Horst in Translation ([email protected])
If you mention the name Till Eulenspiegel in Germany, pretty much everybody will say they know him. But the story itself in detail is not that famous. Same goes for me, so I cannot say how accurate this is compared to the original. The film only runs for 80 minutes and that does already include the ending credits. It is written and directed by Eberhard Junkersdorf, quite an interesting character. He produced many films by German directing legends Volker Schlöndorff (including Academy Award winner "Die Blechtrommel") and Margarethe von Trotta, also by Reinhard Hauff. The 12-year-old "Till Eulenspiegel" is the only film he directed and wrote, however. He wrote one other movie and he also directed another movie, also an animation film, although, at least in terms of this movie here, cartoon fits it probably more than animation as, by the pure looks of it, this Belgian-German co-production also could have been much older than 2003. Junkersdorf also did some acting a long time ago, in Edgar Wallae movies. He is not the only writer for "Till Eulenspiegel". One of his co-writers also worked on the famous "Lion King" movie.The cast here is pretty spectacular: Adorf, Thalbach, Ferres, Jaenicke, Tramitz, Kavanian and Habeck is something not many German films can come up with. Only the actor who voiced the central character (Benedict Weber) is fairly unknown, at least to me. The crew has a good reputation as well. Many of the animation department worked on "The Prince of Egypt". The story is the usual. A princess, or here daughter of the mayor is intended to marry, but falls in love with somebody else while evil forces try to get rid of the king in order to gain his power. However, this is also where the story has some flaws. This marriage is only mentioned once and never elaborated on later. I guess it was enough that the daughter of the mayor said simply no. And what happened to the king's nanny? Unfortunately the humor is not always spot on, for example they lower themselves to farting humor in one scene. Basically, humor is the essential element in animated movies these days. It is perfectly fine, if they are not realistic at all, and there is huge coincidence which is in this movie from start to finish, but with this coincidence there needs to be comedy and this is where the film fails. It is almost never funny. The cute little duck is a decent addition and also adds a bit to the story with the golden egg reference. By the way, she sounds exactly like Donald Duck in these very old Walt Disney Cartoons from the 1940s.One of the biggest flaws of the film is maybe everything around Eulenspiegel. I never found him particularly likable as he kept rambling like prime Eddie Murphy, even if he gives money to the poor. That constant talking got quickly repetitive and annoying. And also, there is something in his looks that did not really appeal to me, maybe his freckles, which should probably underline what a little rascal he is, or maybe it is just a mix of everything. The mayor's daughter was better in my opinion. She was voiced by Veronica Ferres and it was even pretty bearable if you don't see her.
