#tabaluga 1994

[hostess-of-horror]

A Cool Comparison ❄️: Tabaluga (1994 Novel) and Metropolis (1927 Film)

Part 1/2/3 (Finale)

[MAJOR SPOILER WARNING FOR BOTH SOURCES]

On top of their creation and purpose, both Lilli and the Android are heavily tied to biblical figures, specifically women of sin and wickedness, either figuratively or literally. Lilli is based after Lilith, Adam's first wife from Genesis, and the Android appears as the Whore of Babylon in a fever dream.

With these infamous identities, they are sent off to achieve their main goal, but with vastly different outcomes (Lilli becoming good and siding with Tabaluga and the Android causing a class war amongst the workers of Metropolis). Both characters even went on stage as part of their mission!

For context, Lilli joins the stage as part of a magic show after Tabaluga offers to volunteer in a fire trick.

However, despite this, the finale of both Tabaluga the novel and Metropolis the film end with the enemy burning alive for their crimes, except for Lilli. No, Arktos' reign of terror ends with him catching himself on fire and melting away into a puddle.

In the end of Metropolis, the people catch on to the Android's schemes after almost destroying the city and burn her alive, which causes Dr. Rotwang to fling himself into the flames to join his beloved Hel in death.

In conclusion, Arktos and all of Iceland/Metropolis should be heavily inspired by German Expressionism and Art Deco, just like Metropolis (1927).

[hostess-of-horror]

A Cool Comparison ❄️: Tabaluga (1994 Novel) and Metropolis (1927 Film)

Part 1

[MAJOR SPOILER WARNING FOR BOTH SOURCES]

Before getting into my Brainrot Bullshit analysis, I would like to thank @glasburg for providing us with an English translation of the 1994 novel, Tabaluga, by Helme Heine and Gisela von Radowitz. I wouldn't have known such a fantastic story if it weren't for you!

Here's also the 1927 film, Metropolis, directed by Fritz Lang (for those who are interested)!

Now, let us begin...

I could write down some intellectual introduction to this post, but to be perfectly honest, I just wanted to make this just so that my hyperfixation can be satisfied. While I can't confirm that the authors of Tabaluga intentionally used Metropolis as a reference, I do believe it is really interesting how very similar some elements are to each other. Through my discovery, a good portion of this comparison is mainly focused on Arktos, Lilli, and the frozen empire they live in.

For starters, the empire called "Iceland" in the 1994 novel is instead called...

This is very obvious, yes, but it is only the beginning.

Both Arktos' Metropolis and Metropolis are technologically advanced urban cities, filled to the brim with modern machinery and architecture...

As well as showcasing the drastic division between classes, specifically the powerful and wealthy vs. the impoverished masses.

Those under Arktos' command are nothing more than a means to eternal world domination. They're oppressed by their cruel leader and can be discarded easily with a press of a button, as shown previously with the king penguin. In the film Metropolis, the systematic regime forces lower class citizens to become the underground powerhouse that fuels the massive city above.

[hostess-of-horror]

A Cool Comparison ❄️: Tabaluga (1994 Novel) and Metropolis (1927 Film)

Part 1/2 (Continued)

[MAJOR SPOILER WARNING FOR BOTH SOURCES]

In fact, both sources showcase the cramped, monotone living quarters where the workers/lower class masses stay in.

There's even this massive furnace that brings energy to the city above!

While all of Metropolis falls helpless under his command, Arktos sets forth to capture Tabaluga, the last of the dragons, and preserve him in his museum of living species. But after many failed attempts, he comes up with a brilliant idea: he creates Lilli, a wind-up doll made of ice whose beauty is so irresistible that not even a dragon can turn her away. This is very similar to Dr. Rotwang, one of the main villains of Metropolis, who creates a female android after Hel, a deceased woman he is madly in love with.