Em Busca da Aventura

Enjoy a step back in time to West Berlin, Germany, during the early 1960s when Germany was divided and skrinks were invading.

Real scenery, real buildings, real vehicles -- it's not an imagining in a fantasy land, it's what actually did exist at one time and some of it still does today. (Note the tall hexagon-shaped building and old church in the background when Gustav and Emil meet; it's the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church located at Lietzenburgerstrasse 39, 10789 Berlin)

1960s style, fashion, costumes -- each character's outfit defines them and adds to the charm of the story; whether it's an actual character in the script or a nameless passerby in the background, the styles and colors are captivating.

Story narrator, opening credits, film effects, editing -- enjoyable features that add to the story and help it move along; even during the slower-moving moments of the film, I'm still intrigued by the scenery, the background, the music, the writing, or other subtle elements that could be edited away but it wouldn't necessarily make the film better, just shorter.

Young detectives, innocent loyal do-gooders, solving problems together in a more adult manner than adults in modern films.

Score, background music, sound effects -- I don't have to watch every second to know what's going on because the sounds and music tell the story too; while it's not a musical, the music is essential to the movie.

Dry humor, no swearing, witty insightful writing with good moral lessons and silly words that should get used more, like 'skrink' and 'skrunky'.

Stunts, physical work -- not high-impact but highly enjoyable.

Cartoonish villains that aren't animated and don't cause serious harm to anyone as much as they try -- similar to the Apple Dumpling Gang or the bad guys in That Darn Cat; other good titles would be the Apple Streusel Gang or That Darn Skrink.

Worst thing about movie: I didn't know it existed the first 41 years of my life.

Thanks to TCM and their Disney Vault series for making these movies available without commercials, and with captions too!

First saw this in a movie theater when I was 11 years old and just saw it again this week on Turner Classic Movies. It made a big impression on me when I was a kid and I'm pleased the experience stood up. Understand that this is completely a kids movie. The characters are very broad and actually quite cartoonish (though the same could be said for Quentin Tarantino movies). Gender stereotypes are consistent with the period. The plot is wildly implausible, like many children's books, but who cares?

So what did I like about it so much? All the main actors had charisma to spare and the minor actors were quirky and more than a little unusual. Bryan Russell and Walter Slezak are particular favorites. Though I hardly understood World War II as a child I now appreciate seeing Berlin less than 20 years after that war ended. And the attitudes towards Germany at this time. The photography is vividly colorful and flattering to Berlin. The bouncy score is happy-making and infectious. Mostly, I loved the sense of ebullient, delirious adventure and camaraderie among the detectives. Really echoes my idea of the limitless adventure of childhood at its best. Bravo!

During the 1960s and 70s, Disney released a lot of live action films. They were clearly aimed at kids, as if you watch them as an adult, many of them are simply awful. While I wouldn't call "Emil and the Detectives" awful, it is tough going for adults because Disney clearly was thinking only of kids when it inserted all sorts of goofy sound effects and made a film featuring a large cast of kids...some of which weren't very good actors.

I have no idea how closely this story follows the original story by Erich Kästner. I do know, however, that his story was very popular and they made at least six film versions of the "Emil and the Detectives".

The story begins with Emil about to get on the bus for Berlin. His mother does something a bit foolish...she pins a letter with money in it inside his jacket...and then says loud enough for a nearby thug to hear, that he has the money and should give it to his grandmother when he arrives. Naturally, a scum-bag overhears it and ends up stealing the money. But Emil is a very determined kid...and follows the man. Along the way, he also gets help from another boy who has a group of friends he calls his 'detectives' and they go about following the man and his compatriots. Why? Because in this weird world, the police don't listen to children when they report crimes!

So what's good about the film? Well, it actually was filmed mostly in Berlin and it's nice to see the city. It's also interesting to see that some of the town is STILL in ruins almost 20 years after the war. But it also seemed very odd that almost no one had a German accent!

Overall, a mixed bag that I'd rate a 6 or perhaps 7 for kids and a 4 for adults. If your kids want to watch it, it's harmless entertainment, albeit a bit dark in places. But if you are an adult, you might want to have a book or handheld video game handy so you want pay attention to this instead of the film as the kids watch this one.

"Emil and the Detectives" is the type of kids adventure stories that Walt Disney Studios made several of in the 1950s and 1960s. They were always fun and somewhat interesting, though no one ever thought any real harm would come to the heroes. Still they could keep kids on the edge of their seats at times.

This is a fun family film that youngsters especially should enjoy. Although older kids who are addicted to video games and non-stop action films will have to learn how to sit still to enjoy it.

The only actor of any note in this film is Walter Slezak, an Austrian-born character actor who played in dramas, thrillers and comedies. He will be most familiar for his roles in films about WW II when he usually played German officers or high-ranking officials.

Bryan Russell was a fine young actor, playing Emil in this film. But he made only one movie after this, and after a TV series in the mid-1960s, he quit acting.

An interesting aside in this film was its shooting locations in Germany. This was 1964, and it shows some of the rubble yet from World War II. I can attest to that fact, having served in the U.S. Army in Germany from 1962 to October of 1964. I was stationed near Mainz, Germany, and that city still had partial blocks in rubble that had not yet been cleaned up and rebuilt.

While Walt Disney began his film-making dynasty with Mickey Mouse and animated films, Disney moved into real-life film later. He developed a mixed genre that incorporated some animation within live action film. A classic example of that was "Mary Poppins."

I stumbled on this entry and was glad I did! I recall watching this when it was broadcast on "Disney's Wonderful World of Color" in September 1966 when I was five and have never seen it since. I recall the Berlin locations and being fascinated by the entire enterprise. Maybe I would have a different opinion if I saw it now, but I recalled liking it as a kid.