David and the Magic Pearl

David and the Magic Pearl
Starring	Ewa Kania Ewa Zlotowska Jolanta Zykun Ewa Zukowska Jerzy Molga Tadeusz Wludarski
Music by	Seweryn Krajewski (original) Claes Wang (English version)
Cinematography	Jan Ptasinski
Editing by	Hanna Michalewicz
Distributed by	Film Polski (Poland) AB Svensk Filmindustri (Sweden) Celebrity Home Entertainment (USA)
Release date(s)	June 1988 (Poland) November 5, 1988 (Sweden) 1991 (USA) October 9, 1993 (Finland)
Running time	71 min.
Country	Poland/Sweden
Language	Polish

David and the Magic Pearl (known as David & Sandy internationally) is a Polish/Swedish animated film released in 1988. Though it has faded into obscurity, the English version is better known than the original.

Summary

David, a boy who stays with his parents in a small cabin in a jungle, not only gets a reliable puppy for his birthday, but he also befriends a baby eagle who he names Sandy (hence the film's original title). They discover that a stereotypical boss, named Mr. Stealmore in the English version, is after a set of pearls (which are magic) which were to be kept safe by a group of aliens who landed in the jungle. Now, the trio have to band together and save the jungle from Mr. Stealmore, who has also plotted to bulldoze the jungle and build a city in its place.

Cast

(Note: This does not list the cast of the original Polish and Swedish versions. Note that only a couple voice actors are recognized for their vocals in the English version)

• Christine Cavanaugh as David
• Frank Welker as Cave Tiki

Response

Although it is unknown what the film's budget and box office gross was, the film is nonetheless recognized (particularly the English version) for its bizarre animation. The English version is especially well known since 2007 when a YouTube user began deriving unintentional comedy from the English version, even being posted on YouTube in its entirety (both English and Polish versions) in 2009. The English version has been cited as being inferior to the original Polish version because David's narration (which was not present in the original version) takes up most of the film as well as nonsensical pop culture references, such as mentions of Sigourney Weaver and Madonna.

In Poland, the movie was extremely popular with children during the 1980's and comic books based on the film were produced. In Poland, it is also considered one of the greatest 80's films for children, among other films of that genre such as An American Tail, E.T. and The Goonies.

See also

• List of animated feature-length films

External links

• David and the Magic Pearl at the Internet Movie Database
• The Polish version
• The English version