Hanni & Nanni 2

The first Hanni & Nanni film was a bit of a surprise success in cinemas. Not a spectacular film, but old fashioned (Blyton) fun with a plot as thick as a needle and a nice cast of characters. The second installment is a much darker affair. This time around the girls seem to go from worry to worry. Money problems, divorces. And a pair of crooks you expect to see in a film for toddlers. A complete mess, salvaged only in a couple of scenes where blasts of happy music set the tone, rather than the actors. With the exception of Susanne von Borody, who gives a good performance. We should have known: this one was out of cinemas within a week. And number 3 is in the making.

Overall, this movie provides 90 minutes of light-hearted fun. It's predictable and silly, but at the same time cute and entertaining. The first movie was a modern version of mostly the first Hanni & Nanni book, following the original story closely. Unfortunately, the filmmakers felt the need to stray from the books and invent unnecessary villains, far-fetched subplots, and chaos for the sequel, so it lost some of its charm. I wish they hadn't done that. I also missed some of the students from the previous movie. If you liked the first movie, you will probably enjoy this one, just not quite as much.