“There is nothing to fear who is not afraid of anything.” There was an old potter in the same kingdom, and he had two sons. One executive, a master of all trades, the other always doubted what he wanted from life. Nothing, but he had a reputation for being very strange. And all because Michel did not know what "fear" is. And in the mysterious cursed forest goes for a walk and is not afraid of ghosts (from which the latter, by the way, is very hurtful). But such a “gift” does not please the guy at all, but on the contrary, it upsets him, and he wants to learn to be afraid. After all, everyone should be afraid of something in order to stop in time and not make mistakes. An inspired hero decides to find something that can solve his trouble. So Michel goes on a trip, during which he meets a cocky princess, helps her free the castle from evil spells, and at the same time, as usual, solve matters of the heart.
The film is quite fun, although the humor in the film is for the most part too "English." However, there are a couple of really funny moments. For example, the episode with Michael and the “ghost of death” that “appeared” to him. Funny moments were also with swamp monsters, torn off his hand. They mocked the Russian prince Igor, but for some reason I was not very funny. By the way, the latter is not a character in the fairy tale of Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, but rather a tribute to the Russian origin of the main actress.
The Grimm brothers’ fairy tale of the same name was largely modernized: the royal servant imitates rap sounds well, the relationship between the king and his rebellious daughter strongly resembles the confrontation of generations. By the way, Isolde Duchauck as Princess Elizabeth was really good. It was funny to watch her arguments with her father, men's habits: then she dresses in trousers, then famously shoots and jumps on a horse, and also dreams of fighting robbers and going on a trip full of dangers. It is a pity, of course, that the episode of the night at the gallows with corpses was removed from the fairy tale, and the trials in the castle were greatly reduced. But the highlight of the film were swamp zombies and the unfolded story of Princess Elizabeth.
The plot is predictable, but you follow it with great interest. Largely due to the decent performance of the actors. None of them cheat or overdo it in their role. Even episodic characters like a self-serving church monk who was desperate to teach a pottery boy to be afraid or the same swamp ghosts were very funny and made him smile. In addition to the already mentioned Isolde, who, by the way, is Russian (moved with her mother to Berlin at the age of 9), of course, it is worth noting her partner Tim Oliver Schultz. His constant equanimity instilled confidence and added charm to the actor’s play, so sincerely he embodied himself in the image of the fearless Michel.
Some interesting points:
- Filming took place from June 24 to July 11, 2014 in Neuenburg Castle in the south of Saxony-Anhalt, in a picturesque forest area near Freiburg, the Porta State School (often becoming a filming location for various German films), in Bremen and its surroundings.
- In early June 2015, actress Isolde Duchauk received the award “Best Actor” (yes, male) for the role of Princess Elizabeth at the 23rd German festival of children’s media Goldener Spatz.
- In October of the same year, the film received the prize “Premier of the best children’s film”. Cinema at the 23rd Children's Film Festival in Dresden. The children’s jury gave him a rating of “specially recommended”.
- In addition, the film also represented the country (category "Germany") at the international film festival "Schlingel" for children and youth.
- The fairy tale of the same name was first adapted as a puppet cartoon in 1935. By the way, this mute Gothic cartoon was awarded a gold medal at the World Exhibition in Paris in 1937 for excellent animation and character design.
8 out of 10