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Animated horror film

The Pied Piper (1985): Cast, Plot & Where to Watch

The Pied Piper (1985) movie poster

The Pied Piper is a 1985 animated horror film directed by Jiří Barta, starring Jiří Lábus, Oldřich Kaiser and Vilém Čok. It runs 56 minutes. Stream it on Cineverse and Darkroom, or rent or buy it on Fandango At Home.

The Pied Piper (1985) movie poster
Released
Runtime
56 min
Director
Jiří Barta
Genres
Fantasy , Horror , Animation
Original language
Czech
After the credits
No No extra scene
The story

What Is The Pied Piper About?

The premise of The Pied Piper without spoilers. The whole story is in the plot summary further down.

A darkly brilliant stop‑motion retelling of The Pied Piper of Hamelin, in which a swarm of rats ravages a town whose citizens are consumed by greed. Produced in Czechoslovakia during the 1980s, it stands as one of the country's most ambitious animation efforts, distinguished by its unsettling, shadow‑rich visual style, inventive stop‑motion techniques, and a fully invented language spoken by the characters.

The Pied Piper Themes & Keywords

· 35 tags
  • urban fantasy
  • based on folk tale
  • psychotronic film
  • rape
  • metamorphosis
  • one word title
  • czech psychotronic film
  • european animation
  • community
  • european horror
  • mysterious man
  • european psychotronic film
+23 more
  • czech animation
  • transformation
  • czech horror
  • for grown ups animation
  • classic animation
  • arthouse horror
  • central europe
  • animated horror
  • folk horror
  • pied piper
  • cult film
  • expressionism
  • greed
  • pipe
  • puppet animation
  • stop motion
  • dark fantasy
  • stop motion animation
  • rat
  • rat invasion
  • part animated
  • money
  • medieval times
Where to watch

Where to Watch The Pied Piper

Stream it on Cineverse and Darkroom, or rent or buy it from Fandango At Home. US availability and prices from JustWatch.

Streaming availability in the US, powered by JustWatch logo

Cast & crew

The Pied Piper Cast

Jiří Lábus leads the cast, with Oldřich Kaiser and Vilém Čok. Directed by Jiří Barta; 4 actors are credited in all.

Plot

The Pied Piper Plot Summary

What happens in The Pied Piper from start to finish, spoilers included, with a timeline of 14 key events. The opening is below; the full summary is a 3-minute read.

Spoilers ahead

A quiet dawn unfolds over Hamelin, where a hidden mechanism hums to life and the sun begins its daily rise. The town is painted with a pale, sharp edge of avarice and pretension: money and rank crowd out kindness, and waste runs rampant among the wealthy and the petty alike. That same waste seeds a nightmare—an enormous rat infestation that slips through the streets at night, stealing food and valuables and sowing fear when dawn arrives. A tall, hooded figure watches from the outskirts before stepping into the city, becoming the first sign that balance may be tipping.

Full summary

The whole story of The Pied Piper, scene by scene

Read the full summary
Videos

The Pied Piper Videos

The featurette of The Pied Piper.

Krysař - Landa, Bílá - celé album
Details

The Pied Piper Also Known As

9 alternative titles, including “El flautista de Hamelín” and “Krysar”.

Also known as
  • El flautista de Hamelín
  • Krysar
  • The Pied Piper of Hamelin
  • Krysar, le joueur de flûte de Hamelin
  • Ο Φλαουτίστας
  • Der Rattenfänger von Hameln
  • Krisar
  • 吹笛子的男人
  • O Flautista de Hamelin

Seen The Pied Piper?

FAQ

The Pied Piper FAQ: Where to Watch, Cast & Runtime

Runtime, release date, director, cast, where to watch, post-credit scenes and language of The Pied Piper, each answered in a sentence.

How long is The Pied Piper?

The Pied Piper runs 56 minutes.

When was The Pied Piper released?

The Pied Piper was released on November 22, 1985.

Who directed The Pied Piper?

The Pied Piper was directed by Jiří Barta.

More films by Jiří Barta

Who is in the cast of The Pied Piper?

The Pied Piper stars Jiří Lábus, Oldřich Kaiser and Vilém Čok, among 4 credited actors.

Where can I watch The Pied Piper?

In the US, The Pied Piper is streaming on Cineverse, Darkroom and Eternal Family and available to rent or buy on Fandango At Home (availability from JustWatch).

Does The Pied Piper have a post-credit scene?

No. The Pied Piper has no extra scene during or after the credits.

What language is The Pied Piper in?

The original language of The Pied Piper is Czech.

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