Son of the White Mare

Son of the White Mare (Fehérlófia) is a 1981 Hungarian animated fantasy adventure film directed by Marcell Jankovics. The story's main character is Fehérlófia (Son of the White Mare), who has superhuman powers. It is based on the narrative poetry, under the same title, from László Arany and ancient Hunnic, Avaric and Hungarian legends; as a tribute to ancient steppe peoples.

Plot
Fanyüvő (Treeshaker) is born as the third son of a horse, and he gains his power by suckling the horse's milk. He listens to old tales, mostly about the Forefather and the end of his reign, caused by evil humanoid dragons freed by the three wives of the three sons of the Forefather. After the horse's death, Fanyüvő decides to search and destroy the dragons, who seized power over the world. He meets his two brothers, Kőmorzsoló (Stonecrumbler) and Vasgyúró (Ironrubber), who both possess powers in a similar fashion to Fanyűvő. In search of the Underworld's entrance (home of the humanoid dragons), they accommodate themselves in a tree hollow. One of them stays there every day, in order to cook porridge and make rope while the other two search for the entrance. An ancient and mischievous creature, Hétszűnyű Kapanyányi Monyók (Sevenwinged Skullsized Gnome) keeps asking them to give him some porridge. Kőmorzsoló and Vasgyúró refuse to give him food, so Hétszűnyű attacks them and eats the mush from their belly. Fanyüvő, however, stops him by trapping his beard in the tree hollow. Trying to escape, Hétszűnyű fells the tree, and the heroes find the entrance of the Underworld under its roots. They shave his beard — the source of his power — and forge a sword from it for Fanyűvő.

Only Fanyüvő dares to go down there, whereupon he finds the Gnome; they make a pact, and he shows him to the first princess. He slays the first dragon, the princess then leads him to the second dragon, whom he also kills, and finally he cuts the third dragon down as well. After the victory, Kőmorzsoló and Vasgyúró pull the cauldron up, with the princesses in it. When they lower it once more, Fanyűvő puts three apples — each containing a princess's castle — into the cauldron, and although both brothers and the princesses try to lift it, it is too heavy for them. The opening closes, and Fanyüvő is left in the Underworld. On the condition that he gives his beard back, the Gnome tells him of a griffin who could lift him up. A snake tries to eat the griffin's chicks, but Fanyüvő stops it. To show his gratitude, the Griffin Father offers to take Fanyüvő to the Upper World. The journey is too long for him though, and he tasks Fanyűvő with getting twelve oxen and twelve barrels of wine. By killing the dragons, the Forefather's power had been restored, and he grants Fanyűvő the oxen and wine. The flight to the Upper World is too long, and Fanyűvő has to cut his own leg off to feed the bird.

After the arrival, the griffin chicks restore Fanyüvő's leg, which gives him more power. He is furious at his brothers, for he believes they left him behind on purpose but forgives them. All three marry each one of the princesses and move into the castles. The story ends with the three brothers living happily ever after, until their deaths.

In the final shot, we see Fanyüvő walking above a modern cityscape, fading to black as the credits roll.

Production
The film was made from 1979 to 1981. It is the second animated feature-length film of Jankovics.

Comparison with mythology
There are slight differences between Fehérlófia and the film. In Son of the White Mare, Fehérlófia and Fanyűvő (Treeshaker) are the same person. The film contains elements of creation myths, namely Ősanya (Progenitrix), Ősapa (Forefather), and the Világfa or world tree.

Reception and legacy
Son of the White Mare was placed #49 on the Olympiad of Animation in 1984. On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 90 out of 100 based on 5 critic reviews, indicating "Universal Acclaim".

Animation historian Charles Solomon (who first saw it at an Academy screening in 1983 ) listed it, under the title The White Mare's Son, as one of the best animated films of the 1980s.

The film, under the title The White Mare, premiered at the Los Angeles International Animation Celebration in September 1985.

It soon became a cult classic whose followers include Disney animator Roger Allers (who hired Jankovics for Kingdom of the Sun, before eventually becoming The Emperor's New Groove, after he saw the film screened by Solomon via a bootleg copy) and Aeon Flux creator Peter Chung (who first saw it in 1984).

Restoration
A 4K restoration was done on the film by Los Angeles studio Arbelos Films. The restoration originally screened at the 2019 Fantasia International Film Festival on July 28, 2019, and there were plans to release it theatrically, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic these plans were soon cancelled. It was instead released on Vimeo on August 17, 2020, marking the first time that the film was distributed in America in decades. A Blu-Ray of the film by Arbelos was released on June 8, 2021, also featuring some of Jankovics' earlier films, including Academy Award-nominated Sisyphus and Johnny Corncob.