An intelligent, fearless boy living in a superstitious Transylvanian village goes out into the world to figure out what everyone else is afraid of, "the shivers." A king hires him to rid his castle of ghosts and evil spirits, expecting him to die like all who have tried before him, but the boy is more fearless than he could have known.
Thumbelina is the answer to her mother's prayers but is all too soon stolen away by Mother Toad as a wife for her son. With the help of many different woodland creatures, especially the Swallow, Thumbelina overcomes many obstacles to try and get back to her mother.
