Latte and the Magic Waterstone 2019

Latte, Luisa Wietzorek as Latte (voice), is an orphaned hedgehog who feels like an outcast in a small forest community of woodland animals. Her only friend, a red squirrel named Tjum, Tim Schwarzmaier voices the role, and the two share a stubborn bond: Latte is convinced she is a princess after she fabricates that her father was the king of a faraway kingdom. The truth of Latte’s story matters less to her than the confidence it gives her to face the world, and Tjum’s loyalty keeps him by her side even when doubt gnaws at him.

A severe drought has the community forced to conserve water far beyond the norm, storing whatever little they can find in pumpkins and sharing it with wary caution. During an emergency council, an elderly crow named Johnson insists that the drought is the result of a theft—the waterstone that keeps the forest’s lifeblood circulating. According to the crow, the only way water will return is if the stone is retrieved from its thief, King Bantur Henning Baum, the bear who allegedly took it. The town remains skeptical, but Latte feels a pull toward the risky mission and decides to go, hoping to return the waterstone to the White Mountains and set things right.

On their path, Latte meets a beaver diligently building a dam along the dry riverbed, who points them toward clues and safer routes. Tjum’s younger sister urges him to accompany Latte to keep her safe on the journey, and though Tjum worries, he follows, drawn by a mix of concern and curiosity. The duo faces danger early on when a lynx attacks, only to be saved by the beaver wielding a heavy log that fells the predator. Even after the scare, Latte remains resolute; she will not turn back until the waterstone is restored.

The trip really begins to unfold when they meet Greta Regina Lemnitz, a fire-bellied toad who shelters the travelers in her cave and offers supplies. Greta feeds them and shares stories about the waterstone, though Tjum remains uncertain about the legend. In the morning, Greta gives Tjum a bag of waterberries designed to quell thirst, but warns them to ration them carefully. She also cautions them about a pack of wolves following the same prize, led by the cunning Lupo Michael Deffert. The threat feels immediate, and the wolves corner the pair, yet Latte reveals the purpose of their journey and the wolves let them pass.

Over the next night, a rare, quiet moment arrives when Latte asks Tjum for a waterberry, and, after a playful but tense exchange—revealed through a quick game of cups and balls—Tjum concedes, admitting that Latte’s dream of a royal life isn’t the point; the goal is to do what’s right. Latte then reveals she is not truly a princess, but Tjum isn’t surprised and offers steadfast support. The morning after, Tjum plans to return to the village and urges Latte to come with him, yet she remains firm: she won’t abandon the mission or the waterstone. A minor argument over the scarce waterberries ends with the two snapping and destroying the remaining berries, forcing them to go their separate ways.

Remorse and resolve drive Tjum forward as he tries to find Latte again, but he becomes lost and ends up crossing into bear territory. There, he meets Amaroo Timur Bartels, a young bear cub who longs to help him sneak into the bear cave. Amaroo reveals that he is the prince of the bears, with King Bantur as his father, the very bear accused of stealing the waterstone. Tjum resolves to tell Latte, but when Amaroo attempts to help him escape, guards intervene and Tjum is captured. Meanwhile, Latte presses onward, encountering an elderly hedgehog who dourly predicts that hedgehogs die alone, a belief that deeply unsettles her yet does not shake her determination. She persists, and during a river passage she is captured and placed in a cell, where she reunites with Tjum.

The two are brought before King Bantur, who finally admits to stealing the waterstone but shows little concern for the drought his theft has caused. While the king is distracted with other bears, Latte and Tjum seize the waterstone from the rock it is wedged into and try to escape the cave via a river. Their escape plan is cut short when Lupo, King Bantur, and the lynx ambush them. Tjum distracts the captors while Latte makes a break for safety and returns the stone to its rightful place. A roaring flood follows, sweeping the odds away, and the exhausted duo are rescued by the elderly crow and carried back to the forest community where the drought begins to lift and water flows again.

Back home, the moment of reunion is gentle but meaningful: Tjum’s father, Nicolas Böll, offers to adopt Latte into their family, a gesture she gratefully accepts, finally finding the belonging she longed for. In the shadows of the cave, a reformed King Bantur watches Amaroo perform acrobatic water tricks, signaling a new, more hopeful future for the bears and the forest alike. The tale closes on a note of quiet, resilient friendship, and the promise that even unlikely heroes can bring life back to a community when courage, loyalty, and a little patience are present.