Or, "The Simpsons for misanthropes", could have been another fitting title.
If this review contains many ****, I must apologize, but it's IMDb which wouldn't allow me to use the real words. How to explain, that it's not me spouting obscenities but Walter Moers, creator of the little a**hole and erstwhile Germany's king of obscenities? Today he's very successful as an author of children's books, but there was a time when Walter Moers was famous for his pitch-black humour: always on the limits of good taste and often trespassing them. Yet, it wasn't the vulgar type of obscene either, never trying to offend for the sake of offending. Rather, it offended through wit, observation and critic – Moers didn't simply go around calling people "a**holes", rather, he explained to them, why they are a**holes (all the while making them laugh tears).
Just like the little a**hole.
Said "little a**hole" is a small boy, who fancies himself intellectually superior to the rest of the world. He's cynic, misanthropic, a mix of ancient Greek philosopher and, well, an a**hole, that terrorizes his surrounding. Whether feeding LDS to the neighbours dog, showing pin-up girls to the blind, or getting his band-members (the a**hole is the singer) to end up in hospital after having performed Arabic music for a club full of skinheads, everybody get's his share of (always justifiable is the a**holes mind) abuse. One exception could be the "Alte Sack" ("Old Bag"), his grandfather, essentially the logic conclusion of what the a**hole will become in old-age; his rant about heroin consume and masturbation to a bunch of nuns at the home for the elderly, remains one of the films highlights.
This isn't everybody's cup of tea and, don't let the simple animation fool you, it certainly isn't a movie for children. But, unlike many other comic-characters, the transition from paper to film has actually worked here. If you like Walter Moers, the "Das Kleine Arschloch"-comics, a fan of early Ralph Bakshi films or simply a jolly misanthrope, you'll enjoy this film if you're not, well, I think they're showing "Shrek 3" on the Disney channel.
8 points from 10
If this review contains many ****, I must apologize, but it's IMDb which wouldn't allow me to use the real words. How to explain, that it's not me spouting obscenities but Walter Moers, creator of the little a**hole and erstwhile Germany's king of obscenities? Today he's very successful as an author of children's books, but there was a time when Walter Moers was famous for his pitch-black humour: always on the limits of good taste and often trespassing them. Yet, it wasn't the vulgar type of obscene either, never trying to offend for the sake of offending. Rather, it offended through wit, observation and critic – Moers didn't simply go around calling people "a**holes", rather, he explained to them, why they are a**holes (all the while making them laugh tears).
Just like the little a**hole.
Said "little a**hole" is a small boy, who fancies himself intellectually superior to the rest of the world. He's cynic, misanthropic, a mix of ancient Greek philosopher and, well, an a**hole, that terrorizes his surrounding. Whether feeding LDS to the neighbours dog, showing pin-up girls to the blind, or getting his band-members (the a**hole is the singer) to end up in hospital after having performed Arabic music for a club full of skinheads, everybody get's his share of (always justifiable is the a**holes mind) abuse. One exception could be the "Alte Sack" ("Old Bag"), his grandfather, essentially the logic conclusion of what the a**hole will become in old-age; his rant about heroin consume and masturbation to a bunch of nuns at the home for the elderly, remains one of the films highlights.
This isn't everybody's cup of tea and, don't let the simple animation fool you, it certainly isn't a movie for children. But, unlike many other comic-characters, the transition from paper to film has actually worked here. If you like Walter Moers, the "Das Kleine Arschloch"-comics, a fan of early Ralph Bakshi films or simply a jolly misanthrope, you'll enjoy this film if you're not, well, I think they're showing "Shrek 3" on the Disney channel.
8 points from 10