Watch Village of Idiots (1999) Official Trailer

“Outsiders call Chelm the village of idiots,” Shmendrick explains, “but our rabbi said we were a city of natural geniuses, with our own way of figuring things out.”

Based on a Jewish folk tale adapted by playwright John Lazarus, this animated short tells the story of Shmendrik, a simpleton living in a small Polish village. Weary of daily life in his native Chelm, Shmendrik sets out on a quest for knowledge that brings him to a new Chelm, a place eerily reminiscent of his old Chelm. An amusing take on our tendency to romanticize what we don't have.