Legends told
by lamplight.
Two-minute shadow-puppet stories from Indonesia and across Asia, for curious kids and the grown-ups sitting next to them.
In West Java there is a volcano shaped like a boat lying upside down. This is its story.
Tonight’s programme
Every legend starts from a place you can still visit. Each one ends with a question: which legend next?
SangkuriangThe Upturned Boat
Why does a volcano near Bandung look like a boat lying upside down?
Watch Sangkuriang on YouTubeMalin KundangThe Son Who Turned to Stone
On a beach in Padang lies a rock shaped like a kneeling sailor.
Roro JonggrangA Thousand Temples in One Night
A prince tried to build a thousand temples before sunrise. He almost made it.
Timun MasThe Golden Cucumber Girl
A girl born from a cucumber outruns a giant with four magic bags.
From an old story to a lit screen
Four acts, the same for every legend.
The story
Each legend is cut down to twelve to eighteen beats, about two minutes. The first three seconds give a real fact you can still visit today, and the last line asks which legend comes next.
The cast
Every character is carved as a profile silhouette, like wayang kulit. Heroes stand slim and straight; giants are round and heavy. Each one keeps its own gel colours from first scene to last.
The voice
A warm storyteller reads the script, then every word is timed. A puppet lifts its arm on the word "kicked", not a moment before.
The lamp
The screen is lit like an oil lamp behind cloth, then rendered at 1080 × 1920 for Shorts and TikTok, with captions burned in for small ears and quiet rooms.
Meet the explorer
Before every legend, our time-travelling explorer stands where it happened today: on the rim of a volcano, on a beach in Padang, under the towers of Prambanan. Then the lamp flickers, the years fall away, and the story begins.
Look for the pith helmet and the spyglass. The explorer always asks the last question.
For grown-ups
What you can expect before you press play.
- Made for Kids
- Every video is marked Made for Kids on YouTube, so comments and personalised ads are off.
- About two minutes
- Short enough for one before bed, long enough to tell a whole legend.
- Gentle on the scary parts
- Battles and curses happen off-screen or as shapes and light, never as gore.
- A moral, not a lecture
- Each story ends with what its people took from it: kindness to parents, honesty, patience.
- English first
- Narrated in English with captions; Indonesian versions follow.
Which legend should the lamp light next?
New shadow plays arrive on YouTube Shorts and TikTok. Ask a grown-up to follow us.