Pinkeltje

Instead of adapting one of the many Pinkeltje books by Dick Laan, the filmmakers decided to do a 'further adventures of' featuring the writer himself. It turns out 6 inch Pinkeltje Witbaard (Aart Staartjes) visits Dick Laan (Bob de Lange) after every adventure, so Dick can write another book. In most of these Pinkeltje went off to have an adventure on his own but this time he is joined by his wife Pinkelotje (Wieteke van Dort), and no less than five other 'Pinkels' get involved.

Three important Pinkels: an inventor, a princess and her lady in waiting have been kidnapped by a human professor and his henchmen. While Pinkeltje, Pinkelotje and Dick Laan are forming a rescue plan, Prince Pinkelbert and Ponkel Poortbewaarder, who fancy the two missing females, mount a rescue operation of their own.

The 'Pinkels' were shot on video and chroma keyed onto film to interact with normal sized people. The result leaves something to desired, but in 1978 it was still pretty amazing, especially for a Dutch film. The charm of the story lies in the characters and situations, like in Dick Laan's original work. The 'Pinkels' view of the human world leads to many misunderstandings and the villains are also used for comic relief. The script is full of witty lines, especially the dialogue between Pinkelbert and Ponkel. It is a shame this film is hardly ever shown on television.

8 out of 10