Evengyny Thanks for the memories!

Curapedi I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

Erica Derrick By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Derrick Gibbons An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

juha-riissanen I see many being enthusiastic about the series..Unfortunately I have another opinion..The idea is good and I have nice memories from the 80s when I saw some parts of it. Now when watching it with the kids I feel cheated by my own memories..The very first part is promising. There is a sense of getting the big picture in an entertaining way. Blend of details and jokes and overview is quite balanced.But the further one goes the stack of DVDs and episodes the more frustrated one starts to feel.The history part gets often obscured by Tom & Jerry (or perhaps Asterix) like fast action fights & jokes. Sometimes linked to the time and events described. But often not. This perhaps is the most frustrating aspect as quite often one is left with an uncertain feeling... Was there something to be learned - ow was that a simple joke.. Then when the story goes to describing real historic facts these are often fast paced listings of years, names of important people/fights, etc.. Perhaps that is the part for adults as the kids have no chance of learning from that level of details coming at that pace..Transitions from the life of individuals to the world events is often surprising and would benefit from better justification / preparation. Further confused by reusing the same characters in different roles in different episodes.. It is like one should have read the history books in advance to really understand what the events described are connected to.There are good points in the series, there is high level of ambition, but somehow one feels that the mix of plain cartoon amusement and real history teaching is not really working. Perhaps it is the 30 years that have passed from the production of the series.. But the end result is a bit questionable in teaching history to kids as it makes the boundary between real facts and plain fiction quite hard to see

T P "Es war einmal der Mensch" (German) / "Once Upon a Time... Man" (English) is just about the next best children's program/series after "Es war einmal das Leben" (German) / "Once Upon a Time... Life" (English). History is a dry topic and as someone who always found it boring throughout school, even I like watching episodes of this series with our children and fondly remember seeing it as a kid when it originally aired.The series is very well made, does not show its age, and our kids at various ages really like to watch it. At the same time, they gain knowledge about history us parents didn't have until way, way later. The series covers everything from the birth of the universe (assuming the Big Bang theory is correct), through evolution, prehistoric times, all centuries, to the last episode looking towards the future of humankind. While most episodes are great, some, around the dark ages, need the support of the fun characters as these times are really just a string of people's conquests, rebellions, new leaders, etc. (hence "only" 8 out of 10). The evolution is covered in a sensitive way, leaving some scope for interpretation of this topic which may be contentious with some people, and similarly, episodes covering religious events such as the birth of Jesus and Islam look only from a historic angle.Throughout the series, familiar characters give a personal context to history. The topics covered are well balanced, globally speaking, and chosen for their significance. The last episode, looking towards the future of humankind one of the best, pondering increasing environmental destruction, pollution and wars and while presented for children's viewing is very worthwhile to watch for adults as well.This is one of the best ever children's programs - I would say it's a must see for every family with kids!

Andres Salama A very entertaining animated series that shows the history of the world since the prehistory to the twentieth century. The same characters recur in different eras: for example, Pierre, one of the main characters, appears in one episode as a Persian warrior, then in another as a Roman slave, then as a Frankish peasant, and so on. I saw the series in around 1980, when I was about 12, and it definitely awakened in me an interest in history. Now, if one can criticize the series for something is for its Eurocentrism: the history of the world in this series is mostly the history of Europe (with a few exceptions, one of the most intriguing episodes was the one that dealt with the birth of Islam; in deference to the faith, Muhammad was always shown from behind). Now, an interesting fact: here, in Argentina, when it was initially shown in 1980, the military dictatorship was in power, and under pressure from the Catholic Church, the series was taken off the air halfway through. The church apparently didn't like that evolution was favored in the first episode, and neither they appreciated the portrayal of the church during the Middle Ages. I swear this is really true: I remember it quite vividly, because I really liked the series and I was angry when they put it off the air.

aizkomendi An unforgettable animated series from our childhood. The very cheerful introducing song and pictures, with a fish disturbingly evolving into a lizard and on into a chimp and finally becoming a man, made us stare at it in amazement. I find the series greatly encouraged the intellectual excitement and imagination of the children in Europe of the late 70s and early 80s for the extraordinary events and stories told in the cartoons.The plot of the stories with five-six recurring and distinctive characters quarreling with each other made the cartoons attractive to the eyes of the little ones. The weird storyteller with a long white beard and the clock that could speak rendered the pictures all the more enticing.To sum up, it struck a chord in our generation, with its colourful, cheerful and optimistic images and tunes.