The Adventures of Açela is a playful tale of a young girl and her adventures while visiting her grandmother. She reconnects with her old friend, Ezrak, and sets out to find the TaleTeller, a legendary figure of the forest that no one has ever seen.

Before the two head into the forest, they first get permission from Açela’s grandmother, who hesitates initially because of rumors of danger and strange creatures that might be lurking along the way. However, she finally concedes to Açela’s pleading, and Açela reassures her grandmother that they will be back before sunset.

When they arrive at the place where the TaleTeller is known to appear, he isn’t there. They call out to him, and finally, another child appears. Ökten tells Ezrak and Açela that the TaleTeller has sent him to ask for help in finding a remedy for the TaleTeller’s sickness. The children need to climb a mountain and find a rare flower within a cave and take it back to the TaleTeller. They leave right away.

After a long journey, they find the flower. They take it back to the TaleTeller and he begins to get better. He then proceeds to tell them a tale of how a young girl is wiser than her father when they meet a frustrated vizier. She helps vizier solve a complicated request made by his sultan, and is richly rewarded.

Açela and her friends return to their village to find that there is now a small school where there once was not, because few children lived in the village. The TaleTeller had helped the children, especially Ezrak, who was unable to go to school. Now, the children could continue their education, the foundations of which had already paid big dividends.

The Dove Take:

Sometimes, embarking on a mysterious journey has a bigger payoff than might be initially realized. The Adventures of Açela uses simple animation to show how impactful the courage of three children can be, and how far-reaching their courageous effort is felt.