I am a bit surprised that ratings and reviews for this animated film have been fairly weak. I enjoyed it a lot. "Der kleine Medicus" is based on the children's book by Dietrich Grönemeyer, a German medical scientist and university professor and also Herbert's brother. The director is Peter Claridge, not a name to many (including myself), who has mostly worked for German television, although you probably wouldn't expect with this name. The movie is shorter than 80 minutes and there are no unnecessary scenes included that drag the film too long. Major criticisms I have read are that the film is really only exclusively for children and I disagree. I thought the humor was exactly my cup of tea. Let me mention a few examples. When the evil scientist starts talking about children's heads early on, when they talk about the most significant trademark of rabbits (the courage of course!) or the permanent size references I found pretty funny. It's no harmonic feel-good humor, it is even slightly politically incorrect in a manner suitable for children.
Also the movie never tries to be too emotionally relevant or a tearjerker, it just aims at being a fun movie that gives the audience some biological knowledge and that works out nicely. I liked the Alice in Wonderland reference and also the way the central female character was displayed, not a perfect Disney princess, but somebody with their own mind who maybe (initially) just talks to the main character for selfish reasons, but quickly grows to like him. Also good they did not force a love story in there, although there are very minor indicators in terms of body language between the two or also with the main character's sister near the end. The animation is nice and you will only find weaknesses in the plot if you really dig deep for them. So don't. The cast includes Christiane Paul and Bernhard Hoëcker among others. These two should be known to most German movie-interested audiences and show again that you find big names frequently in German films aimed at younger audiences.
As a whole I recommend watching this film. Its predictability (video game situation, the girl doing well in the biology test) doesn't hurt the film at all. I had a very entertaining 80 minutes and also liked the famous song they used for the ending credits.
Also the movie never tries to be too emotionally relevant or a tearjerker, it just aims at being a fun movie that gives the audience some biological knowledge and that works out nicely. I liked the Alice in Wonderland reference and also the way the central female character was displayed, not a perfect Disney princess, but somebody with their own mind who maybe (initially) just talks to the main character for selfish reasons, but quickly grows to like him. Also good they did not force a love story in there, although there are very minor indicators in terms of body language between the two or also with the main character's sister near the end. The animation is nice and you will only find weaknesses in the plot if you really dig deep for them. So don't. The cast includes Christiane Paul and Bernhard Hoëcker among others. These two should be known to most German movie-interested audiences and show again that you find big names frequently in German films aimed at younger audiences.
As a whole I recommend watching this film. Its predictability (video game situation, the girl doing well in the biology test) doesn't hurt the film at all. I had a very entertaining 80 minutes and also liked the famous song they used for the ending credits.
