The Phoenix

Duration: 11

Year Published: 1990

Creator: The Board

Format: 16mm

Color: Color

Sound: sound

Description: The ancient myth of the phoenix, the magical bird with the miraculous power of self-regeneration, is reborn with a modern twist in this animated adaptation. Lord Strawberry, owner of the world's finest collection of birds, is determined to add the exotic phoenix to his aviary. Many imitations are dispatched until he finally finds the coveted bird in the Arabian desert and brings it home. Alas, Lord Strawberry dies penniless and his executors sell the bird at auction to a Mr. Poldero, the avaricious proprietor of Poldero's Wizard and Wonderland. For a while, the sublimely plumed bird becomes the highlight of the circus sideshow and enthralls the visitors who throng to see it. However, the fickle crowd soon diverts its attention to the livelier antics of the gum-chewing baboons. Mr. Poldero is outraged until he discovers the phoenix's amazing ability to ignite itself and arise from the ashes of its nest. He then plots a spectacular way to make his former star attraction pay. In the film's ironic denouement, the phoenix exacts its own revenge.