Olivier et le dragon vert

"Als je begrijpt wat ik bedoel" is based on a very popular Dutch cartoon figure which whom whole generations grew up with. The movie knows to capture the comic book feeling on screen, which makes the nostalgic value of the movie very high.

Even though the movie has a fun feeling the undertone is dramatic and emotional, which is the most powerful thing of the movie. It is a movie that even the most tough adults will be moved by and it isn't unusual for some to shed some tears.

The character (even though they are animals) are very humane and realistic which makes the emotions work even better. The characters are brought to life by an excellent voice cast.

The quality however is not very good. The movie looks sloppy and outdated. The animations are pretty standard and simple but effective. There are some weird musical numbers that are far from good and also the music itself doesn't quite seem to fit the movie and is used at weird periods throughout the movie.

See it for the nostalgic value, however if you live outside the Netherlands or Belgium you can not fully appreciate this movie and it might not be worth your time.

7/10

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This is a must for every dutch child. It's a dutch memory you don't want to miss... like a chocolate letter at SantaClaus. I love this movie, it's based on real literature, Olivier B. Bommel by by famous Martepn Toonder, that even kids like. It's a must to see.

"Dexter the Dragon & Bumble the Bear" is an adaptation of a Dutch comic book series. Just like "The adventures of TinTin, the secret of the Unicorn" (2011, Steven Spielberg) it is based on multiple stories from the series. Unlike the TinTin adaptation the comic stories are translated to animation and not to a film with real actors. In this way the film remains closer to the original.

The "Bumble the Bear" comic stories occupy a special place in Dutch literature. The text is more important than in ordinary comic books and does not appear in text balloons inside the pictures but as freestanding text below the pictures.

Not only the place of the text in the story is noteworthy but also the language used. Some characters in the series use a very archaic version of the Dutch language. Some of their expressions have developed into almost proverbs.

The status of almost serious literature that this comic series has acquired is also due to the fact that some of the characters have their origins in the medieval story about the fox Reynard (between 1257 - 1271, Willem die Madocke maecte).

In my opinion the film does not do justice to the status of the stories of almost serious literature. In the film almost inevitably dialogue becomes less important than images. In some scenes this is an advantage. The ballroom scene is one image in the comic book but can be extened in the film. In general however the emphasis on images does not benefit the depth of the story.

Added value does have the fact that in the film the voices of the characters do come to live. The voice actors are well chosen. However to create this added value a film adaptation is not strictly necessary, a radio play suffices. These radioplays are made and to be honest they are more to my taste as a Bumble the Bear fan.

The previous commenter forgot to mention this movie is from 1983 and the comic itself is from 1947.

Don't try to compare this movie with today's standards. The movie is almost 40 years old. And it's completely in the style of the original comic.

It's a beautiful movie and great made. I would really recommended it. I enjoyed the movie when I was a kid and I'm sure children these days would enjoy it too.

The movie , based on comic , starts a little dark and moody and directly brings up the huge "vibe" around this movie.Everything is just perfect! The animation is superb , the voice-acting is one of the best I've ever heard , when you hear Bommel say "Als je begrijpt wat ik bedoel" for only one time , you'll never forget his voice.It's a very touching story with tears but also laughter , and lot's of it. Definatly my top movie from my childhood years ( Hey , I still watch it , sue me !).

If you could only pick one animated feature to be in your childhood memory.. pick this one.