Have always loved the stories of the Grimm Brothers. They also surprisingly have been adapted well in animation, although liberties are taken and some are not as dark as some of the original stories. This has been obvious in the uneven but very entertaining and interesting German series (also available with English dubbing) 'Simsala Grimm' from the very start of the series right to the end.
Faithfulness is not to be expected, but a lot of the episodes do nicely in making their stories accessible and putting fresh spins on their stories. Something that was done with their adaptations of other authors such as Hans Christian Andersen. 'Simsala Grimm' has had some great episodes, mostly early on, and a vast majority of them are above average to surprisingly very good, only 'Beauty and the Beast' and especially 'Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp' disappointed. Have tended to prefer the earlier episodes. Part of 'Simsala Grimm's' appeal was that it was always great to see a nice mix of the famous and oft-adapted tales and also the not so familiar and not often adapted ones. The quality is inconsistent but if one is not already familiar with the original stories, this series is a nice enough way to start though once seeing more adaptations the episodes here will hardly be definitive version.
'The Singing Soaring Lark', based on a really quite lovely if not the most original story, for me is one of the best 'Simsala Grimm' episodes. There are a fair share of recognisable elements here, more so than other episodes in the series, there is plenty of fun and charm with some surprising emotional impact.
It does end somewhat abruptly and the animation occasionally loses some finesse in the still rather derivative character designs.
Conversely, much of the animation contains vibrant colours and fluid and handsomely rendered backgrounding. The music fits well (likewise with the never hammy or bland voice acting) and the main theme is catchy. Have always really liked the once upon a time approach to the intro. Found also that there was far less corny writing than in some other episodes, particularly in the later ones.
Doc Croc and Yoyo remain likeable characters with distinct personalities, the former being more resourceful and the latter funnier and more adorable without going over the top on that. Liked that they did serve a point to the story and not in a way that was shoe-horned in or misplaced, unlike some episodes 'The Singing Soaring Lark' didn't pad out their scenes too much and they didn't feel like filler. The original characters are well and faithfully characterised, their behaviour doesn't bore or irritate and motivations generally aren't vague.
Summarising, very well done and one of the best later episodes and high up in ranking for the whole series. 8/10