The gang's exploits in about 13 movies was the biggest and most beloved film series we had here in the small country of Denmark. I am not counting the 14th because it was a disaster on all fronts.
Now here is an attempt to cash in on what once was. I saw it because I am a big fan of animation and the series itself. I won't say that it is a total disaster, but for somebody who didn't know the originals, it must be very confusing and worst of all, not funny.
The only laughs here are that of recognition. For the ones who have never heard of these movies, here is a brief recap. Egon, is a small time crook who always consider himself big time. At the beginning of each movie, we see him and his gang attempting a small caper, usually a burglary of a convenience store or a grocer. Egon is caught and sent to prison while the other two gang members usually escape. Flash forward a couple of months. Egon has a big caper, usually involving some sort of government branch's illegal activities. For the most part the gang succeeds but the gang and especially Egon are usually outsmarted by a rival gang or some sort of corrupt government branch.
The movie retains all of these elements here but the story is extremely uninteresting. The voices are for the most part not very convincing and the animation is a little bit clunky. Fortunately, there are some good spots like the voice of Kjeld. It's a very good imitation of the late Poul Bundgaard.
Too bad that the other voices don't register. One of the funniest moments of the old series was the police involvement or lack thereof in the caper. They knew what was going on but chose to look the other way. Here, they seem utterly clueless and only stumble into the proceedings by accident.
So, for those who wish to get into the Olsen Gang, check out the old movies. It's a mistake to start here.
Now here is an attempt to cash in on what once was. I saw it because I am a big fan of animation and the series itself. I won't say that it is a total disaster, but for somebody who didn't know the originals, it must be very confusing and worst of all, not funny.
The only laughs here are that of recognition. For the ones who have never heard of these movies, here is a brief recap. Egon, is a small time crook who always consider himself big time. At the beginning of each movie, we see him and his gang attempting a small caper, usually a burglary of a convenience store or a grocer. Egon is caught and sent to prison while the other two gang members usually escape. Flash forward a couple of months. Egon has a big caper, usually involving some sort of government branch's illegal activities. For the most part the gang succeeds but the gang and especially Egon are usually outsmarted by a rival gang or some sort of corrupt government branch.
The movie retains all of these elements here but the story is extremely uninteresting. The voices are for the most part not very convincing and the animation is a little bit clunky. Fortunately, there are some good spots like the voice of Kjeld. It's a very good imitation of the late Poul Bundgaard.
Too bad that the other voices don't register. One of the funniest moments of the old series was the police involvement or lack thereof in the caper. They knew what was going on but chose to look the other way. Here, they seem utterly clueless and only stumble into the proceedings by accident.
So, for those who wish to get into the Olsen Gang, check out the old movies. It's a mistake to start here.