Terkel in trouble

(r#68)

There are movies that break new ground. Then there are movies that push the envelope. Then there are movies that not only push the envelope, they tear it to pieces. Movies like Terkel i knibe. Pure brilliance.

Terkel/Torkel is your typical insecure preteen. He's a bit of a dork and his only friend is Jason, a wannabe gangsta who always carries a pipe in his back pocket. Torkel is plagued by the class bullies Sten and Saki who have a vendetta against him ever since being beaten half to death by Torkel's alcoholic uncle Stewart. Torkel's parents can't offer him any help either; his mother is a chain-smoking woman way past her expiration date, and his dad's whole vocabulary consists of the word "no". So poor Torkel is lonely in his struggle to fit in amidst insane teachers, a very unfortunate little sister, and off-the-wall musical numbers.

The musical numbers... just pure awesomeness from start to finish. The most memorable song, bar none, is Jason's absolutely brilliant "F/(k off and die". Who the hell thought that one up? The characters are spot on. Several of them reminded me of people I know in real life - if that is a good thing or not, I have no idea. Anders Matthesen has done a great writing job and completely captures the atmosphere of a dysfunctional school.

Every positive review so far has commented on how funny the movie is, and I agree completely. This is by far the funniest movie I've seen all year, even funnier than the remake of The Omen, believe it or not. But I'm surprised no one has commented on how completely sick this movie is! There's gore, violence towards kids, suicides, the aforementioned little sister and her utensil troubles, you name it. This movie was way more disturbing than I expected, but that's a good thing. The makers are taking the medium of CGI animation into new and previously unvisited areas, and I applaud them for trying something new. The design of the characters is crude, but utterly hilarious. This is a movie you should see as soon as possible - there's really nothing like it.

Watch "Torkel" right now!

This is based on the Special Edition DVD. I've been a fan of Anders since my initial exposure to him. This particular outing is a little different, in that it's one of the few times that he redoes something he's already done in another of the several mediums he's mastered. He did a television version of his radio Christmas calendar, and this is a movie version of an audio story that he put out on CD(which is superior to this). Most of the writing, overall, remains the same, with a bit of the timing lost for some reason, a couple of scenes are moved or excised, and new material, as well. The animation is smooth, high quality and they get a high level of detail. This has stuff for those who have already heard the story, as well as things that are just as much for new viewers. It's fairly well-directed, and though the range of expression is a tad limited, the cool plot gets told nicely enough, whether or not you know it beforehand. There are surprises, and very worthwhile, fresh sequences. For those that don't know, this deals with Terkel, a pre-teen boy who has a fairly regular school- and home-life. Bullying and an angry, out of control, and(in Denmark, anyway) well-known, uncle lead to complications, and that's all I'll say. The tendency is towards the reveals and such being more effective in the original form, but the visualization is always interesting. All of the new music for this is great. The humor is what we're used to from The Duck, with there being aggressive and/or offensive stuff, morbid dark comedy, clever and sometimes goofy jokes and gags. If you're into it, this is hilarious. I don't know if a lot of non-Scandinavians are going to enjoy this as much as we do, and I can't comment on any other voice version than the Danish one(the multi-talent being the sole performer), which is marvelous. The pacing is perhaps somewhat uneven. On the disc is found, after you navigate the unnecessarily annoying menus, various silly extras that go on for longer than the fun of them lasts, including the Stewart Stardust in-character feature commentary track. There is a lot of bloody, gory violence, disturbing content and strong language in this. I recommend this to any and all fans of Matthesen, though definitely listen to the first release of this tale before watching this. 7/10

I found the movie quite a surprising piece of artistic work. If you enjoy the Tim Burton animations such as Nightmare Before Christmas you will enjoy this one. Bewarned this is a little more darker and also has its own take on animation. Watch for the small details, such as eyes, eye lid movements, lips to express feelings. Fantastic! The story line becomes an unexpected mild mystery/horror, with a few short twisted musical numbers thrown in. Overall, its was unusual but kept me entertained and watching. I didn't really walk away with anything but amusement. I guess that's what it was all about. Definitely worth watching.

Terkel i Knibe is a great movie. I saw the movie with Norwegian dubbing. I'm generally against dubbing, but this movie is an exception. Aksel Hennie does a great voice-job. The setting and theme of this movie is pretty universal. All you need to do is to change the language and the story, setting and lines will work in any western country.

The film is about Terkel and his complicated life. It shows some of the things a 6th grader today will have to cope with. It's a great script. It brings up the subject of harassment, witch in Norway and possibly also Danmark is a very hot subject. It shows an exaggerated picture of todays kids, but if you think about it it's not really that far from the truth. The way the kids act and speak could actually be the case. This movie contains elements that goes deeper than the superficial comedy. Never the less it's a crazy movie and should be enjoyed as one. It's an animation about kids, however I would look upon this as more of an adult movie. Yes, it was rated low, but it contains violence and jokes I doubt an eight year-old would get. I think it would be funnier for teenagers and enlightening for adults.

The animations are great. It's thought through and cool. The characters are easy to recognize and it's just detailed enough. The voice-job was great on the Norwegian version and I expect nothing less of the Danish one.

The score is good. Bo Rasmussen has made a nice cartoonish, yet serious score. It's funny and dramatic and builds up the mood. The songs in the movie are also good and funny.

Terkel i knibe is a good movie about that's funny, yet serious if you look deeper. It got drive and there is something happening from the very beginning all till the end. Have no fear... You're in for a good time!

This movie has a guy named Terkel. The animation is very gruesome. The character designs are also more awful then hair high. Film makes no sense at all. The characters look stupid. I appreciate the music in the movie. Terrible lip syncing. The worst thing about this movie is the voice acting. I hope I never see this movie again.