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{{short description|Children's novel by Michael Ende}}
{{Infobox book
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'''''Jim Button and Luke the Engine Driver''''' ({{
The book was published in 1960, and received the [[Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis|German Young Literature Prize]] in 1961. It is one of the most successful [[German language]] children's books of the postwar era.<ref name="faz">Julia Voss, [https://archive.today/20130221155527/http://www.faz.net/artikel/C30351/jim-knopf-wird-50-lang-lebe-der-koenig-von-jimballa-30296501.html "Lang lebe der König von Jimballa"] Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. Retrieved 31 July 2011 {{in lang|de}}</ref> The success led to thirty-four translations into other languages<ref name="goethe" /> and the sequel ''Jim Button and the {{nowrap|Wild 13}}'' (''{{lang|de|Jim Knopf und die {{nowrap|Wilde 13}}|italics=unset}}'').
Ende did not see his book as a children's book,<ref name="fokus">Martin Wittmann, [http://www.focus.de/kultur/buecher/jim-knopf-wird-50-nazis-raus-aus-lummerland_aid_539421.html "Nazis raus aus Lummerland"] ''Fokus'' magazine (9 August 2010). Retrieved 31 July 2011 {{in lang|de}}</ref> but just wrote it for himself.<ref name="fokus-dpa">[http://www.focus.de/kultur/buecher/jim-knopf-wird-50-auf-der-insel-mit-zwei-bergen_aid_537852.html "Auf der Insel mit zwei Bergen"] ''Fokus'' magazine (4 August 2010). Retrieved 31 July 2011 {{in lang|de}}</ref>
== Plot ==
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When they arrive in Ping, the capital, they win the friendship of a tiny great-grandchild named Ping Pong, who tells them the Emperor is in mourning. His daughter, Li Si, has been kidnapped and is being held in the Dragon City.<ref name="fokus" /> Luke and Jim offer their help, and while investigating the circumstances of Li Si's disappearance, they stumble upon several names which are directly connected to Jim's mysterious arrival on Morrowland: Mrs. Grindtooth (Frau Mahlzahn), the Wild 13, and Sorrowland (Kummerland). Now Jim and Luke have another reason to go to the Dragon City, located in Sorrowland, and confront Mrs. Grindtooth.
After a long and hazardous journey, they arrive in the Dragon City. Along the way, they make two new friends,
With parting advice given by the now-reformed Mrs. Grindtooth and generous assistance from the Emperor, Luke and Jim come into possession of a floating island, which is named New-Morrowland, to serve as Jim's future residence. After a cordial welcome back on Morrowland, Jim and Li Si become engaged. Emma gives birth to a baby steam locomotive who will be Jim's. He names her Molly.
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Meanwhile, Jim's locomotive Molly, whom Jim and Luke had left at the cliffs when getting Mr. Tur Tur and Nepomuk, has been abducted by the band of pirates called the Wild 13. Luckily for Jim and Luke, the former Mrs. Grindtooth awakes as a Golden Dragon of Wisdom in Mandala, helping them out with information and telling Jim how to find out about his origin. With the help of the Emperor, Jim and Luke – and Princess {{nowrap|Li Si}} as a stowaway – start their journey to meet the {{nowrap|Wild 13}} and rescue Molly. They encounter the pirates, who prove too much for them in battle. Molly is lost at sea, and all but Jim are captured and brought to the pirates' base, Castle Stormeye, a pinnacle of rock within the eye of a perpetual hurricane.
Unseen, Jim manages to sneak into the pirates' fortress, overpower them with a trick and some luck, and become their leader. As it turns out, Jim is the last descendant of Caspar, the third of the [[Three Kings]], whose heirs were doomed to remain homeless after Mrs. Grindtooth had sunk their kingdom beneath the ocean millennia ago. Only the sinking of Castle Stormeye will raise it back to the surface. In the end, the {{nowrap|Wild 13}} sacrifice their fortress, Jim's old kingdom reappears – and to everyone's surprise, Morrowland
All the families whose children Jim and Luke had rescued from the Dragon City come to live in the new country. Jim marries {{nowrap|Li Si}} and receives Molly from the merpeople, her iron frame transformed into the Crystal of Eternity. The {{nowrap|Wild 13}}, reformed by their sacrifice, remain in Jim's kingdom as its protectors and royal guards. {{nowrap|Mr. Tur Tur}}, meanwhile, goes to live on Morrowland as the world's largest lighthouse.
== Settings ==
"Morrowland", where the story begins, is a microcosm of early modern society, with a king, a [[Citizenship#Medieval and early modern citizenship|burgher]], a merchant, and a worker.<ref name="faz-jv1" /><ref group="note">But not quite. Luke is not actually a worker: he is not even counted among the subjects of Morrowland
In Morrowland, people lead an old-fashioned, idyllic life, albeit with modern conveniences. The rest of the world, however, is full of fantasy. As the [[Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung]] wrote, children read Jim Button at a time in their lives when "the existence of dragons is as real as dinosaurs and kings [are] closer than the chancellor".<ref name="faz" /> The contrast between reality and fantasy is reflected in several places. In Morrowland, Jim is a normal child. He plays outside and doesn't like to wash; his mother sometimes worries about him. Outside Morrowland, however, he goes on adventures, experiences exotic cultures, fights a dragon and finally, saves a princess.
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;King Alfred the Quarter-to-Twelfth {{nobold|(''König Alfons der Viertel-vor-Zwölfte'')}}: The king of Morrowland, who is named after the stroke of the clock at the time of his birth and at which he shows himself to his subjects on holidays. He is extremely well-meaning and benevolent, but can get overly nervous under stress and is very inattentive and forgetful.
;Mr. Sleeve {{nobold|({{lang|de|Herr Ärmel}})}}: A citizen of Morrowland and a subject of King Alfred. He is portrayed as a stereotypical Englishman and is most often seen taking a stroll, wearing a [[bowler hat]] and carrying an umbrella. He is very polite, educated, and intellectual, and he is well liked by the island's other inhabitants. Initially he has no job in the book (he "is just there and is being ruled"), though eventually he makes use of his magnificent education in becoming Jim Button's teacher. In the Augsburger Puppenkiste version he works as a photographer.
;Mr. Tur Tur: This {{lang|de|Scheinriese}} ("
;Nepomuk: A half-dragon by birth, because his mother was a [[hippopotamus]], and still has some resemblance to his mother. Like his fellow [[mixed-race]] dragons, he is not accepted by the pure-blood dragons in Sorrowland. He tries to behave like a "real" dragon by being scary and mean, while he is actually neither. (A certain naughtiness, which he later promises to overcome, does seem to belong to his actual traits, though.) However, he is able to help Ushaurishuum create the Crystal of Eternity, and becomes the keeper of the Magnetic Cliffs.
;Pung Ging: The Emperor of China and Li Si's father. A kind and just ruler who befriends Jim and Luke after they offer to free his daughter from Mrs. Grindtooth's clutches.
;Ping Pong: A very young and tiny Chinese boy whose head is the size of a [[ping pong]] ball. Hardly more than a year old and no taller than a man's hand, he is already very capable of behaving and thinking like an adult.<ref group=note>This stereotypical depiction of the Chinese is common in the story. The country called China in the first editions of the book was later changed to "Mandala". The 1990 English translation again uses "China", however (Athenea Bell, Overlook Press, Woodstock, NY).</ref> He is one of the numerous descendants of the Emperor's chief cook; after saving Jim and Luke from a treacherous and manipulative minister, he is made Prime Minister of China by the Emperor
;Mrs. Grindtooth {{nobold|({{lang|de|Frau Mahlzahn}})}}: A pure-blood dragon and the main antagonist of the first story. Her name comes from the single fang projecting from her long snout. She is very knowledgeable and intelligent, but like all dragons, likes to torment lesser beings with her power. She runs a school for human children in Sorrowland.
;The Wild 13 {{nobold|({{lang|de|Die Wilde Dreizehn}})}}: A band of pirates completely identical in appearance and ability. Fearsome pirates and seamen, they are not particularly bright and are poorly educated, each of them knowing only one particular letter of the alphabet. First portrayed as antagonists, they evolve into important characters and plot carriers in the sequel.:Even though they are named "The Wild 13", they are actually only 12 men. This mistake happens because of a fault in their logic. Every day they elect one of their own as a new leader, so they reason they are twelve plus the leader, which results in them thinking they are thirteen.
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In 1974, the story was turned into a Japanese animation.<ref>[http://www.michaelende.de/en/book/jim-button-and-luke-the-engine-driver "Jim Button and Luke the Engine Driver"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110727061317/http://www.michaelende.de/en/book/jim-button-and-luke-the-engine-driver |date=27 July 2011 }} Retrieved 3 August 2011</ref> A [[audio theatre|dramatized audio book]], ''Jim Knopf und Lukas der Lokomotivführer'' ([[Fontana Records|Fontana]]/[[Deutsche Grammophon]]) was narrated and directed by Ende himself. In 1998, a 52-episode cartoon series titled ''Jim Button'' was produced by [[Flying Bark Productions|Yoram Gross-Village Roadshow]], [[Saban Entertainment]], [[Saban International Paris]], and [[CinéGroupe]].<ref name="goethe" /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tvsi.de/zeichentrickserien/jim_Knopf.php|title=Cartoon series, episode descriptions|language=de|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070611214653/http://www.tvsi.de/zeichentrickserien/jim_Knopf.php|archive-date=11 June 2007|url-status=dead|access-date=2 August 2019}}</ref> The storyline diverged from the original novels with the introduction of new characters and settings.
A German-language feature film adaptation, ''[[Jim Button and Luke the Engine Driver (film)|Jim Button and Luke the Engine Driver]]'', was directed by [[Dennis Gansel]], produced by [[Rat Pack Filmproduktion]] and Malao Film, and released by [[Warner Bros. Pictures]] on 29 March 2018 in German cinemas.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7302634/releaseinfo?ref_=tt_ov_inf#releases|title=Jim Button and Luke the Engine Driver (2018)
A cinematic adaptation of the second book, ''Jim Button and the Wild 13'', was announced in late March 2018. Filming began in January 2019, and the film, initially planned for Easter 2020, but slightly delayed due to the [[COVID-19 pandemic]], was eventually released on 1 October 2020.<ref>{{cite news |title = Christian Becker: "Der allergrößte Film" |url = http://www.mediabiz.de/film/news/christian-becker-der-allergroesste-film/428297/ |publisher= Blickpunkt:Film| accessdate = 29 March 2018}}</ref>
* ''Jim Knopf und Lukas der Lokomotivführer'' (1961),
* ''Jim Knopf und die wilde 13'' (1962),
* ''Jim Knopf und Lukas
* ''Jim Knopf und
* ''Jim
* ''[[Jim Button and Luke the Engine Driver (film)|Jim Button and Luke the Engine Driver]]'' (2018), film directed by [[Dennis Gansel]], based on children's novel ''Jim Button and Luke the Engine Driver''
* ''[[Jim Button and the Wild 13 (film)|Jim Button and the Wild 13]]'' (2020), film directed by Dennis Gansel, based on children's novel ''Jim Button and the Wild 13''
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[[Category:Children's books about rail transport]]
[[Category:Television series by Saban Entertainment]]
[[Category:Novels set on fictional islands]]
[[Category:Novels about kidnapping]]
[[Category:Novels about princesses]]
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