Terkel in trouble

The first Danish 100% computer-animated feature, and it's a deserved hit!

From the opening credits, a bullseye parody of Kyle Cooper's classic title sequence from SE7EN, the film hits a note far away from your usual animated fluff, be it from Disney, Pixar or anywhere else, for that matter. If Tim Burton and The Farrelly Brothers directed South Park, it would look something like this. Adapted from Anders Matthesen and Mette Heeno from Matthesen's radio play, it's a paperthin story of sixth-grader Terkel, who receives death threats and has trouble with a couple of bullies at school. But what it lacks in story, it compensates for with inventive CGI animation despite its low budget (more Jimmy Neutron than Finding Nemo), brilliant voice characterizations by Matthesen (who does all the voices), and a sharp, anarchic, non-PC and absolutely hilarious sense of humor. Extra bonus: Pixar-like "outtakes" during end credits.

Being an Italian i've never heard about Terkel and all the others crazy characters. I've seen the movie 'cause i like twisted computer graphic movies, and i can say i've laughed a lot! Terkel end his friends are funny, the cartoon is like a mix of nasty moments inspired by great and famous series like "The Simpsons" or "South Park". The plot was a little dumb, but with a touch of mystery! But who cares about the plot when you can see funny moments a LOT of dirty language (just hear the old sailor, the uncle of Terkel... or his friend Jason, always walking around with a crowbar in his jeans...). This is a fresh and funny movie, ABSOLUTELY NOT for children!

What got me watching this movie was the advertisement that this movie is like South Park directed by Tim Burton. I agree with the South Park part. The movie deals with elementary school kids with anarchistic humour involving lots of comical violence, cursing, bodily functions and bizarre incidents that make so many, including me, loving that show. Also this movie.

As for Tim Burton, he directs visually impressive and original movies, that deal with a character, that doesn't quite fit the surrounding world. None of the descriptions above quite fit Terkel in Trouble. The characters are quite normal types. Anyone knows the types, bullies, wiggers, vain girls, teased fat ones and crazy substitutes from their own days at elementary school. I think a proper tag line would be "South Park directed by Sam Raimi". At least in the Evil Dead days Raimi was famous for enjoying both torturing his actors while shooting and enjoying a lot of violent humour inspired by the Three Stooges.

So it was a very funny movie. It wasn't actually a very original one, the key mystery is way too easy to figure out, but I was laughing too hard at things like a fork in the eye, a sledgehammer to the crotch and biting a kid's ear off in a battle, to really be bothered by it. Even the South Park boys would be jealous.

**** The best part: Instead of the best scene, I'd like to describe my favorite character. That is Terkels alcoholic sailor-uncle. A very violent, ignorant and nonchalant he may be, but loving Fernet Branca so much makes him a really twisted character. And also an enjoyable one.

(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!

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!