Hui Buh: Das Schlossgespenst

I decided to rewatch this film mostly out of nostalgia, since I enjoyed it as a kid and also listened to the audio plays back then. For a German children's movie, I think it's actually quite well made. Christoph Maria Herbst and Michael "Bully" Herbig did a great job in their lead roles, and the whole cast brought a lot of charm to the film.

What surprised me was that, despite its age, the movie doesn't feel too outdated. The cinematography, direction, and overall production were better than I expected, and the medieval castle setting with all its details looked fantastic.

Of course, this is a simple children's movie at heart, and the story reflects that, but it works well for what it is. As a nostalgic rewatch, I found it enjoyable and fun - definitely something you can watch with your family for a lighthearted evening.

I must admit that my young daughter forced me to watch this movie and my expectations were pretty low, thus slightly bored and awkward I joined her after she had already watched about half of it...And what a surprise, I instantaneously fell in love with it.The sets are wonderfully old-fashioned and German, the thing German viewers would probably get annoyed at is that a lot of German clichés are made fun of, e.g. ghost soldiers wearing spiked helmets, a castle that is reminiscent of Neuschwanstein Castle - I felt like being way back in Texas in 1987 and being asked if Germany still was a kingdom - and if they had watched this movie beforehand, they would have definitely believed so -, especially because it is hard to tell which specific time this movie is actually set in. In a way I can imagine that this feature would be more appreciated in the countries outside Germany, I do not exactly know why but most Germans do have an exceedingly hard time laughing about themselves.

Though the movie's namesake the ghost Hui Buh may be a little bit over the top according to my taste, the acting is superb, especially Christoph Maria Herbst as König Julius,der 111.; his timing is absolutely brilliant (and this is probably the closest he will ever get to playing a romantic lead). The humour in this comedy is at times hilarious and silly,but never ever turns nasty.

BTW I immediately ventured to watch the entire movie... ;)