The Deer fairy

Duration: 26

Year Published: 1984

Creator: Lucerne

Format: 16mm

Color: Color

Sound: sound

Description: Animation is used to tell an ancient Chinese tale about the deer fairy, a supernatural forest creature that aids both man and animals and promotes peace and love to all living beings. With its coat of nine colors, the deer guides lost travelers and resurrects birds and other animals that have perished in the wood. One day, the fairy parts a lake to rescue a drowning peasant who promises to keep her whereabouts secret or forfeit his own life. Returning to Shanghai, the peasant learns that a bounty has been offered by the king for the capture of the deer fairy. Desiring the wealth and status the bounty will confer, the man leads the king and his retainers into the forest and sets a trap for the sprite. The peasant begins to die for betraying the trust of his onetime savior while the deer fairy explains the nature of his transgression to the king and his men who realize the error of their ways.