I was rooting for this film, mainly because there aren't so many good cartoons produced in Germany and, being a fan of Walter Moers, I found Das Kleine Arschloch", one of the better transitions from comic to cartoon. The first film was witty, the humour pitch-black, always bordering on bad taste and yet adapted the spirit of the comic one-to-one.
It's hard to believe that the sequel was produced by the same people, the only giveaway being that the animation and the voices are still the same. But the humour, the humour is gone entirely. Instead, utter boredom sets in as soon as the wild ducks enter the screen. I have to admit, it happens rarely, but I fell asleep while watching (and swear that I was sober like a judge). It wasn't a deep sleep; had there been laughter in the cinema, it would have woke me up. But there was no laughter and when the show was over and the man sitting next to me tried to wake me, he assured me that I had "done the right thing".
What pains just as much as the lack of laughter is the soundtrack: the first part had a mix of covers ("School's Out", "Marmor, Stein und Eisen bricht") and originals ("Sündigen"), all superbly sung by Kathrin Ackermann, who also voices the "Little Bastard". There is none of this in "The Little Bastard and the Old Fart". Rather, the soundtrack is supplied by avant-garde comedian Helge Schneider (who also voices the "Old Fart"). There are two types of people: those who like Schneider and those who don't, because they don't understand his humour or music. I admit, I belong to the second category. I don't like his pseudo-experimental Jazz and it constantly playing in the back of the scenes, reminded me of a pesky mosquito, persistently humming in my ear. The only song, Scheider was 'allowed' to perform on the first part, was the outro-song, and if you've heard it, you'll know that this was a good choice.
Although I just invented the word, I would call myself a "completist": yes, if I liked the original, I will watch the sequel and the sequel's sequel; despite better judgement, knowing that the sequel will s**k. Hey, only once you've seen it all, can you judge about it. But this is one of the rare cases, where I recommend fans of both the comic and the first movie: don't watch it. Watch something else. Anything.
1 point out of 10 and the "Uwe Boll Seal of Approval".
