled man, and still achieve flight in this form by flapping his arms.
18	* {{Atlantis}}: The utopian realm Anselm is trying to reach, and finally unites with Serpentina in by the end of the story.
19	* AuthorAvatar: Anselm of ''The Golden Pot'' is treated as this for Ernst, as an InUniverse case of WishFulfillment on his part.
20	* BigBadEnsemble: The short has the Witch from ''The Golden Pot'' as the BigBad and the Mice from ''The Nutcracker'' as unrelated, recurring antagonists. The full movie adds Coppelius from Literature/TheSandman1816 to the roster.
21	* BigDamnHeroes: The Nutcracker -- usually kept on a shelf in Ernst's apartment -- comes to life twice to fight off the mice ([[{{Bowdlerization}} without actually killing any of them.]])
22	* BigGood: Archivist Lindhorst -- who is actually a shapeshiting FierySalamander -- serves as this, albeit a ''clear'' example of GoodIsNotNice.
23	* CompositeCharacter: Several examples.
24	** In the sections adapted from Literature/TheSandman1816, Ernst/Anselm take on the role originally filled by the character Nathaniel.
25	** The priest who adopts Little Zaches is revealed to be [[BadHabits the evil Coppelius in disguise. Also a pretty clear case of AdaptationalVillainny.]]
26	** Paulman shares the name with his counterpart from ''The Golden Pot'', but takes on Spalanzani's role as the "father" of Olympia.
27	* CuteMonsterGirl:
28	** Serpentina, Anselm's OneTrueLove, is [[SnakesAreSexy a beautiful snake woman]] who can also take on a fully human or fully serpentine form.
29	** There's also Undine, though she only appears in her human guise and ''seems'' to be fictional even InUniverse, probably.
30	* DamselInDistress: Ernst imagines a scenario where the Nutcracker rescues his beloved Marie from the evil mice chasing her.
31	* DealWithTheDevil: Veronika agrees to participate in the Old Witch's dark cermony, believing it will make Ernst hers.
32	* DiesDifferentlyInAdaptation: [[ImpliedTrope Implied]]. Poor Little Zaches is last seen being taken away by Coppelius, which doesn't exactly bode well for him...
33	* EveryoneComesBackFantasyPartyEnding: At the very end of the film, Ernst is transported to a theater stage where all of his characters, good or evil, sing a song as a tribute to their creator.
34	* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: It's often hard to tell if the film is set in a WorldOfWeirdness, if Ernest is [[ThroughTheEyesOfMadness just hallucinating all the supernatural happenings]], or if ''both'' [[MindScrew are somehow true at the same time.]]
35	* MouseWorld. Ernest at lest seems to believe that his coworkers on the law firm are actually the mice from The Nutcracker, who return to pester him at regular intervals.
36	* OldFashionedRowboatDate: Both versions have Ernst interact with Serpentina and her sisters -- who are swimming by in snake form -- while on one of these. In the short, he's with Veronika, while in the feature film, Olympia serves as his companion.
37	* RoboticReveal: Olympia is revealed to be a RobotGirl when Coppelius and Paulman fight over the automaton, breaking her in two and exposing the internal machinery.
38	* SirensAreMermaids: Undine appears to Ernst as a siren and refers to herself as a "mermaid", despite only being identified as a water spirit in Fouqué's story. Granted, said story ''did'' inspire Creator/HansChristianAndersen's Literature/TheLittleMermaid, so the association is understandable.
39	* SuperMode: The short has Ernst himself transform into a FierySalamander to scare off the mice, while the film has Drosselmeyer turn him into a giant.
40	* WouldHurtAChild: Coppelius is using children's eyes in his experiments, and isn't afraid to take them by force himself.

Context Animation / Hoffmaniada