Urmel aus dem Eis

The "Augsburger Puppenkiste" and its famous marionette plays are known to every person in Germany, and loved dearly by several generations. Among the many classics that were aired on television countless times, is "Urmel aus dem Eis", the wonderful adaption of a children's novel of the same title by Max Kruse.

Professor Tibatong is a scientist who eventually moves onto an far-off island with only his assistant and the sow Wutz - who is keeping his household, and who's been taught how to speak by the professor. On the island, he also teaches a variety of other animals how to talk, but all of them end up with their own, cute, speech impediment. One day, an iceberg appears with a frozen egg, and once hatched, it reveals the Urmel, a mischievous baby dinosaur thingy.

Urmel is a classic and has everything it needs to make the show unforgettable. The characters are lovable, the dialogues (and the way they are spoken) are extremely fun. When watching "Urmel" again recently, I discovered that I had not forgotten many of the dialogues and sentences. At other times, I was pleasantly thrilled to discover that the dialogues really were so very witty, funny, even more so than I remembered from my childhood. This is an absolute gem!

I just recently saw Urmel again with my 'little one' almost 40 years after it had enchanted my childhood, respectively parts thereof, and I can firmly say: It did not loose anything! The characters are extremely lovable, even those whom you dislike are not real villains as in many children's stories and fairy tales. There are for all practical purposes no special effects at all, but that does not affect the movie at all. It derives its magic from completely different sources; it touches the heart. Compared to today's children's movies (and more so adult movies) everything happens at an incredibly low speed. One takes time to develop the characters and to have a relationship with them.