Wiplala - Un maghetto per amico

Decades ago, when I was about 10 years old, the book Wiplala was one of my favourites; it is still on my book-shelf, a bit worn... Its translation was excellent, I remember, even the verb "tinkelen" was distinctively translated into my native language.

So, when I heard about the film, under appropriate opportunity, I decided to introduce its mood and characters to my young relatives and their friends. They liked it, but they told it was unusual to them: no violence, only a few rude words (mild ones), values and nice ideas presented in a pleasant and convincing manner without further blathering... Still, there was a lot of excitement, and the hot car ride was fast and catchy. Both I and my younger fellas could easily identify ourselves with the characters as well.

I was a bit disturbed about the plot brought into today (the book was published in 1957) and not-so-smooth depiction of airy-fairy stuff - under superb digital opportunities the world currently has. But still, a nice family film to all those tired of constant obscenities and cruelties present in various modern creations.

Wiplala is a good movie!, Known as "Help I've Shrunk the Family!" or "Help I Shrunk the Family!", Like Honey, I Shrunk the Kids!, this is an amazing classic for kids & adults but they feature bad language, If you are a parent, be sure to click at different scenes!, Love love love it, I rate it 10 stars by the way, :-), Did you remember that these Chinese people speak English in this movie?, Well done!, Expect I love it. Great cast & crew, Very superb and the poster is well-looking. I almost like it!, For adults who do not know it, let them google "Wiplala" and show it to your child, Only recently goodly good films are a superb production.

Similarly to Sven I had high hopes for this film and just like him I feel that I was left disappointed. The CGI is decent for a European film, but the writing is less than impressive—to say the least. Characters are behaving irrationally and the whole plot is full of illogical twists. Why was it necessary to deviate from the book that much? Also I did not like the choice of the actor to portray Wiplala - in the book he comes across as a nerdy character and younger/slimmer than Géza Weisz is/was.

However, for someone not too familiar with the book it's an acceptable entertainment and non-Dutchies will appreciate the renowned Amsterdam landmarks featured in the film.

What a delightful twist on the classic children's books by Annie M. G. Schmidt! I loved these books growing up, and now my daughter has also fallen in love with them. We both thoroughly enjoyed the movie adaptation too.

While the movie doesn't stick strictly to the original story line (it's set in the present day), I appreciate how it maintains a lively pace and captures the essence of the books while adding a fresh layer on top of it. It strikes a wonderful balance between keeping the excitement alive and weaving in the beloved themes from Schmidt's stories. Perfect family movie in my opinion.

9 year old Johannes finds a leprechaun but nobody believes him. In an emergency, the magical Wiplala, not a leprechaun, shrinks the whole family but can't quite turn them back.

It's always fun to play with giant props. I wish the movie does more of it. I would also change Wiplala. The character needs to be more magical. The guy is in his twenties and he's not fun enough. He should either be a kid or be played by someone like Robin Williams. The father is rather annoying although that's his job. Maybe he shouldn't get shrunk and has to search for his kids. That way, his negativity can be minimized and separated from the main group. This is almost fine but it doesn't elevate the magic of this often done premise.