John the Fearless (1984)

Sailor Jan/John cleans up his home town plagued by thieves and becomes known as fearless. His jealous cousin tries to scare him, but things end badly. Now an outlaw, John teams up with a local servant to slay a shapeshifting demon.

Director:

Jef Cassiers

Writers:

Jef Cassiers, Constant de Kinder (novel)

Stars:

Jan Decleir, Jef Burm, Jan Pauwels

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jan Decleir	...	Jan zonder Vrees (voice)
Jef Burm	...	Dokus (voice)
Jan Pauwels	...	Baron van Moerzeke (voice)
Dora van der Groen	...	(voice)
Nolle Versyp	...	Hertog van Vlaanderen (voice)
Linda Conrad	...	(voice)
Dries Wieme	...	Baron van Grembergen (voice)
Ann Petersen	...	Moeder van Alwina (voice)
Denise Zimmerman	...	Hertogin (voice)
Joris Collet	...	Boer Stansen (voice)
Raymond Bossaerts	...	(voice)
Aimé Anthoni	...	(voice) (as Aime Anthony)
Liliane Raymaekers	...	(voice) (as Liliane Raeymaekers)
Ward de Ravet	...	Ridder Kortenak (voice)
Dirk de Batist	...	Tijs (voice)

Storyline

Sailor Jan/John cleans up his home town plagued by thieves and becomes known as fearless. His jealous cousin tries to scare him, but things end badly. Now an outlaw, John teams up with a local servant to slay a shapeshifting demon.

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Plot Keywords:

duchess | 15th century | middle ages | baron | flanders | 

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Genres:

Animation | Adventure | Crime | Fantasy

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Details

Country:

Belgium

Language:

Dutch

Release Date:

1984 (Belgium)

Also Known As:

John the Fearless

Company Credits

Production Co:

Belgische Radio en Televisie (BRT), Pen-Film, CINAR

Technical Specs

Runtime:

78 min

Color:

Color

User Reviews

Great film based on a wonderful book

"Jan zonder Vrees" was a very well-known series of books in Flanders about a young and fearless young man who crossed 15th century Western Europe, helping people who suffer from the social injustice in those days.

This movie, based on the first book from the series written by Constant De Kinder, features Jan who has to flee Antwerp because he is accused of murder after he killed his nephew Tijs by accident. On his way he encounters many dangers, which he all faces without any fear. This movie looks very cartoonish, which is very refreshing and adds a lot to the humor in the film, but the thing I like most about it is the wonderful story, although it had to be shortened to fit in a 78 min. movie. Especially at the end, everything goes a little too fast. As almost always, the book is better than the film, but that doesn't mean it is bad at all. See it if you can, and certainly read the book, if you can get it in your language (it's mainly for children, but I think everyone will enjoy it).